Wednesday, December 21, 2011

In Which I Overcome My Susperstitions

I knew when my boyfriend showed up for our first date wearing a knitted (albeit not hand knitted) sweater vest, that perhaps this could be the man for me. (Way to jump to conclusions Lynn!!!) I vowed that I wouldn't dive right into the "I'm knitting my boyfriend a sweater" stage for a while as I didn't want to freak the poor guy out. As we sat over Indian Food on that cold and rainy night however, he spoke of  how many siblings he had, where his family was from, what kind of food made him sick (thankfully, not Indian)... While he filled me in on first-date-details, I did my best not to look like I was doing a brain scan of my stash. I have a mental rolodex of yarns I own, yarns I could own, yarns I want to own, patterns I love... and if I meet you and really, really like you, I start a search of that catalogue- without even knowing it.

When I heard it through the grapevine that his 30th birthday was looming, I felt that that was my green light to go. Interesting, because I'll have you know, I'm quite a superstitious person- this is something I'm not proud of. For those that missed the memo, there is a well known superstition amongst the knitting world known as the 'sweater curse' which essentially tells us to 'never knit your man a sweater, unless you have the ring'.
Five months before his 30th birthday however, I gave myself a pep talk, made the decision to test fate, and cast on.

By the end of November, I handed him over his sweater.

Honeycomb cabling on a man??? Yes please.

When I first made this crazy idea known at the shop, many eyebrows were raised. I can't say I blame anyone for doubting me. My track record is pretty shady when it comes to actually finishing projects. So for me to get through this sweater is a major milestone in my knitting career- especially, getting through it on time (deadlines are something that I desperately struggle with, even outside of my knitting life).

Since when did I get all grown up and pay attention to the calendar?

 
I'm pretty sure I'm going to get 'spoken to' about this posting this photo

My mother also had her doubts when I got the crazy idea to get knitting a project bigger than a foot. So much so that she even called me at home on a Sunday after I had swatched a couple of yarns (which is to say that I must have meant business) to try and talk me out of it.

You see, my mom actually really likes my boyfriend, and hated to think that I might dump his sorry (and cold!) self if I tried to knit him something other than socks.


Turns out, I didn't. I made it to his 30th birthday and was able to gift him a sweater. It's been a few weeks now and at this point, we're still a team (which is to say that we have overcome the sweater curse- thus far).

Sorta neat, right?

Should you want to make this sweater for your favorite man's 30th birthday, that's neat too.

Here is what you need to know.



Pattern- Sandnes Peer Gynt Fritid 9809-1 by Halla Einarsdottir (out of print)
Yarn- Sandnesgarn Smart, 18 balls
Needles- 3.5mm and 4mm Addi Turbos

And if you're still having a hard time believing that I actually knit a sweater for a grown man all by my lonesome (for which I wouldn't blame you)...



The proof is in the sweater tag.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the sweater! I don't know if I could make it but, you never know, I might get it/another one started in the New Year!
Enjoyed the evenings together knitting,
Usha

kristieinbc said...

That is an absolutely gorgeous sweater! You must be feeling a great sense of accomplishment. Wonderful pictures too!

Chrissy said...

That sweater is great and if the smile on the photos are anything to go by, the recipient is pretty pleased with it too.

Well done on knitting something so beautiful.

Joan Andrews said...

Being one of those skeptics who teased you about socks for Grandma, I think this sweater is just fabulous. Really Lyn, you did a wonderful job. The sweater looks great, the owner and model also looks great and the photos are great!!
I don't know if I am leaving my comments in a manner that you will ever be able to read them.(I am not only a disabled knitter but also am computer illiterate.Joan Andrews' comments

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous sweater. This was the one you were mentioning the other day. It fits him well. Way to Go, Lynn. Curses? Bah, humbug.

Kerry McRorie said...

I LOOOVE it! It looks amazing! Well done! I also agree with the other comments that he looks pretty darn happy with the finished product too!

Phyllis Diller Stewart said...

Me-thinks that it's less supertition and more "throwing at" that gets a girl dumped. All in good time, like this sweater, and everything's fine.

Oh, my goodness ... that sounds more like a lecture than a comment, doesn't it?

I LOVE it, and so does the boyfriend if the smile is any indication!

June said...

Look how happy he is that you knit him a sweater!!!

Anonymous said...

I used to knit all my boyfriends scarves. Curse works for that one too!

(your Mother's cousin, Janet)