A promise is a promise

Some years ago my dad had a business in the city I grew up. My mom is buried there, so I just told him I would join hin, an we made a day out of it.  On the way he told me that my mom once knitted him a sweater, it was cabled, and green, a very special green... But when they were getting a divorce, ina fit of anger she just cut it up into shreds... He was so sorry for it, and he still remembers it, and if I ever want to knit him something, that would be the thing.

As things turned out we stopped at Muller in the city I grew up, and there is was, the yarn in just the green shade my dad wanted... I bought it right away, we spent some time at teh front of Ravelry, trying to find a pattern, but he found fault with each of them... More cables, wider cables, no diamond pattern, but it should have a high neck, and so on.

I started knitting it right away, did the ribbing, but then I would have made some decision as to how to continue, and then it was left at there... for years I did not put the yarn away, it was in the back, sometimes pit from this corner to that, me feeling totally guilty,

So when his wife called me that for his 70th bithday she wants to organize a family gathering, I just knew this is the time to finish this. I took it out of its bag, promtly decided to go to another route than I originally planned, frogged what I had, and started again. Looked at a cable pattern at DROPS, but did not liked it, so put the "strands" right and left until I was satisfied with the wide cable, and once again, made up the thing as I was knitting.

Knitted from the waist, in the round, the sleeves also in the round, joined under arms, and decrease the raglan. All the sewing needed was grafting the underarms. For some times I was worried it will be too small, but the yarn relaxed as much as I thought it would and the sizing is just fine.

Yarn: Lana Grossa Basics QUICK (50% wool, 50% acrylic... I know, I know... but ut will not be washed by me...)

Adventures in FairIsle land part two

It all started with this HandM cardigan.. I loved it in the store, it was pretty, it was comfy, and I just fell for it...but at the same time it was rather expensive and it was made from a yarn that is mostly manmade.. 

But it gave me an idea...I loved how the thin, but hairy mohair-y yarn worked with the fair isle patterning resulting in a light, but warm sweater. It was also about that time, when the thought of an all over patterned fairisle sweater made itself feel right at home in my mind...

And it was also the time, when DROPS had its annual Alpaca Party, where all of their alpaca yarn is on sale, including the brushed alpaca silk, which suited the idea I had perfectly.

I did not had a pattern, only used the chart of an older  DROPS sock pattern, the rest I made up as I went along... I loved knitting the fair isle, and even knitting it back and forth, and floowing the pattern on the purl side didn't bother me.I enjoyed knitting it, so much that I forgot to put an opening for the belt, but as a friend said, what is it for me to cut up a sweater...and this was only a stitch or two.

I knitted the body in one piece until teh sleeve, then in parts to make up the armhole. The shoulders were sewn together, then the sleeves knitted on the round until the armhole, then bavk-and forth, but set in and sewed in as a traditional set in sleeve. Picked up and knitted a small ribbed border at the front edges, and then picked up the neck edges and added acouple of hundred stitches for the tie. 

If I would start this again, there are some things I would change, but all in all, I think its not bad, especially without a pattern,

Yarn: DROPS Brushed Alpaca Silk (6 balls of red, 4 balls of white)
Photoes: Christopher Laurent Deli