Dear Ann,
Habemus Ranger.
It took me three full months to knit this sweater. Started at Christmas, finished on Easter Sunday.
I blame psychology. It is my nature to resist and delay doing things that I’m supposed to do, even if I’m doing them with a willing heart, and especially if it was my idea in the first place. I think what was really going on with Ranger, though, was performance anxiety. I really wanted to get Ranger right. I measured a sweater that fit the recipient, I calculated, I swatched. Things kept going wrong. The sleeve-as-swatch that missed gauge even after blocking, the simple slip-stitch pattern whose texture masked mistakes until I’d knit several inches past them, that episode with the missing short rows. I kept stopping and starting, forgetting my place, needing to pin my restless brain down to concentrate. And the whole time, the sinking feeling that it looked too small.
Then I blocked it; now I’m worried that it’s too big. I hope this means that it’s Just Right. I’ll find out soon; I’m delivering it this week.
It seemed fitting that as I was sewing on the recommended horn buttons, Olive snatched up one of them and took it to her hidey-hole under the bed. By the time I’d lured her away (by going to the kitchen, opening the fridge and popping the lid off a Pyrex full of chicken tajine) and retrieved the button, it was no longer a button. (Luckily I had a spare.)
Ranger is a beautifully designed and written pattern for a classic cardigan. I particularly love the texture of the stitch pattern: a nubbly, flat rib on the right side, with waffle ridges on the inside. Knit in Brooklyn Tweed’s Shelter (shade: Old World), the garment looks (and is) sturdy, yet feels so deliciously light. I love the aerodynamic highlighting of the raglan seams with 5 stitches of heel stitch. I love the neat stand-up collar. If this Ranger doesn’t fit Gael’s Stephen, it will fit somebody deserving, and it will become his favorite sweater. And I’ll knit another Ranger, probably a lot faster, with confidence that it will fit. I sure as heck know how to get gauge now.
What I need now is a total yee-ha, Thelma & Louise freedom knit. Either something mindless, or something Epic and Impossible. Guess which way I’m leaning. (Hint: vintage Kaffe. Pattern that predates the Internet, and possibly word processing. If this still seems like a good idea at the end of the day, I’m casting on.)
Love,
Kay
Vintage Kaffe! Sign me up! (to watch…)
A too big sweater is much easier to love than a too small sweater; I’m sure yours is just right, though. Jolly good show.
It’s a GREAT idea!
(I have just cast on an epic-for-me knit and want to see someone else do the same. Two hours to knit three rows. 67 stitches per row. Three colours. I was watching True Blood at the same time.)
Congrats! It’s beautiful. It’s classic. I love the buttons.
That sweater turned out gorgeous! I am sure the lucky recipient will love wearing it for years and years.
Kay, it’s gorgeous!! Well done, you!! Worth all the angst.
vintage Kaffe! I’m so impressed. I’ve never seen one of those knit outside of the pages of a book. And, congratulations on finishing the Ranger – it’s gorgeous.
Never alone, Kay. I finished a man’s sweater on Easter Monday. Beau by Kim Hargreaves. Started on Thanksgiving. Had the Yorkshire Tweed laid by for 8 years. (Mark should have gotten it for his 40th…)
Pics or it didn’t finally happen!
Mark doesn’t look a day over 40.
This sweater is my perfect sweater. I am going to have to check out the pattern. As for Vintage Kaffe – can’t wait to see what you choose, though choosing may take awhile….
I have that Kaffe book on a shelf. Will you do the coat? Swooning.
Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease!
Three full months to finish a sweater and there has to be blame? Shoot, I’ve had unfinished potholders much older than that!
The sweater is beautiful, Kay. You rocked it! It oozes “made with love and care”. May the recipient wear it in good health, as my Greek grandmother would say.
Gorgeous — looks like a sweater my picky son would like. But yikes! if it took you 3 months, it’ll take me over a year! I’d better get started 🙂
It is so totally lovely! As for the 3 months, fie! If it were meant to be done instantly it wouldn’t be hand knit.
It is a classic hit. Beautiful lines, subdued but rich colour. Reckon the wearer will look very stylish in it.
Dear Kay,
Habemus…Masterpiece . Or Victory. You have been victorious over all the challenges thrown at you with this pattern and created a masterpiece. Whoever finally gets this beauty better darn well know it. And live kind of far away from Olive.
Beautiful classic sweater. Hope the recipient appreciates all the work that went into it’s creation. have fun picking out another project!
Kaffe who? Ha ha ha fooled ya. Kaffe before the Internet…hmmmmmm
Love this Ranger…need to see it on the recipient to prove that it is “just right” which I bet it is!
it’s lovely!
What vintage Kaffe are you picking? I have about 4 of his kits lovingly stashed. And I only have several inches to knit and a billion ends to weave in my China Clouds.
You actually knitted China Clouds? Be still my procrastinating heart. About 10 years ago I spent much time putting together the yarns, enlarging the charts, writing a color code for myself… then stalled. The one-size-fits-all design gives me pause. So do the billion ends!
Laura, technically, I am still knitting it. If I’d just pick it back up, I’d get it done. I did weave in a lot of ends as I went. When I’d get tired, it was mindless but productive work. My back was knit one size (huge) and the fronts smaller. It seems to be OK, fit-wise…so I should finish it. I did buy the yarn when the pattern was brand new. I think I started knitting it then, too! 🙂
My usual recovery from an epic knit is a dishcloth. Go you!
(Kaffe inspired dishcloth?)
Perfect.
