Is it wrong to be in love with a sweater?
Sound the trumpets and prepare yourselves for jollification!
I have a significant pronunciamento for you!
As of three o'clock this afternoon, I put the finishing touches on my $1.50 Cardigan.
It is my first adult sized sweater, and I'm feeling like a peacock.
(She needs to be steamed a bit, and she still has points where the blocking pins were placed.)
((Also, I just ordered some great wooden buttons off of Etsy, so I suppose she isn't completely finished until those are sewn on. But I couldn't wait to show you.))
Sweater! Fait accompli!
Submitted by
Carroll
at 12/12/2007 9:30:39 PM- Amazing sweater, Angela -- really gorgeous! But, about the second picture...it must be asked. Is there any special reason why Meredith appears to have dunked the front part of her head in something resembling, uhm, squid ink?
Submitted by
Paul is a Hermit
at 12/12/2007 9:32:54 PM- You made that??
Ooooooh, that's beautiful, so is the tree, I might add, so are the kids but the sweater is outstanding.
Merry Christmas to yourself! Santa couldn't have brought you a sweater that nice.
Submitted by
FP
at 12/12/2007 9:40:37 PM- RzDrms--Actually, Meredith is often pretty steamed. I just pin her to a wall with blocking pins until her points loosen...
Carroll--The pictures were taken five minutes after bath time, and tonight was a Hair Washing Night. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)
Paul--I did! And thanks! (As long as Santa doesn't mind my yarn habit, all is well at The Pudding House.)
Submitted by
Aileen
at 12/12/2007 10:03:51 PM- It is gorgeous! My first attempt at a sweater is still on the needles stuffed to the back of a shelf...
Submitted by
Meghan
at 12/12/2007 10:08:30 PM- Awesome, you did a fantastic job. I've yet to make a sweater that isn't sized in the "x-months" category. I'm kind of a chicken. And I don't know if I have the attention span. But you did it, and I am très impressionnant.
(I took one year of French, and I was terrible at it. I'm fairly certain I conjugated that verb incorrectly, but I just wanted to write like all of you cool kids.)
Submitted by
Mutha
at 12/12/2007 10:21:26 PM- Very impressive! Do you have multiple projects going at once? Or do you concentrate on one at a time?
Submitted by
FP
at 12/12/2007 10:23:41 PM- Aileen--Thanks so much! I think what kept me going was the fact that each section had a completely different stitch pattern going on. It never got boring.
Meghan--Thanks! Actually, the sweater is for a 451 month old--and it took three months to finish! (Also, I fake the French thing. I really have no idea what I'm saying.)
Mutha--Thank you! I currently have eleven projects in the works, but I'm active on only three. (Two pairs of socks and a scarf.) 2008 is going to be The Year of Finishing What I've Started!
Submitted by
Jojo bouncer
at 12/12/2007 10:28:41 PM- gorgeous! I want one please. good job! you inspire me.
Submitted by
Sara
at 12/13/2007 6:41:31 AM- No, it's not wrong. It's beautiful, and it will hold you and make you feel good whenever you ask for the rest of your life together. If that's not love, what is? ;)
Lovely work. You should be very proud.
Submitted by
Beth
at 12/13/2007 6:43:48 AM- WOW!
That's so awesome, I might haul out the three rows I cast on two years ago in my first-ever attempt at knitting and actually try to get the hang of the needles again!
If I ever knit anything, that sweater will be part of my inspiration!
Submitted by
sarah
at 12/13/2007 6:57:35 AM- I have a bit of a cardigan thing, and that sweater turns me on.
Submitted by
robiewankenobie
at 12/13/2007 7:16:54 AM- someday i'll make the sweater leap. i'm not knitting one until i lose weight, you see. which means that i'm just not knitting one. *sigh* it is a beauty, pudding, you should be very proud.
Submitted by
sherry
at 12/13/2007 7:17:29 AM- I love it! I never managed more than a bunch of scarves (but yay Harry Potter scarves!) and one kerchief, so I am in awe.
Submitted by
Alli
at 12/13/2007 7:22:11 AM- That is so beautiful! If I saw that in the store I would definitely buy it!
Submitted by
amy
at 12/13/2007 7:44:00 AM- Yeah! That rocks. I just felt the feeling of making something....I made a child's smock and it was hard but exhilarating! I love the sweater- classic and cool. Like you-good job...I saw cool adult mittens on the net with a small mitten sewed to them for a child- you should make em!
Submitted by
You can call me, 'Sir'
at 12/13/2007 7:54:57 AM- It looks like at least one pirate in your hizzy approves of the fruit of your knitting expertise.
Submitted by
Salome
at 12/13/2007 9:26:59 AM- Congratulations on the sweater. I remember fondly when my mother finished her first. The yarn was nowhere near as nice, but she was soooo proud. On another note, I've become so attached to your blog, that on a walk between Soho and the Village the other night I passed a really fancy, ultra-hip knitting night club place featuring a coffee bar and spools of beautiful yarn on the exposed brick walls. My first thought, "Fluid Pudding would be in heaven!"
Submitted by
TX Poppet
at 12/13/2007 9:51:47 AM- So yummy I could eat it up! And those sleeves! Gorgeous! Will you put grosgrain ribbon behind the buttons for strength, or leave the front soft?
Submitted by
Alyce
at 12/13/2007 9:53:44 AM- I'm still on scarves and felted things, so the mere idea of undertaking a sweater for an adult human gives me the shakes.
Congratulations! I can't wait to see which buttons you use.
Submitted by
FP
at 12/13/2007 10:26:58 AM- Thanks, you guys!
Amy--I would love to see that mitten pattern!
Salome--So funny. You know me so well!
