Sweater Seeds

I crossed it off tonight.  Two bold lines through the item on the Big Project list of Things I get to do today.  It felt good on so many levels.  Finishing a project that was started nearly three years ago is benefit enough, but with the completion of this "get to" comes cozy, colorful warmth for years to come.

Sweater seeds

I finished my sweater!!  It all began with the cutest mittens you can imagine--the ones that pop their tops off to reveal half covered fingers.  A Christmas present from Aimee.  But then we visited the yarn shop in her town.

Unwound skeins of luscious wool

All knitters know it is just common courtesy to buy yarn if you even glance into a wool shop.  So I was polite enough to leave them with several hundred dollars in exchange for yarn that was a reasonable match to my mittens.  I could feel the snuggle of the sweater against the sharp cold that day even though the skeins were still in the bag.  That's the way it is with knitters.  We can imagine the miles of wool fibers in their final form.  It's not necessary to focus on the hours of knitting/pearling between that yarn in the sack and the future sweater on ones back.

My wool-winder makes tidy, manageable balls of yarn--real magic.

Knitting seems incongruous with summer.  So most of my knitting time comes slowly with the chill of fall and that first frost when little fairies and miniature superheroes stand shivering on the front step chirping "Trick or Treat."

Lumpy and curly sweater parts

Now three falls and winters later, the project and, I must admit, guilt of not finishing it have built enough momentum to carry it through.  The body and the sleeves are eager to find their true connection.  

Pressed and ready to assemble

With the help of the iron, steam, a measuring tape and careful attention, the willful lumps become supple, compliant, recognizable pieces of a sweater.

Now I'm on a roll.  All other tasks, "get to's" and "have to's" are set aside as I focus total energies on the neck and front bands.  As soon as the most obvious yarn tails are worked into their roots, I wrap myself into the brand-new hug of this garment and head off to Josephine's Dry Goods for buttons.  From their exquisite selection the perfect ones head home with me to be attached.

Suppose it will stand out in a crowd?  

Here's the thing, there's enough yarn left over for several little projects that will no doubt "go to seed."
It's probably a knitter's weed.