After last week, it seemed that winter was nearly over here in London, so of course I decided to finally get a start on Rowan's Finna for my daughter. That makes no sense, but that's the way I roll. Turned chilly, windy and rainy so didn't seem quite so stupid today.It's a nice fair isle pattern, but I'm glad that I got on Ravelry to check out the comments. Although it's pretty evident from the photo, I'm not sure I would have been observant enough to notice the extra-large neckline. I think I'll knit up a bit higher and go less wide on the shoulders.
Bought the yarn online and had it delivered. It looked a little more blue than grey in the photo, so I wasn't quite prepared for what I received. C'est la vie! I think Chi would have liked it better in a blue, but she's so easy-going about it all that I kept it. The pattern is very large, which was also mentioned on Ravelry. I thought I might go sort of big for her anyway so knitted a medium first, but I think that size would have hung on me, so I frogged it and knitted a small. Back is done and the front is on the needles, so it's time for a post after a year.
I'm knitting for my daughter. That doesn't happen much anymore. I knit hats and scarves and the like for them, but I haven't knitted anything "big" for a few years. I knit for babies all the time. I think there's something about how long it takes to make sweaters for bigger kids and the fact that they continue to grow, and grow out of my creations that makes it less than appealing. Let's call it the time-knitting to the time-wearing ratio. I think there's a mathematical formula there that explains everything.
But now I'm pretty sure my eldest is about done growing. At 5'8" she's now my height and although slighter, she's gotten past that middle school skinny stage. I now feel that anything I knit her, she will either wear forever or until it wears out, or I can take it back and wear it myself. If worse comes to worse, we can always hope that one day her little sister might steal it away. I just want things I knit to find a home and be appreciated.
So all this growing up talk makes me a little pensive. Yesterday my daughter said, "Can you believe that we're only a couple weeks away from 4th quarter? Pretty soon I'll be a sophomore!" Only three years left with her... It seems like only yesterday she was a tiny little thing and everyone with older kids was saying, "Appreciate every minute; they grow so fast." It seemed cliche at the time and all I could think was about getting more sleep. I think sleep deprivation really keeps you from enjoying it to the fullest, if at all :)
So I'm going to work on my Finna sweater and think about those 15 years I some how let slip by so quickly. Some of those stitches will make me think of the giggles and smiles and silliness. Some will make me think of the all my worries--cuts and bruises, the hurt feelings, and tears. Others will make me wonder how my daughter turned out to be so much better than I ever was at her age. I often tell people my kids are somehow more evolved than I ever was. I think I was well into my 20s or even 30s before I had their wisdom. I will knit all those feelings and thoughts into the sweater. I will sew it up with all my love and hope it will keep her warm and happy and healthy. What I'm trying to say is it's nice to want to knit for my eldest daughter finally. It seems an important milestone in my knitting.
Let's now take bets on whether the sweater will ever be worn. Whether she'll like it or whether she'll complain about it being too itchy, or too big, or too small... Just kidding. That's not really fair. She is a knitter (a better one than she likes to admit) and knows the time put into a project like a sweater. She will appreciate it. And even if she doesn't like it, I can be rest assured that she will say she likes it and will wear it. She's a good egg, and she deserves someone to knit her more than a hat. Off I go.
