A trip down memory lane

As I, ever so slowly it seems, move things back
into my sewing/fiber room I am taking the opportunity to sort through the
various accumulated possessions that have accumulated over the years. After this is my chance to really take stock
and determine what is just useless clutter and what is truly loved.

As part of this process I have been looking through my
magazine collections. Below is the first cable sweater I knit, from Knitters #4 in the spring of
1986. I wasn’t subscribing then and it
was a few more years before my collection of Knitters becomes consistent. I think this was my third or fourth sweater.

I used the yarn called for in the pattern, I was still too
nervous about substitutions and I knit the smallest size, for a 36 inch bust
and a supposed finished size of 38 inches. At that time, when I sill weighed 125 pounds on my 5’9” frame, I was much closer to a 32 inch bust and it
was hard to find sweater patterns to fit. Luckily, being tall and lanky, oversized boxy sweaters were actually
quite flattering, and the 80’s were the age of boxy sweaters. I still look good in a long straight
silhouette, despite being a good bit heavier. I thought the extra bulk would be flattering just as boxy long sweaters
were flattering – I was rather partial to loose oversized long sweaters and
leggings and I had the legs and height to pull them off. It wasn’t flattering, and thus continued my
education.

Unfortunately the sweater looked like the sweater in the
picture in terms of cable pattern, but it did not drape off my shoulders as
nicely as on the model. The sleeves came
straight out like cardboard and the sweater was very thick and heavy. I felt like a samurai every time I wore
it. It was also much too big in the
waist and stuck out in back because I hadn’t yet figured out how to take in the
back waist while I knitted without destroying the pattern. But I knit it to go with a favorite skirt, a
Geiger wool challis skirt in a mustard background with a forest like scene in
shades of olive, teal, and chestnut. The
vest was mustard to match the background of the skirt and I would wear it with
a teal silk charmeuse blouse. Until I came up with another jacket to tie the
pieces together this vest had to do. 

Eventually I gave up; the vest did not look good and did not
improve as I gained weight with middle age even though it was large enough that
it still fit. It went to a local
consignment shop and I actually saw someone walking down the street wearing it
once, so I hope it found a happy home. It looked much better on its second owner than it did on me, but what
did I know when I knit this? I was still
learning.

Most of the sweaters in this issue of Knitters look rather
dated today, but I am still fond of this vest. Perhaps I am just fond of the memories that have been resurrected. Memories alone are enough.