Finished…With A Little Help From A Friend

It’s Done!  This is the Cahaba River Jacket.

Sometimes, unfinished business turns into an albatross around one’s neck.  I reached that point with this sweater, after the knitting was complete.  I knit the sweater from the yarn the pattern was written for, a slubby thick and thin cotton boucle, Iron Cotton from Ironstone Yarns.  It resulted in a really beautiful, loose-weave fabric, that pretty much demanded the lining that the pattern called for.

I learned to sew from my grandmother at an early age, but I rarely sew clothing.  I’m far more likely to be jamming wood veneers or old book pages beneath the needle of my much love Bernina, for a mixed-media art project.  Every time I thought about cutting out the free form, patternless lining, and somehow getting it neatly sewn in, I found other really important things to do.  You know, stuff like cleaning out the refrigerator or folding laundry.  Finally, I realized I had that dreaded disease, lining-anxiety.

The lovely Donna, proprietress of In The Making, my favorite local yarn store, and creator of the pattern, is one busy chick.  I have no idea how she does all the things she does, but I finally caught her in a weak moment, and she agreed to do the lining for me.

It came out perfectly!

And many thanks to Shanna, who scored this beautiful fabric for me and sent it from Japan!

Following my policy of being able to cast on at least one new project for every one "I" complete, I turned to my new manos silk/merino yarn and the Anthropologie Shrug pattern.  This dreadful photo doesn’t reflect the beauty of this yarn — it is the same colorway I used for a felted bowl last fall, only to suffer horrible disappointment when the colors merged too much in felting.  In the back of my mind I always knew I would use this colorway again, so when I saw it in the silk blend, it was only a matter of finding the right pattern.  I’m double stranding the worsted weight to hit gauge, and looking forward to this straightforward, quick (famous last words) knit.

I suppose the moral of the story is, it’s never so bad that you can’t ask a friend for a little bit of help.  Ellie is absolutely in love with the outcome, and this sweater is one of those knits that makes you understand the potential in knitting.  It’s a fabulous pattern, and the result is far more beautiful than anything you could ever purchase.  As much as I dislike being unable to finish something on my own, I’m incredibly happy that it’s finished — and was worn to school this morning!