This is the second time I have made this jumper, the first time being from yarn I bought in Iceland. I always felt that this first one was a little large, so bought some wool from The Stash Cupboard in Hobart (closed down now, so sad) which I thought would be lovely. It is a New Zealand yarn called “Outlaw” and it is 45% Polwarth (a breed of sheep) 45% Alpaca and 10% Possum) and I knew it would be light but warm as possum fur really adds warmth due to the hollow nature of the fibres.
I thought I’d knit it on the trip to New York, but I realised that I had packed really badly because of my panic over the weather, and I brought lots of outerwear, and lots of thermal wear, but almost nothing to wear in the middle, leaving all that in a pile on the guestroom bed! This meant that I suddenly needed to finish the jumper in a hurry and therefore furiously knitted it on planes, trains and automobiles.
I also thought I’d sneak a few wears of the jumper I knitted Mark to help my wardrobe problems along, but he has steadfastly held on to it, so this new jumper became more and more urgent.
I finished it on the train home from our trip to Washington DC and with no means of blocking it, I just gave it a light steam. I immediately began wearing it, and it got its first outing to Purl Soho, which I felt was appropriate. Mark took some photos of me, but I discovered I was a source of entertainment for people sitting on the seat at the front of the shop and so chose that photograph.
It wasn’t until I was writing this post and dug out the pattern that I realised that I had chosen the same colour as the one on the model. I include it because it shows the pattern a little better than any of my photos. I don’t think I’ll be wearing mine with silky striped shorts, as tempting as they are!
I wore it to the top of the Freedom Tower, which has the most sensational views over NYC. It also has one of the fastest lifts I’ve ever been in. (See here for my post on 9/11)
Here I am with my lovely youngest son, Archie. I have two other layers under this top, including a thermal, but Archie is sitting there in a t-shirt!
As I was knitting I began to stress about having enough yarn. This is what I had left over, which I think is a good result.
This was a simple knit which made it a perfect candidate for travel knitting. I was so pleased to finish it so that it could be added to my travel wardrobe and I was thrilled to be able to wear it for my two-day meetup with my friend Hélène, where we shopped, ate, talked and laughed non-stop, visited the Downton Abbey Exhibition, and did some serious sightseeing.
Hélène is wearing her hand-knits too. She was knitting the scarf when we caught up in Montréal last year, so it was lovely to see it finished.
Such great memories! Thanks for including me in your delightful post. Love xx
My pleasure. Thank you for coming all the way to NYC to have an adventure with me!
You look like your having a great time! I can’t believe you knit this up on your trip! I guess Archie must be used to the weather? I prefer many layers though, just in case.
Archie has well and truly acclimatised! I just noticed that it snowed overnight so more layers required!
The yarn looks lovely! I haven’t heard about possum being a spinning fiber and I’m pretty intrigued now, he he 🙂 the sweater is lovely, it fits you really well and I like the pattern at the yoke and hem.
Thanks Katharina. You knit a trip to New Zealand! Possums are vermin there so they have a whole industry around the fur. Not sure how they spin it in though.
Love the new haircut , you look great.
Thanks Gill. It’s easy to manage but I’m still uncertain about it.
The sweater looks very nice and good job foe having made it whilst travelling! That was pretty fast!!\It looks lovely on you, even without the stripey shorts 🙂
It needs some serious blocking but it is lovely and warm. Thanks Judith.
Such a happy post! Your sweater is divine and the picture of you with Helene (sorry but I can’t find how to put accents above letters on my laptop!) is so lovely. Meeting with like-minded friends is the best.
Thank you Diane, it was fabulous to meet up with Hélène again. To get the accents just hold the e down and they appear. 😉
As a novice knitter….what is “blocking”. Love the pattern
Blocking helps to shape your knitting, evening out stitches and making things lie flat. My jumper really does need to be blocked, especially around the upper body. Craftsy has a nice tutorial https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/05/blocking-knitting-tutorial/
I love the idea of a yarn including possum! The sweater is lovely, and I’m sure it was both admired by others and appreciated by you. Purl Soho patterns are lovely – I’m working on one now. My holiday knitting tends to be a small project, maybe socks, but I like the idea of a jumper.
Any problems with knitting needles on planes? (I presume you use circular needles?)
Yes, I always use circulars for everything and the only place I’ve ever been questioned was Heathrow but they let me keep them. Possum in yarn is gorgeous, but I don’t know how they do it. New Zealand is full of things made from possum. A jumper is a great holiday project but it can get big to lug around. I am currently knitting socks – lots of socks!
Loved reading this post as I cannot believe you knitted this during your trip! I’d have been a nervous wreck but you make knitting sound oh-so-easy. This is a beautiful sweater and love the color and design that is knitted within. Had to laugh as you pointed out all the layers you were wearing vs. your son in short-sleeves!! But also noticed your great big smile as you sat by your son. Loved all the photos you and Helene shared. You two clearly have a special friendship. 🙂
Thanks Lisa. It was so lovely to see our son but we’ve left now so won’t see him again until April. The sweater is really warm but I will be pleased to get it blocked properly!
PS. Yes, it’s so nice to catch up with our sewing friends.