The sweater I forgot to blog
I never quite got around to taking pictures of it in progress, and I kept forgetting to mention it, and then it knit up so quickly thatÂ…wellÂ…itÂ’s done.
Oh look. I knit a little jacket. (Sorry the photos arenÂ’t so clear. If IÂ’d waited for a sunny day to take better shots, I wouldnÂ’t be posting this until spring):
Obviously I haven’t gotten around to that haircut yet.
I love the bell shape of this jacket. It reminds me of the women’s jackets in some of my favorite Vermeer paintings.
Thumper is a demanding photo director
IÂ’ve had visions of cute little 3/4-sleeve flared jackets dancing in my head since fall, but I couldnÂ’t decide if I wanted a refined jacket or a more simple, casual one. I did a bunch of sketches, couldnÂ’t choose, and decided to design and knit both.
I started with the simple, because I knew it would knit up quickly. I used Manos that had been in my stash for something like five years now. It was the yarn that was too good to use, you know? I never found a pattern that was quite right for it, and I didn’t want to “waste” it.
IÂ’ve taken to calling this sweater Trilce (TRILL-say), after the book by the Peruvian poet Cesar Vallejo. (Trilce is said to be the combination of “triste”—sad, and “dulce”–sweet, though not all scholars agree that was VallejoÂ’s intention. Of course, thatÂ’s neither here nor there as far as knitwear is concerned.) With the thick and thin nature of the Manos, and the kind of romantic, tousled feel of this sweater, Trilce just seemed to fit.
Speaking of the thick and thin nature of ManosÂ…I was determined to embrace the quirks of this yarn, rather than fight against it. The shaping of the sweater allows for the imprecise gauge of the yarn. Imprecise can be a lovely thing in a sweater. IÂ’m rather happy with the results. And because it works so well with the Manos, I think this sweater would be a good use of handspun as well.
As for 3/4 sleeves on a wool sweaterÂ…besides liking the look of it, IÂ’m finding it to be more wearable than my full-sleeved sweaters. We keep the thermostat at a pretty chilly 67 F, so we wear layers around the house. Full-length sweater sleeves have to be pushed out of the way for cooking and eating and toddler wrangling. Not so with the 3/4 sleeve. ItÂ’s a warm, soft, comfy sweater for around the house that looks good enough (if I do say so myself) that I can happily wear it out of the house as well. And yepÂ…I keep it closed with a wooden cable needle. A shawl pin or a brooch would probably be more attractive, but I donÂ’t happen to own either. One of these days perhaps IÂ’ll stumble across the perfect pin to close this sweater. Until then, the cable needle is working just fine.
YeahÂ…pretty damn pleased with the way this one turned out.
And on the other side of the 3/4-sleeve jacket coin, we have the next design. The more tailored, refined jacket. The one that wonÂ’t be worn for toddler-wrangling and egg-scrambling. IÂ’ll scan in the sketch for that one soon, so you can see what I have in mind.
There will be cabled bands at the hem, the sleeve cuffs, the front edges, and the collar. There will be frog closures. There will be no thick and thin, no loosey goosey hippie coziness. IÂ’ve taken to calling this one Karenina. I imagine Anna might have slipped out of the house in something like it, on her way to an assignation. (No assignations required for wearing it, though. I’m sure Billy will be happy to read that.)
IÂ’ve started swatching for it, using Reynolds Candide, and have chosen a cable pattern. IÂ’m really excited to see how it turns out. CanÂ’t wait to wear it. I may have to dream up some opera-length mitts to go with it.
The jacket is great! Will you be selling the pattern for it at some stage? I’m always looking for patterns that work with handspun….
Posted by: Sharon
What an adorable jacket! And btw? You look fabulous.
Posted by: regina
The jacket is great! Will you be selling the pattern for it at some stage? I’m always looking for patterns that work with handspun….
Posted by: Sharon
What an adorable jacket! And btw? You look fabulous.
Posted by: regina
very nice! i do love the bell sleeves.. and i’m totally digging the hair actually. the unruly curls and darker color.. kinda wild in that not-bright-red type of way 🙂
Posted by: gleek
great jacket! would work well in a chilly buffalo house as well.
