Finished At Last!

I actually started knitting this jumper last winter so I was determined to get it finished before the cold weather really set in this year. It took a bit of sorting out as I’d left it half done for so long, I couldn’t even remember which size I had opted to knit it in. I’ve used this pattern quite a few times since I originally did it way back in the 1970s when I was a teenager and knitted the smallest size, this one is two sizes bigger but I was a real skinny-malinky as a teenager so it’s not as bad as it sounds.

1970s knitted jumper

The great thing about this pattern is that the jumper is nice and long so it keeps my bahookie (bum) warm and I need that especially as it was freezing last night and it’s only October. We gave in and put our central heating on despite the price hikes (does the price ever come down when the global price of gas goes down? – I don’t think so.)

Anyway, I was determined to finish the jumper before going on to the next knitting project, I have so many sewing projects on the go at the moment and I don’t want to get into the same fankle with knitting too. But it’s crucial that I start on the babies’ bootees and scratch mits which I said I would knit for a baby boy who is due to be born any day now. Laura’s best friend will be his mummy and Laura (our son Gordon’s betrothed) has been chosen as a godmother. How different it all is from my day when the big excitement was whether it was going to be a boy or a girl, and it was deemed to be bad luck to buy anything for the baby before it was safely in this world. He has even been named already!

The other bit of knitting comment I want to make is that I was absolutely chuffed when I was leafing through a pile of knitting patterns in a charity shop a few weeks ago, to find the pattern on the left. It is a copy of a pattern which my mum used ever since I can remember, she knitted my dad the lower right hand zipped cardigan/jacket every other year it seemed. As you can see it’s a pre-decimal priced pattern from about 1950 I think. In fact her copy of the pattern eventually fell apart but by then she had done it so many times she didn’t need the instructions. I don’t suppose I’ll ever knit anything from the pattern but it’s just nice to have it as a reminder. Dad died in 1980 when he was just 55 and whenever I think of him he’s wearing one of those knitted jackets.

12 thoughts on “Finished At Last!

  1. Very nice sweater. Congratulations on finishing the project. I am impressed with anyone who can actually do a garment like this. I started knitting about 5 years ago and I only did one (cabled) scarf and several pairs of fingerless gloves. Haven’t done either crocheting or knitting in 3 years now.

    • TracyK,
      I’ve been knitting ever since I can remember, possibly even before I went to school but I’ve never tackled gloves, even fingerless ones sound complicated to me. I’ve just started to get back into knitting, when my kids were wee I somehow just wasn’t able to concentrate on patterns. I’ve only ever crocheted granny squares and blankets.

    • Lisa,
      Thanks. I’ve always found knitting easier than crocheting which is a shame because I think crocheting ‘grows’ faster. I think it just depends what you learned first, practise makes perfect I suppose. I’m tempted to crochet a baby blanket as I’ve been looking at knitting patterns for them and it would take me quite a while to complete one.

  2. That looks a warm wooly pully. I have a friend who is going to have a little boy so the blue wool needs to come out for booties. Though I might try and convince my mum to knit them, and I’ll stitch something!

    I really don’t like the idea of naming babies before they are born. To me you are already giving them a personality based on a name without letting someone grow into it. Strange concept perhaps?

    We have lots of my nan’s knitting patterns which we are still going through, some are from the Second World War and just after. Just wish she was around to ask about them.

    • Jo,
      I completely agree with you about naming babies, I don’t know how it can be done when you haven’t seen the child yet. Our first son was nameless for the first five days as we couldn’t agree on any names. I came up with lots of ideas but Jack only liked Benedict – to be called Ben, usually a bad sign in my experience! We ended up calling him Duncan which is Jack’s middle name, I’ve got used to it over the years.
      It would be nice if there was space on knitting patterns to pencil in which ones you had knitted, when and for whom. It would make interesting reading over the years, especially when you inherit them as you have. It’s nice that your nan held on to them for posterity.

  3. How nice it must be to be so talented! I cannot knit or crochet. The sweater is lovely. My ex mother in law made a zipper cardigan like this pattern for Lee when he was wee. It had Snoopy on it and was gorgeous. She finished it and put it on him and he looked at her and said where is the pocket? She took it off and added his pocket!

    • Peggy Ann,
      What a lovely mother in law/granny! And how typical of a wee boy to want a pocket. It’s never too late to start knitting, crocheting, quilting!

  4. I learned a new word to add to the vocabulary section of my Scottish journal-bahookie! Lovely sweater.
    Thanks.

    • Lorraine,
      If you want to look at a lot more Scots words and their meanings you should click on Scottish words in the Categories section on the right hand side of ‘pining’. It’s an education – of sorts!

      • It’s the reason I have a special “vocabulary” section in my journal! I used a few in general conversation with my girls and kiddingly they think I’m “spending a little too much time w/those Scottish blogs.”If I ever get to Scotland, I’ll sound like a local.

        • Lorraine,
          Spread the words! You’re doing a good job and it’s necessary as youngsters here aren’t so good at using them, they’re more enamoured of US words and phrases like – kick to the kerb! – which I think means to get rid of something.

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