twenty years is not enough

I've loved reading this blog, and now that I have a digital camera, I can join in. I've been knitting with EZ for nearly twenty years, and I can't express how much comfort her chatty and sensible writing has brought me in some very dark moments, and how much joy it's brought me (and hopefully some other people) to have warm, useful, and ornamental garments from her patterns.

I bought a copy of Knitter's Almanac after my freshman year of college, in 1988. When I took a survey of all of the sweaters I've made from her patterns, I realized that they pretty much chart my life. Above is the first EZ sweater I made, the "fishtrap" Aran from KA. I started it in 1988, but I don't think I finished it until 1992. I was biting off a bit more than I could chew as a newish knitter. It's made from worsted weight Naturespun.

I then bought Knitting without Tears, and turned out several yoke sweaters:

This one on the left I made in 1989 from Lamb's Pride Bulky for my then-boyfriend (now husband). I did it in a week of frenetic knitting in time for Christmas. It turned out he doesn't like heavy sweaters, so it came back to me, and I've been wearing it several times a week from October to May (I live in Wisconsin) ever since.

This one I made for my mom from wool I purchased from the Navajo Wool Marketing Association, which I highly recommend for knitting; it's a soft single-ply worsted weight and it comes in a rainbow of colors. It also felts well and easily, as my mom discovered when she washed it on the warm water setting in the machine. As EZ would say, "Eheu."

An EZ Raglan I made with wool I bought near Delphi in Greece. It's extremely scratchy wool, but I like the colors. I enjoy the way that the neck shaping worked with the stripes (you can just see next to the neck).

I've made several February baby sweaters and leggings as well. The best sweaters I don't have pictures of since I gave them as gifts. The yarn my favorite baby sweater was made out of was Dale Babyull. I also made a pair of hilarious toddler-sized leggings out of self-striping sock yarn.

On the right is one well-loved February sweater I made for my infant daughter 8 years ago. It is made from Paton's Sock wool at 6.5 stitches per inch. My daughter wore it from 0-3 months. Below left is the only tomten I've attempted, made from Lion Brand cotton. It turned out to fit a 3-5 year old. Note the mismatched zipper job. Oh well, it still works well.

Below are two other sweaters for my kids: The pink one is a yoke seamless sweater which I made as a cardigan. It's made from Patons Classic Merino. I chickened out and made it knitting back and forth instead of steeking. I'm going to master steeks for the next one, though. The gray one is a gansey, patterned on one from Knitter's Workshop. I loved making this sweater, especially with the garter stitch shoulder strap to connect the shoulders. After I connected the shoulders, I picked up stitches from front and back and knit the sleeves from the top down. It is made from vintage Reynolds worsted weight wool. The label looked like it might have been made in the 60's.

And what's next? I'd like to try a baby surprise sweater. The exciting colors I've been seeing them come in are inspiring. And I think I could use a good cardigan. And I've always dreamed of making "nether garments" from luxurious sock wool. . .