Amanda is almost done. I knit the two nicest buttonbands I’ve ever done–got ’em perfect on the first try. I had to ignore the pattern’s pick-up number because I made the torso longer than called for. Normally I’d pick up two stitches to every three, which works every time for directional changes like knitting sleeves down from the body, but here the buttonbands are worked on needles two sizes smaller to control the spread of the garter stitch. I had a funny feeling picking up two-to-three in this situation would give me a puckery band that would gather in my sweater fronts. I was almost tempted to pick up one-to-one, but that might have given me too long a band. I didn’t want wavy edges, either. So I went with three-to-four, and it was spot-on. Just one problem: I was so busy feeling chuffed at my knitting savvy that I didn’t put in any buttonholes. Sigh. Rip.
Now I’ve got beautiful buttonbands with holes for the beautiful buttons my father made. I chose this pinky Pacific madrona set. There are dark, stripey wenge buttons, too, that perfectly match the yarn, but I’m proud of my dad’s work and so I decided to let the buttons stand out as their own element. I love how the madrona wood glows against the wool. Only the shawl collar left to do!
Alas, I stole the needle to work on Emily, from Kim Hargreaves’s Heartfelt – The Dark House Collection, for my sister-in-law. So I may need to knit up the Emily front before I finish Amanda. Fortunately, Emily has been flying along. An evening watching episodes of All Creatures Great and Small on Netflix movie viewer (huzzah for the Mac version! huzzah for James Herriot! I feel great affection for this 1977 adaptation of the delightful book series), the inauguration ceremonies (huzzah doesn’t even cover it!), and a faculty meeting or two and I’m up to the armscye shaping. I’m using Rowan Felted Tweed in that deep purple called Bilberry. Because Felted Tweed is such a light DK (in fact I’m not even sure why it’s classed as such–I’d call it sportweight, myself), this will be an airy, weightless little sweater, but if I do a good job I think Marika will love it.
And speaking of last Tuesday, it’s hard to capture my excitement about the new president in words. I think I’ll always remember watching the inauguration (probably the first time I’ve done so, if you don’t count brief clips that played on the evening news), and I hope it will be an event my generation talks about into the future (Where were you when Obama became president?), looking back on it as a pivotal moment for our country and the beginning of a time of worthy work and greater care for each other. Watching the cameras sweep out over that jubilant (if half-frozen) mass of humanity packed onto the Mall, watching sixty middle-schoolers take it all in and hearing them discuss the peaceful transfer of power, I’ve never felt prouder of my country.
