Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful, relaxing vacation. I finished my Christmas sweater just in time, and was able to wear it today as planned. Squeal! I love it so much!
The pattern is Braid by Martin Storey and it is knitted in Rowan Cashmere Tweed. I continue to be really obsessed with that yarn, ever since I knitted a Salina with it earlier this year.
Rowan's Cashmere Tweed has the texture of wool, with the softness of cashmere. I plan to substitute that yarn for Felted Tweed in pullover patterns that are meant to be worn next to the skin. Cashmere Tweed may be the perfect yarn, except for the pricetag. But I've been addressing that by only buying it on sale.
I feel I will wear this top a lot because it is so soft.
Kristy Glass wearing Betty and Judy Lodge Sweater
There are a lot of cute sweater designs that are perfect for Christmas season, and I admit, I was tempted by the Betty and Judy Lodge sweater by Amy Appel. However, I opted to knit Braid instead because
1) I feel Braid is more versatile and I can wear it all year round.
2) I feel the Lodge sweater might emphasize the squareness of my shoulders and emphasize the bust area in a way that would not be flattering. The eye seems to go right where a top changes color, and so before knitting a garment of this kind, you have to be certain you want to visually emphasize that area.
I did notice video podcaster Kristy Glass and some others look awesome in the top, and it seems really flattering to her slender figure. So I do heave a little sigh every time I see it. But I think the design I chose is more practical for me. And I think true satisfaction comes from accepting one's own reality and creating a wardrobe from there.
Andi Saterlund’s Julgran sweater is also an adorable Holiday knit, and I was tempted by it too. The pattern is vintage-inspired, like the Lodge sweater, and is also meant to be constructed with several inches of negative ease. I looked at several projects that normal-sized women had knitted up on Ravelry and again I wasn’t sure that the pattern was the most flattering for wearers with upper curvature. It’s one thing to emphasize the bust, but the negative ease combined with the cropped design made it seem that some knitter's tops were bulging. Perhaps if one just knitted the top with positive ease and lengthened it.. Especially if you leave the Christmas ornaments off the tree, it is not immediately apparent that you are looking at a holiday-themed design. Here is a photo of Kristy Glass wearing the tree sweater which again, made me want to knit it!
I keep reminding myself that our figures are different, so I'd have to modify my version heavily. For anyone who hasn’t seen Kristy Glass and Carrado Lark’s Merry Knitmas video album, by the way, you must watch it immediately—it is so adorably funny, with so many insider knitting jokes, but their voices are really good so the carols themselves are fun to listen to as well:
It's been quite busy in my kitchen, as we had 10 people over for Christmas Eve last night. I had a lot of fun with the desserts, making an improvised buche de Noel (Christmas log cake):
It is basically a giant meringue roll topped with slivered almonds and filled with whipped cream and raspberries. Every speck of it was eaten, so if you are interested in making this dessert, check out Mary Berry's strawberry meringue roulade. As a backup dessert, I baked a gingerbread man cake, which the kids really enjoyed.
I also received some also Christmas Knitting gifts, including the Encyclopedic Book, The Principles of Knitting by Hyatt, which Knit Picks has on sale right now:
And a Fluorite Sock gradient kit from La Bien Aimee yarn:
I can't wait to start in on my new projects now that my Christmas sweater is done. But first I have to finish up some late Christmas knits. I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful holiday and Happy Knitmas everyone!