I grew up surrounded
by cornfields and ranch houses
and the only boats I ever sat in
were speedboats towing skiers
on flat lakes
I dreamed, though, of cresting waves
riding out storms
in a creaky wooden ship hauled by the wind
across a vast blue
I wanted the view from the captain's cabin
dark wood, candle stubs
mullioned windows washed by the sea
Today I live near the ocean
but rarely go to the beach
even rarer on a boat
maybe a ferry
which could almost be a bus
I watch movies with tall ships
wet and filthy sailors
greening teeth
I don't like to be cold
recoil at salt crust, grime
Still
if I woke one night
and saw a boat outside my window
I'd steal aboard
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Ribbon-Trimmed Cardigan, a Blue Sky Alpacas pattern knit up in Reynolds Whiskey.
Exhaustive details probably of interest to very few people:
I bought the ribbon a year or two ago from some company that was having a clearance sale. The ribbon was half off, so I splurged on two yards' worth, and then just kept it stashed away waiting for the right project. I liked this cardigan when I saw it, but might not have knit it if I hadn't already had the ribbon.
The lace is an organic cotton lace I got from Near Sea Naturals. It's not as soft as I expected it to be, but I really loved that the shape of it mimics the cable pattern.
I finished the principal knitting on this one quite quickly--I think within a month--but then I put it aside to think about Christmas stuff, and the finishing took at least another month. There was a lot of sewing it together--not a portable job since the yarn is very nearly black and the gauge is pretty small.
The pattern directions were a smidge less exhaustive than I might have liked, and I didn't figure out ahead of time that I wasn't leaving room to sew on the ribbons. My bad. I ended up knitting an extra-deep placket so there would be a little trough for the ribbon to lie flat in.
And then, oh god, it took almost a week to stitch those ribbons on. I wanted to do it by hand because I really, really didn't want to mess up the ribbon--or the sweater--and doing it by machine seemed like a sure-fire way for me to destroy both. So several evenings of teeny-tiny stitches... I think it's kind of charming way up close. Not so many people edge right up to my bust to examine the tiny hand stitches, but I know they're there.
One last pattern detail: the sleeves on this sweater are wicked long. I have an unfortunate tendency to knit my sleeves too short, so I went ahead and knit the full length the pattern called for. They're a good three inches longer than they really need to be, but it doesn't bother me to cuff them, and when I'm cold, it's kind of nice to pull them down over my hands a bit. No complaints from me there.
I've been wearing this sweater for about three weeks now, and I really love it. It's the sort of sweater that no one even questions might be hand-knit. It's not really the height of fashion, I don't think--mermaids and octopuses may be hot on the indie scene this season, but ships are not--but it feels like mine in a way that my other sweaters don't. It's kind of like wearing my heart on my sleeve. In private. I guess you're in on my little secret now.