TX Poppet--I think I'll leave the front soft. Actually, I'm not sure how often I'll be buttoning the sweater. (The pattern is written so that the two fronts are a bit more narrow than the back, so you really have to stretch it for the buttons to do their job.)
Submitted by
sinda
at 12/13/2007 10:51:50 AM- Angela, congratulations! I do not have the patience to knit a whole entire sweater, especially one with more than a garter stitch, but I am oh-so-impressed by yours!
I have a non-knitting question for you - if you have the time, energy and inclination to answer, which I would totally understand if you did not. So there's your out!
My five year old has just been diagnosed with the Eye of Laziness and has ordered her very first pair of glasses - do you have any tips, in general, for keeping the glasses on the face, not underfoot, etc? Should I get extra pairs? Do we need cute little straps to hold them on? I'm really just looking for some mom advice, from a pro. And you're my pro!
Submitted by
FP
at 12/13/2007 11:22:00 AM- Sinda--Meredith's glasses have rubber cable temples that fit around her ears. They can be added to any pair of glasses, and we consider them Completely Necessary when it comes to holding her glasses in place.
Are you guys going to patch, too? Feel free to shoot an e-mail my way (angela at fluidpudding dot com)! I'm more than happy to drone on and on about Meredith and her glasses!
Submitted by
Deanna
at 12/13/2007 11:35:25 AM- Wow! That's how they're patching kids' eyes now? When I was a kid with lazy eye in the early 70s I had to walk around with a big Telfa bandage pad over my eye. Meredith's patch is so cool! And if only my mom had thought to play the pirate angle at the time.... I guess pirates weren't as cool back then either.
Submitted by
Alessandra
at 12/13/2007 11:43:28 AM- That looks great! I have that pattern on my queue and am looking forward to it. Was it easy to knit?
Submitted by
FP
at 12/13/2007 11:59:32 AM- Deanna--I know! The patches can be really fun. In fact, check these out. (Meredith has the Christmas tree, the smiley face, the Sunshine, and the royal blue sparkle.)
Alessandra--Thanks! It really wasn't bad! The most difficult part was figuring out the decreases in the lace pattern, but a few simple searches on the internet led me right to a technique that worked for me!
Submitted by
tut-tut
at 12/13/2007 1:10:44 PM- That is an amazing accomplishment. I always try to knit something in the round, as seaming and I just don't get along. YOU, however, seem to have the knack. And two charming small admirers, too.
Submitted by
Aurora
at 12/13/2007 1:55:30 PM- Sweet Sweater! And MC, of course.
Submitted by
Susan
at 12/13/2007 2:46:03 PM- Ooh - that is so nice! In fact it looks perfect to me. But this is coming from one rookie knitter. I don't see any flaws in it. I've only managed to complete 2 scarves and one wash cloth. I started on a one-piece poncho but the yarn I picked out was so busy I had a hard time maneuvering it on the needles. For now it's on hold. Eleven projects?! Wow!
Submitted by
Dixie
at 12/13/2007 4:23:33 PM- It's gorgeous! You should be so proud of yourself because it's not just the knitting - it's the pesky blocking and finishing that can drag you down.
You're really making me itch to knit a cardigan. Or at least giving me the push to finish the three pairs of socks I've got on needles before I start my January sock knitalong project.
Submitted by
Paul is a Hermit
at 12/13/2007 10:27:06 PM- That's the happiest I've ever seen Harry Truman too, you multi-talented woman, you.
Submitted by
Laurel
at 12/13/2007 11:14:34 PM- How gorgeous! You'd better be careful, honey, because that's the kind of sweater that invites hugs. Combine that with the ever-swelling Christmas spirit, and, well, you might find yourself the victim of random snuggles.
Submitted by
Laurel
at 12/13/2007 11:15:55 PM- (p.s. it is NOT wrong to be in love with a sweater. Some of the most satisfying relationships of my life have been with sweaters.)
Submitted by
staceyb
at 12/14/2007 8:07:47 AM- Wow...awesome! You are so talented!
Submitted by
Amy in StL
at 12/14/2007 1:20:42 PM- That's a great sweater! I've only done one adult sweater and it was a crew neck-ish top down raglan. The idea of a cardian scares the begeebus out of me because of the picking up of stitches for the buttonband. I can't believe you did cabling and lace and a cardigan all in one! Nice job!
Submitted by
chris
at 12/14/2007 4:36:21 PM- Wow I am so impressed by people who can make things. And this is a lovely sweater, yes, she is.
Submitted by
Erin
at 12/16/2007 3:35:17 PM- Beautiful! And I like the buttons. Impressive how they can make a wooden button look so much like a quarter.
Submitted by
Salome
at 12/17/2007 3:38:28 PM- Per my previous comment, if ever in NYC (http://www.thepointnyc.com/)
Not a knitter, but these folks seem pretty hardcore...
Submitted by
bethany
at 12/18/2007 2:30:02 PM- LOVELY, just lovely. I am in awe of you knitters, i tried it a few times but just felt...DUH! I love the sweater, i live in stuff like that! Beaut!
Submitted by
liz
at 12/20/2007 8:25:09 AM- Beautimous!!! I will share with you my best blocking secret: take the damn thing to the dry cleaners. Comes back looking like genius!
Submitted by
Mizmell
at 12/20/2007 9:55:23 AM- The sweater is gorgeous. I have no patience for long projects, but after looking at your efforts, I wish I did.
The closest I could get is maybe a polar fleece jacket.
when you wrote all that stuff below the photo of your sweater and your cute meredith, and you used the pronoun "she," i thought for a moment you were referring to meredith! i didn't think m.c. needed to be steamed, and i was pretty sure she didn't have blocking pins or points (whatever the heck those are!), so i deduced you meant the sweater.