The Sweater Dreams Are Made Of

There is a sweater. A sweater with a history. A sweater that was bought at a thrift store perhaps as far back as the 80’s. A sweater made of some sort of scary synthetic material that doesn’t seem to age. A sweater that might simply melt if it were to catch on fire (which parts of it probably have).   A sweater of confusing size. Is it a small? An extra large? Who can say? A sweater that is, and has always has been, brandless. A sweater that perhaps should not be worn in public anymore. But, a sweater that has not only been loved, but coveted, and repeatedly stolen by the women of the Burns house.  I’m talking about that legendary, light blue, confusingly nubby, mindbogglingly loose gauge, single cable, sweater of my dreams. That sweater originally resided with my mother, but seems to hop closets on a semi-regular basis. It’s witnessed Disney movies, poor decisions at college, European monuments, and currently it’s cruising around South America because my sister Emily swiped it. It’s the sort of sweater that endures.

Whenever I’ve asked my mother what type of sweater she would want me to knit for her she always asks for one just like her blue sweater. I’ve attempted in the past, but alas, did not understand gauge so well. I seem to have a much better handle on it now, and before we went to the Southern Adk Fiber Festival we talked again about what makes that sweater so perfect. We determined it’s the combination of a loosish gauge, a simple design, a somewhat oversize feeling, and a fabric that is warm but not overbearing. Before we went we decided it should be a cotton/wool blend. Other than the yarn blend and general size idea, we had no pattern or other thoughts. When we got to the festival, one of the first booths we got to caught my eye right away.

This and That Farm in VT had a cotton/cormo blend spun at Green Mountain Spinnery and I was pretty much hooked from the first squeeze. We wandered around to see other options, but both really wanted to buy directly from the woman who owns the farm. It was the most incredible yarn I saw at the whole fest. So we went back to buy it, and tried to figure out how much to buy. I was in a math frenzy on my phone, and the woman at the booth mentioned someone had knit a great Brooklyn Tweed pattern out of that yarn. Brooklyn Tweed’s patterns make me salivate openly, so I asked her which one and she pointed me toward Nord by Veronique Avery.

Copyright Brooklyn Tweed www.brooklyntweed.com

 

IT’S THE SWEATER. But a grownup, public appropriate, hand knit version. I literally could have kissed her but decided  she probably just wanted to sell me some yarn and that’s it. I cast it on right away and have been knitting it on and off for a month or so. I just finished the front and it is such a clever construction. The yarn is perfectly light but has much more energy than I would think a cotton blend would. I seriously want every garment from here on out knit in this stuff. The finished sweater is going to be so lovely I just might steal it.

Just kidding, Mom.