Congrats on a perfect finish! What a classic. That looks like the sweater that everyone will reach for when it’s hung over the back of a chair. The recipient may wish to add a “Please Return To Lucky Owner” tag.
I have a similar conflict when it comes to deadline-ish knitting projects. It doesn’t make sense at all; I *want* to knit the thing, I’m *happy* to knit the thing, but because I created an expectation in someone else that I will knit the thing, there’s a weird resistance to picking up the needles. It’s why I rarely test-knit a pattern; no matter how much I love it and want to knit it, I know it may become a chore. Usually I’m better off just buying the released pattern after it’s been tested by better and/or more psychologically balanced knitters than me.
I’m so envious of your knitting. Ann’s too. I’m in a knitting rut. So I’ll just live vicariously through you two.
BeaUtiful sweater, btw. Can’t wait to see the next one.
Beautiful sweater! Thanks for posting.
Gorgeous, Kay. I admire your persistence and obstinance (and taste). I’m just now in the phase of the Stopover KAL ALONE halfway up to the end of the beginning, pre-sleeve. Love the yarn but fear finishing by the time the hazy, hot & humid weather hits the DC area. Posted my beginnings on Instagram. Looking forward to what’s next for you.
Wow, what a perfect sweater for a lucky guy. 😀
Well I reckon you know what I hope you’ll do … Nothing like some voyeuristic armchair knitting!
I can’t believe I’m admitting this in public, on a knitting blog, but I’m coming down the home stretch on a sweater that I started last May. I remember it clearly because I was swatching on a train ride to Seattle. To my credit (maybe), I put it down for long stretches, a couple months at a time. But still….
As the “slowest knitter in the world” TM, I think three months is amazing! Ranger is one on my son’s list of sweaters he’d wear, so someday, maybe. I hope it fits as intended, but as you say, a great sweater will always find a home. Congrats!
I’m knitting Sally Melville’s L’Enveloppe, which can be a palate cleanser, I think. But vintage Kaffe – I’m hoping you dive in the deep end 😉
Great sweater! I find the greatest tarns through the MDK posts.
Go for the Kaffe!
Gorgeous sweater. I’m really jealous of those button bands.
The sweater is fab! The finishing is perfect. And I now know to keep my horn buttons away from Rose, my miniature poodle.
Kay – It’s a beautiful sweater! I’ll bet it will fit the guy just fine. Dang that Olive!!! Such a precocious little thing…glad you had an extra button. Cheers!
Your Ranger turned out very handsome! Congratulations! (And, Olive was just helping. The button failed the Olive Durability Test; therefore, the remaining buttons should not be machine washed or dried.)
As for never-ending knitting, why not one of those old counterpane patterns? The kind made of hundreds of lacy, knitted squares? All knit from crochet cotton? For a king=sized bed?
I had a ten year Afghan…long story. Finally finished and well loved. Now a moth hole and an almost invisible repair after some swearing and tears. Now my sister and friend want some repairs too. Yuck.
It is a wonderful sweater. I think 3 months for a sweater is very reasonable. I also think that making it right is worth it. I also love to knit the second one with the knowledge acquired from the first one!!
Love the sweater…brava! It would take me at least twice as long without all the headaches.
Vintage Kaffe? Epic and impossible? Foolish Virgins? Will love watching whichever you choose.
Good job. How many men are worthy of such a project? As for vintage Kaffe, I have an ancient Tumbling Blocks cardigan that I still wear (at home) even though it is huge and ratty. It pretty much cured me of allover intarsia.
Being cured of allover intarsia sounds like something you need to see a dermatologist for. Itchy I imagine. Struck me as very funny.
I tried a three colour a row Kaffe 8 pointed star pattern years ago, WTF?…not fun, never completed beyond a few inches. I would still like that sweater tho’.
Beautiful! It sounds as if others found it a tricky knit, as well
Love the “Habemus Ranger.”
Former Latin student?
I think it means the fumata blanca has been sent upward and this is the announcement from the (virtual) balcony! lol
Kay, I have read enough of the comments to google my way into some pictures of exactly what “vintage Kaffe” might entail. I’m excited to see it! I’m working on socks (yay portability) but I am nearly dying for something Large and Ridiculous. The other problem is that I am in warm and sunny Florida, and therefore Large and Ridiculous isn’t going to get a lot of use.
Kay, your Ranger is lovely! Nice work, ma’am.
Given the trend of mesh & lace & dropped stitches within sweaters, perhaps you could do a bit of a mash up? Stripes of what I imagine the kaffe looks like with strips of more open work. Or tun the sweater into a cardi style vest? Use yarn that is t wool? I think you should go for it!
Ps I’m envious of your climate! In NYC we had 50mph gusts that were not spring temperature — folks were walking dogs in down!
I have had the yarn for Foolish Virgins for nearly 20 years:)) When I saw the coverlet on which it was based at Vesterheim, I knew that I WILL knit it one day. Can’t wait to see what you cook up!
Well done, and good looking! And your post title made me snort out loud.
Looking forward to seeing what you do next, especially because it sounds like something I wouldn’t do!
Cladonia! So pretty
What a beautiful sweater! I know where to come for advice when I finally get around to knitting this for my husband. Well done!
P.S. FYI – not only is 3 months not long for mere mortal knitters but I do believe you knit a lopi in betwixt. Just sayin’… Since all I’ve knit in 2016 was a small cowl. Currently, I’m even failing in a KAL for a small very- pretty-and-would-be-so-very useful-for-dog-walking cowl