Racer

Somewhere between last week and this week I found I've tumbled headlong into what honestly feels like some type of horrible, Dickensian-era type of plague... Ok, I'm whining, I know it's just the flu but still I hate it. Fever, chills, sneezing and a lovely cough have all somehow yanked my 3 day weekend right out from under me. I slept all day Saturday and Sunday, and when I say I slept all day I mean I slept all day. No knitting, no socializing, no eating, no tv, just sleep! Today, I am feeling halfway human again. The cough still hangs on but I did manage to get up and about and get to the bank and grocery store. So by tomorrow I should have things back together, just in time to go back to work...



I finished the hemmed edge of the body of the top down raglan this week. So far I'm happy with it, it flips a little but I'm hoping blocking fixes that. It actually doesn't flip when I put it on. I got a ways into one sleeve and then realized I don't have the needle I want to do the sleeves on magic loop so I placed an order from Knitpicks and in the meantime I'm working on the second sleeve until it gets too small for the 16 inch circular. So since I'm kind of in the middle of this long slog of stockinette on the top down raglan I thought I'd take some time and go over the origins of this sweater. It's kind of funny. Well, it all starts with my favorite sweater ever, this thing



I know it's not pretty. It is pretty old though. I think I got this in high school. My dad bought it for me at the mall for my birthday one year. And yes, don't ask me why I still have it and I still wear it on my mostly-staying close to home days. There's something about it, well it is soft, yes, and black which always appeals to me. But something about the slightly open neck and the ribbing also makes it at least somewhat flattering without being too form fitting. And I like that. So all my of knitting days I've always thought in the back of my head, that I should really re-knit this sweater someday. This one is totally pilly and fuzzy and it really wouldn't be that hard to knit- 2x2 rib. The only thing I think intimidates me would be figuring out how to get the ribs to line up for the yoke. I see myself inevitably completing a body and 2 sleeves that do not fit together in any logical way at all.

Once day back at Stitches East 2005 I thought I had it figured out when I saw a sample sweater at the Shelridge Farms booth. It was ribbed and long-ish, it looked like the right silhouette and the tag said it was Unisex. But it looked girly enough to me. It's not a ball gown or anything but I figured I could wear it with jeans and I didn't think anyone would call me 'Sir' by mistake. And I liked the yarn and the price and it came in my size so I kindly asked a salesperson if they had what I wanted in stock. When they gave me the kit this was the photo on the front.



Sigh.... Anyway, I guess after I brought it home and forgot what the sample looked like and kept looking at these photos I kind of fell out of love with the pattern. Nothing against the poor lad in the photo (because let's face it he looks a lot more like a 'lad' than a 'guy' or a 'dude') but he always looks to me like a younger calmer Rowan Atkinson for some reason.


And while I adore Rowan Atkinson I just don't think I'm up for wearing a calmer, younger version of his sweater. Even though it appears that perhaps the designer originally meant for this to be a women's sweater pattern after all!



The writing saying unisex was on the pattern when I bought it, not my writing. But still it's Rowan's sweater and I needed to go my own way. Anyway, the yarn is great and hopefully my top down raglan comes out ok. If in the end I totally hate it for some reason you know I could always frog the whole thing and knit myself a Racer...