Posted by: stephanieayn
It’s lovely! And…I love the way the cable needle looks. It’s simple and very knitterly (is that even a word?!?!?!?!)
I just recolored my hair with some manic panic and thought of you as I did it. I have “yarn hair” as you call it as well :o) Now mines fuschia. Also…I know you had asked about henna before etc. Did you know that you can add beet root powder to it to alter the color? I’ve seen some pretty cool and bright pinky colors with it. And it does cover grays. http://www.hennaforhair.com has info.
Posted by: Stephanie
Love it – it looks great on you! And I’m liking the long hair, too – there seems to still be a lot of red tones in it (though perhaps that’s the photography or lighting).
Posted by: Jill Smith
Great sweater! It would look great on lots of shapes,(yes?) so when are you going sell the pattern? soon hopefully?
(I need this sweater in my chilly Philly home NOW!)
Posted by: Colleen
Oh, that is beautiful!
Posted by: chez shoes
very nice! i do love the bell sleeves.. and i’m totally digging the hair actually. the unruly curls and darker color.. kinda wild in that not-bright-red type of way 🙂
Posted by: gleek
great jacket! would work well in a chilly buffalo house as well.
Posted by: stephanieayn
It’s lovely! And…I love the way the cable needle looks. It’s simple and very knitterly (is that even a word?!?!?!?!)
I just recolored my hair with some manic panic and thought of you as I did it. I have “yarn hair” as you call it as well :o) Now mines fuschia. Also…I know you had asked about henna before etc. Did you know that you can add beet root powder to it to alter the color? I’ve seen some pretty cool and bright pinky colors with it. And it does cover grays. http://www.hennaforhair.com has info.
Posted by: Stephanie
Love it – it looks great on you! And I’m liking the long hair, too – there seems to still be a lot of red tones in it (though perhaps that’s the photography or lighting).
Posted by: Jill Smith
Great sweater! It would look great on lots of shapes,(yes?) so when are you going sell the pattern? soon hopefully?
(I need this sweater in my chilly Philly home NOW!)
Posted by: Colleen
Oh, that is beautiful!
Posted by: chez shoes
That is a very cute shape on you. And its just so great to see you, sweater or not!
Posted by: claudia
It’s wicked cute, and so are you. The last photo is just precious.
Posted by: Norma
it turned out lovely! i love the color on you.
i finished the hat i bought hellen and laurajean’s yarn for…made a matching scarf for his mom, too.
see you next year!
Posted by: shanny in oregon
very very cute sweater. I love the color.
I do have to ask, is 67 chilly? I live in the Portland area, and keep my apartment around 60 or so. Of course, baseboard heating is freaking inefficient, so anything warmer would drive me into bankrupty!
Posted by: Clare
Beautiful! Can’t wait to see the next one!
Posted by: Anna
Love Trilce (and the name). It looks great on you. Thumper looks like he’ll be a great director.
Separately, I’ve been intrigued by your natural-based rag doll hair dye dilemma from earlier this month and look forward to what you resolve in the end. I have no expertise to add, so did not comment – but have always been curious about that topic.
Posted by: Jennifer
That is a very cute shape on you. And its just so great to see you, sweater or not!
Posted by: claudia
It’s wicked cute, and so are you. The last photo is just precious.
Posted by: Norma
it turned out lovely! i love the color on you.
i finished the hat i bought hellen and laurajean’s yarn for…made a matching scarf for his mom, too.
see you next year!
Posted by: shanny in oregon
very very cute sweater. I love the color.
I do have to ask, is 67 chilly? I live in the Portland area, and keep my apartment around 60 or so. Of course, baseboard heating is freaking inefficient, so anything warmer would drive me into bankrupty!
Posted by: Clare
Beautiful! Can’t wait to see the next one!
Posted by: Anna
Love Trilce (and the name). It looks great on you. Thumper looks like he’ll be a great director.
Separately, I’ve been intrigued by your natural-based rag doll hair dye dilemma from earlier this month and look forward to what you resolve in the end. I have no expertise to add, so did not comment – but have always been curious about that topic.
