Dear Kay,
Well, it’s proving to be hard to knit your life while simultaneously trying to LIVE your life. I don’t even know what year I’m up to, at this point: maybe sixth grade? I’m definitely going to skip seventh grade altogether. I’ve already had two night-terror wakeups involving Miss T______, the world’s scariest PE teacher.
Here’s where things stand.
On the back, I’m imagining the life we all think we’re going to lead, where we meander along, one pleasant moment after another.
On the front, I’m going for life as it actually seems to happen.
Technical tidbits so far:
The shoulders are going to require some shoring up. By the time I get to 2013 down at the bottom, the shoulders will be bearing the unbearable heaviness of being. Maybe some of that reverse-side crochet business? Maybe the sleeves will tighten things up a bit? Maybe I’ll just go to therapy and talk about it.
The increases. Francis asks how I’m doing the increases to get an A line shape. I’m working top down, so I’m adding as I go. Basically, I think of it as a cone. On an increase row, which happens every inch, I add 8 stitches: 2 stitches at each side, 2 spaced evenly across the front and 2 across the back. If you do only side increases, you can end up with a droopy hem. I’m sneaking the increases in as purl stitches, so they don’t show up in the cables.
I need to increase a lot because the top is pretty snug (negative ease?! o noes!). I’m aiming for the bottom edge to be 10 inches wider than the bust.
The blocking on this is going to be very important. I want it to open up, in the interest of honoring St. Eileen of Fisher. POSITIVE ease. The more ease in life, the better! This yarn, if it’s anything like Felted Tweed and I think it is, will allow some gentle yet assertive manipulation. This wool Rowanspun DK is cottony and gently spun.
And, in the tradition of Eileen Fisher, I’m dubbing this size Extra Small.
Next up, 1978: eighth grade!
Love,
Ann
I love every single word of this post. Especially the parts about seventh grade! It is a universal truth that seventh grade is a nightmare for all females.
“And, in the tradition of Eileen Fisher, I’m dubbing this size Extra Small.”
Snort!
Funny thing is, when I was thinking about this as a project, I thought about a colorwork sweater, beautiful and organized on the fabric right side, but leave all the ends unwoven in on the reverse. Same metaphor! xo
Yep, you sure know about the horrors of junior high P.E. Not sure that high school was much better, so we’d understand if you want to skip ahead several more years!
Love this!!
Wonderful and amusing post.
Back: Five years through grade school.
Front: High School, wedding and early motherhood.
Sweater telling the story: Brilliant!
Correction… that’s “Five years old” (when life the world is yours, you have a direction and all the loving support needed).
The back of the sweater is so comforting!
Anxious to read the sleeves.
Another writing error?!?
This sweater has me discombobulated.
…walking away from the keyboard!
Jeez, you knit fast.
Your description of the back and the front, and the life stages they reflect, reminds me of the notes I just read on the first and second movements of Tchaikosky’s Symphony No. 4 (F minor). (I didn’t pull that out of a hat–we heard the NSO play it this past weekend.) You are a poet, Ann!
wow. I am really taken by this, all of it. The narrative knit and the knitting narrative together are just too wonderful.
You would have been a shoo-in to win the Fiber Factor with this front/back narrative alone! LOVE it. Your ability to express such a relatable idea in knitting is awe-inspiring. Did they say there’s an at-home prize (well, the contestants are all at home, but you know what I mean) for those not officially in the competition? If so, this will knock their hand-knit socks off.
Love it, and wish I’d thought of myself. I’d have to add a couple of huge rents in there somewhere (although not during my childhood stage), so I’m not sure my FO would be wearable in the end….but that would be congruent too…
8th grade would be the one I would skip. I was away for the summer and when I came back all of my friends had made new friends who were not necessarily friendly to the returnee.
Brillant post and project!
Seventh grade: 3 teachers, all male. Just the right thing for that year of female development. Not! I mean, Knot!
Would a bobble or two be appropriate to represent things like car accidents, flooded basements, bosses from Hades, etc?
More seriously, wouldn’t your choice of neckline finishing also help the shoulders from stretching out or pulling downward and outward too much? It looks like you could do something in a very sturdy, non-stretchy stitch (even if hidden as an inside hem behind a more decorative stitch) that would help the way interfacing helps a loosely-woven fabric behave itself in a blazer, a shirt collar, or a shirt placket.
I’m holding a tunic pattern in my hands right now that is clearly a genuflection to St. Eileen of Fisher (the patron saint of all ladies who’s waistlines are just a wistful memory). Now, I just need to choose a yarn to complete this holy garment.
Forget diamonds, past a certain age positive ease is a girl’s best friend.
I love this project so much.
I just saw, at my friend Jennifer’s blog, the most amazing knitted shawl which was designed to represent this brave woman’s journey of healing from ulcerative colitis. It’s really fabulous, and here’s the link.
http://drawn2life.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/resurrection-shawl/#comment-5663
I just saw, at my friend Jennifer’s blog, the most amazing knitted shawl which was designed to represent this brave woman’s journey of healing from ulcerative colitis. It’s really fabulous, and here’s the link.
http://drawn2life.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/resurrection-shawl/#comment-5663
Brilliant and beautiful, Ann (and so is the projeck so far). xoc
Loving this knitting journey you’re sharing. Eighth grade was pretty scary for me. The cables would be all over the place for me. ;o)
I love that difference between the front and the back. It certainly does seem like life as we think it will be and life as it is! Very clever and creative! Can’t wait to see you wear this along with some St Eileen pants!
I love this so much. It’s creative and meaningful, yet practical, and the ending is uncertain…much like life!
St. Eileen of Fisher – I love it!
Seventh and eighth grades, not bad. Ninth grade, miserable.
St. Eileen of Fisher. . . heh-heh.
kKkN4V http://www.78NLRvzfIwzacsSvHH4hdZWSkQdHROAk.com
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