The Sweater

It is common lore in the knitting world that you should never make a sweater for your boyfriend.  Why? Because sure as shootin', you invest all that time and money to make it then you break up.  So, never make a Boyfriend Sweater.  A Husband Sweater on the other hand, well, that is a no-brainer!

In the 6 years I've been knitting, my darling husband has watched me make countless diaper covers, sweaters, hats, mittens and other things for the kids.  He watched me make myself socks, a beautiful scarf and a hats.  He has gotten 1 pair of socks and that is it.

Jeremy has asked me for a sweater numerous times.  I always made some excuse not to do it and it was forgotten.  Last year he turned 30.  I thought it would be such a great gift to give him a sweater for his 30th birthday.  So we scoured Ravelry in search of patterns.  When we found Retrofit by Jesse Loesberg, we knew it was a match made in heaven.  Perfect for my skinny man, and it looked to be a relatively easy knit.  Next up, finding the perfect yarn.  Working on a budget meant that I wasn't going to use an expensive yarn.  However, if I am investing that kind of time into something, I want a yarn that will 1. hold up and 2. be good to work with.  So, we went with Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks.  Being a man, he wanted manly colors (boring)...black and gray. 

I had this dream that I would get it started in January and have it done for his birthday on February 24.  His birthday came and I had the back done and was started on the sleeves.  Sleeves always take the longest for me and these were no exception.  As the days grew warmer, I justified not working on it as intensely because even if I did finish it, he couldn't wear it right then anyway.  So, I worked on it here and there, took it on our vacation this summer and worked on it in the car.

The days started growing shorter and colder and I realized that I was thisclose to finishing his sweater!  So, I kicked into high gear and finished on December 23.  Almost 11 months to the day.  I have told him he's lucky he's a size Medium, or he may not have gotten a sweater!

He loves it.  He wore it for 3 days straight.  I love it, such a fun knit.  I don't love how the zipper turned out, it puckers a little bit, but it is okay.  One of Jeremy's coworkers said that her Grandma used to knit a flaw into everything she made saying, "God is the only one who makes anything perfect".  I like that and am now making that my knitting motto.