here's
ben
in his "christmas" sweater, which i finished today. this was the christmas where gifts showed up late, but now we're all up to speed.
this is the third sweater i've made for ben, and we've never done it from a pattern, because he's very funny about sweaters. there are things he won't tolerate that you'd think nobody would mind (bands around the hem, any kind of ribbing at the hem or cuffs) and then there are things - like a brother cadfael-style funnel neck - that seem to just make him happy. we go in with a yarn and a gauge and, like those kids' books where you pretend you are driving the story, we point our finger and say "like this and not that" and somebody writes some stuff down and i knit it. we don't always know where we are headed with that. this sweater was initially based on an old asics workout shirt that
ben
owns, which is in such bad shape that it could be mistaken for a used swiffer cloth. however, it had these interesting seams up the front and back, portrayed here with a slipped stitch.
what we would do for the neckline remained a mystery until the very last, and it's an unexpected turn. when
ben
debuted his sweater tonight out at dinner (we were celebrating his Very Big Promotion) i kept a worried eye on that collar. was it going to flip and flop? it didn't. will it in the long run? fingers crossed, it's going to settle down more or less where it is. did i mention that the entire sweater is linen? 100%. rather hard on the hands these last few months. but worth it. you can even see the luster of it in these photos. it's wonderful. i want a linen sweater now too! the weight of it, and the fabric it makes are so much more appealing to me than any other fiber.
i'm still going to keep an eye on that neck. it's very fashion-forward and original, to me, but if
ben
walked around in the costumes from the lion in winter i'd be really happy too, and i try to keep at least half an eye on the outside world, but it's all guesswork for me, where the lines are drawn out there.
ben
is confident, and loves his sweater, and states that he now "feels empowered to be dashing". (it was a VERY Big Promotion.)