I didn’t expect to feel this way. With the school year drawing to a close and a full year’s Leave of Absence ahead of me,  I thought I’d be jumping for joy, trying not to let the door hit me as I scurry out on the last day of school.
Instead, I find myself wanting to slow time down, just a bit, these last 2 weeks. My soft heart is insisting on one last, compassionate push before I go. I need reassurance that my kids will be OK over the summer. With 7 of my 10 students in fluctuating foster home placements and 2 others in a very volatile home, summer may be a difficult time for them. It’s not necessarily the golden months of sun and freedom many of us remember.
Will they be cared for? fed? Will they have some structure?guidelines? security? During the school year we provide so much more than an education. In our inner city school we feed, clothe, discipline and love them everyday.

These are the questions that plague me as I pack up my boxes.
For one of my students at least, the answer has arrived encouragingly. After living in 12 different group homes in 9 short years of life, Jacob has been placed in a foster home on an acreage outside of the city. He told me he hopes this one will be his “forever home”. To let him know how much he’s wanted the new foster parents are throwing him a ‘welcome home’ party next week, to which we’re all invited. What a kind, loving thing to do! I’m overjoyed to know that Jacob’s life is about to improve.
Now for the rest of them…

This sweater is by far the most comfortable garment I have ever knit for myself.  Simple in design, this Cloisters pullover fits a bit loose, pulls easily over my head and yet offers a bit of feminine flattery with its waist shaping.  Knit in Cascade 220,  a soft bouncy Merino yarn, it’s warm and cozy, yet lightweight.  Perfect comfort for a cool spring day!

The Cloisters pattern on the sleeves provides just enough interest, while keeping the overall sweater simple.

I made only a couple of small alterations to the pattern.  I found the neckline too wide for my liking so I frogged and reknit it , decreasing a few stitches every 2 rounds for shaping and working twice as many rows as indicated to pull the neckline higher. I also decreased a few stitches on the final rows of the sleeves to snug up the cuffs a bit.

The top down construction of this sweater makes it easy to custom fit to any body as you can try it on as you knit.

The pattern for this sweater is available in the Fall 2008 issue of Spin Off magazine.

This sweater is proof that ripping and re-doing pays off.  Initially, I had knit  I-cord borders down the fronts but wasn’t happy with the zig zag effect this created.  I frogged the borders and went shopping for a sturdy, navy yarn that would pull the stripes together.  Lamb’s Pride Worsted, from  M1 Yarn Studio in Calgary provided just what I needed.

My inspiration for this sweater came from Dyeing To Knit by Elaine Eskesen.  Using my colour wheel while digging through my stash of cottons and wool, I chose colours that fell within one quadrant of the colour wheel only. To create a bit more unity I hand dyed some chenille and handspun yarns and threw in a bit of yellow to brighten it up.

The cardigan is knit in the round with the sleeves knit seperately and sewn in afterward.  Another learning curve was the steeked front.  The body is knit as a tube, to avoid purling, then cut down the middle to create a cardigan. My edges ended up a bit ragged on the underside of the front edges so I finished them with bias tape facings, sewn in by hand.  The bottom border of the sweater uses a pattern from Nicky Epstein’s book, kntting beyond the edge, called ‘tree tops’.

Truly an adventure in colour and design, this sweater is destined to become a comfortable favourite in my wardrobe.

As wonderful as it is to work at a school that is dedicated to providing opportunities for inner city children, it does get a bit overwhelming at times. The past 3 weeks at our school have been a whirlwind of special days, presentations and extra programs. We don’t know if we’re coming or going anymore! A kind of mad, frenetic energy has built up in the kids (and teachers)that’s threatening to blow at any moment.

I arrived home from work last Wednesday feeling pulled in 20 directions and on the verge of panic.  All I could think was “I gotta knit, I gotta knit…”

With the Cloisters sweater, designed by Sarah Swett, freshly cast on the night before, I had the perfect tool for meditation at the ready.  As the stitches slipped rhythmically off of my shiny new Addi Turbos my blood pressure came down and my anxiety subsided.  Taking a cue from Tara Manning’s book Mindful Knitting , I focussed solely on the beautiful merino yarn slipping through my fingers and the formation of my stitches, not allowing my mind to be pulled back to my troublesome workday.  By the time my son and husband arrived home 2 hours later I was feeling calm and balanced once again and was somewhat surprised to realize that I hadn’t moved from my chair in all that time. 

Knitting meditation had restored my sanity for yet another day.

I surrender!  After hundreds of hours of knitting endless rows of fine gauge stocking stitch and many more hours of sewing and altering, sewing and altering, I admit defeat.  I cannot make this sweater fit my son.  Off to the Goodwill Thrift Store it goes!  Hopefully it will keep someone warm next winter (for a fraction of the price I paid for it).

This pullover, intended for my 19 year old son, is knit with Phildar Licorne, 14 balls of it.  It’s a silky smooth, 100% cotton with lots of body and a little bit of sheen.  A very nice yarn.  I knit it at a gauge of about 6 1/2 sts. to the inch, in a large size.

I’ve tried every alteration I can think of to make it fit my son; nothing has worked.  Part of the problem lies in my design and part lies in Erik’s changing body.  He’s been bodybuilding the past couple of months and his upper body has changed in size so drastically that the measurements I was working with last summer no longer apply.

What surprises me is how upset I am NOT.  There was a time when I’d have bemoaned the money I spent on the yarn and all the time spent knitting; wasting precious energy regretting something I can’t change.
Today I see it as a learning experience - I understand a lot more about creating saddle shoulders now - and as an opportunity to ‘let go’ and accept my own imperfections.
A smaller built man than my son will likely buy the sweater for $5.00 at the Thrift Store and, hopefully, it will keep the chill off of him during one of our cold Northern winters.