Posted by: Jennifer
I love how it matches the wall color. It’s a great sweater, m’dear.
Posted by: Michelle
That wall color looks awfully familiar. Did you take a paint chip from your bedroom in Brooklyn?
The sweater looks fantastic, lady. 😉
Posted by: nipper jenn
I love the jacket.
Posted by: ginchy
Very sweet, and it’s true about the 3/4 sleeves. Sweet AND practical — what could be better?
Posted by: alison
Adorable jacket! Have I mentioned before that Manos is my favorite yarn? I hope the pattern will be available for sale 🙂 We also keep our thermostat at a chilly 67 degrees. At night it drops down to 64 degrees. I could use a nice little jacket to wear. The new pattern sounds neat too. I am excited to see what it will look like. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Knittripps
Hello, Happy holidays. What a gorgeous sweater, it looks beautiful on you. I love photo of the little boy in the drawer in your previous post. I wish I had a drawer like that in my house. Also, regarding the quiet baby post a few entries back: My mother loves to tell of the time my four year old self was being too quiet. She hollered, “Karen, what are you doing?” My answer from the other end of the house was, “I’m putting this back and getting down!”
Also it was nice to see Diego. Best wishes to you and your family.
Posted by: karen
I love how it matches the wall color. It’s a great sweater, m’dear.
Posted by: Michelle
That wall color looks awfully familiar. Did you take a paint chip from your bedroom in Brooklyn?
The sweater looks fantastic, lady. 😉
Posted by: nipper jenn
I love the jacket.
Posted by: ginchy
Very sweet, and it’s true about the 3/4 sleeves. Sweet AND practical — what could be better?
Posted by: alison
Adorable jacket! Have I mentioned before that Manos is my favorite yarn? I hope the pattern will be available for sale 🙂 We also keep our thermostat at a chilly 67 degrees. At night it drops down to 64 degrees. I could use a nice little jacket to wear. The new pattern sounds neat too. I am excited to see what it will look like. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Knittripps
Hello, Happy holidays. What a gorgeous sweater, it looks beautiful on you. I love photo of the little boy in the drawer in your previous post. I wish I had a drawer like that in my house. Also, regarding the quiet baby post a few entries back: My mother loves to tell of the time my four year old self was being too quiet. She hollered, “Karen, what are you doing?” My answer from the other end of the house was, “I’m putting this back and getting down!”
Also it was nice to see Diego. Best wishes to you and your family.
Posted by: karen
Very pretty sweater – and you, too! It reminds me of something you’d see in a ’30’s movie. I have this vision of a starlet cuddling up in it. 😉 Great design!
Posted by: MonicaPDX
Love the sweater, doll. And the photo is a scream. I can hear his little voice going – “No! Over THERE!…look THAT WAY.” And your eyes are like, “okkkkkkkkk, damn!”
I kinda like your hair getting all long and Portland-hippie-in-a-good-way like. *kiss*
Posted by: john
Ooooh! Love it. And drat, I saw the perfect pin for that sweater at the union sq. holiday market a month ago. It was a Brooklyn jewelry designer – beach glass and bronze. Had I but known…
Posted by: Lizbon
Love the sweater.
You should check out Romi’s site for pins:
http://designsbyromi.com
Not affiliated – she’s a friend.
Posted by: Tiny Tyrant
Very pretty sweater – and you, too! It reminds me of something you’d see in a ’30’s movie. I have this vision of a starlet cuddling up in it. 😉 Great design!
Posted by: MonicaPDX
Love the sweater, doll. And the photo is a scream. I can hear his little voice going – “No! Over THERE!…look THAT WAY.” And your eyes are like, “okkkkkkkkk, damn!”
I kinda like your hair getting all long and Portland-hippie-in-a-good-way like. *kiss*
Posted by: john
Ooooh! Love it. And drat, I saw the perfect pin for that sweater at the union sq. holiday market a month ago. It was a Brooklyn jewelry designer – beach glass and bronze. Had I but known…
Posted by: Lizbon
Love the sweater.
You should check out Romi’s site for pins:
http://designsbyromi.com
Not affiliated – she’s a friend.
Posted by: Tiny Tyrant