Where There's Hope, There's a New Sweater

One of the issues I grappled with early after diagnosis was: what the heck do I knit now? Sweaters and lace shawls are wonderful to make and wear, but they take a while to complete. An added consideration is how much wear they will get now that I’m retired. I could certainly wear that gorgeous lace-bottomed cardigan around the house, but will I? Does this mean that I had best restrict myself to small projects and gifts for other people to wear?



Gifts are another issue all by themselves. It’s surprisingly difficult to knit a gift that the recipient likes, or uses. Socks are the best bet, but even they are problematic.



I have resolved this issue by deciding to knit what I feel like knitting. This means that I now have a new sweater. I finished it in time to wear on a recent trip to Cape Cod (although not in time to wear to my retirement dinner).



Here I am in Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts, by a memorial to Rachel Carson. Wood’s Hole is a fascinating spot, as scientific work provides a lot of jobs in the area though NOAA and the Marine Biological Laboratory. I found out that Rachel Carson worked for NOAA. She is an important person in my life, because her book Silent Spring was my introduction to ecology.



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Other views of the sweater:



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The pattern is Damariscotta, designed by Marnie MacLean and available at the Twist Collective. I knit it in a Canadian yarn, Specialty Designer Yarns 50% Bamboo 50% Merino. It’s soft and cushy, warm and breathable. The sweater has shaping, is knit from the top down in the round, and was designed to have cap sleeves. When I got the body done, I had a lot of yarn left, enough to make 3/4 length sleeves. They seem more appropriate to the weight of the yarn and the tone of my arms than the original sleeve would have been.



The pictures above are a good demonstration of how hard it is to photograph yarn colors accurately. Three photographs, three shades of purple. The actual sweater is very close to Radiant Orchid, Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2014.



As for hope, blood tests indicate that the targeted chemotherapy I’m taking is working, and I am feeling remarkably well. I have cast on a lace shawl to celebrate.

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