London Calling

Hey Y'all,
Last post I was talking about how I love it when my worlds collide. Well consider this an unplanned Part II. As it happens, I am knitting a sweater from Vogue Knitting's Fall 2010 Mag, which is titled London Calling. I am also (at least until Sunday, April 28, 2013) in a contest to win a trip for two to London. I will be so pleased if I finish the sweater OR win the trip. If both happen, well then paint me over the moon.

Before I talk about the sweater pattern, let me tell you how you can help me win the trip if you want to be part of Team Spike. All you have to do is watch an extremely silly 29-second video of me sitting in a MINI Cooper. The video was shot at an auto show and a green screen was involved so I appear to be driving (quite dangerously) through London whilst wearing a tiara. Here's a link to the video. (Note: you can't see it on a mobile device.)

So, about the pattern. Funny thing is, I still can't tell if I actually love the sweater. I have a feeling part of my desire to make it involved this subconscious belief I have about a lot of patterns (and clothes in general). That is, if I make/buy a particular garment, simply by putting it on I will look just like the model. Considering I'm 5'5" and typically weigh about fifty pounds more than your basic, too-skinny, 6' tall super model (or even regular knitting model), it's a pretty sure bet (and absolutely sure bet) this won't happen. And yet... I keep making those patterns-- which is fine since I almost always lean toward roomy garments which fit me fine, even if they don't hang on me as see in the picture.

(I still can't get out of my head this one pattern from my first ever ROWAN mag from about ten years ago. I know the real reason I love it is that I am convinced if I make it that it will, like a Calgon Bath Commercial, take me away to the beach where the photo shoot occurred.)

There are other reasons I'm working on this sweater. One is, the pattern stayed in my mind for years after I saw it, which suggests to me... well it suggests that I should definitely consider making it. I think the stripes pulled me in. Then there was an element of supply/demand: I accidentally left my original copy of that issue in Israel in 2010, then ordered another copy and lost that. Absence definitely made the heart grow fonder, and I decided that I couldn't live without the magazine. So I tracked down ANOTHER copy, which I keep close by my side now, so it, too, doesn't disappear. And since I went to so much trouble to get a copy and hold onto it, well darn if I'm not going to make something from it, right?

I've also got a very practical reason for making this sweater, even if it is-- due to the length of it-- going to take me 500 years to finish. It is SO EASY. I mean, an infant could knit this thing. It involves hours upon hours of mindless St, St which, believe it or not, doesn't really bore me. I mean, sometimes it bores me. But for the most part, I can do this sort of knitting under the table during dinner, in the dark at a music show (which I did last night), in the movies (really), and-- just the other night and also in the dark, at a David Sedaris reading. (Aside: He is SO FUNNY and if you like to knit to audiobooks I super highly recommend any of his books. His new one, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, just came out and is super hilarious.) I'm also working on a Cowichan sweater which requires sitting at home, in the light, and concentrating on charts. This simple tunic is a nice balance to that, one that allows me to keep my hands busy and still have a conversation.

I'll know in two days if I won the trip to London. If so, I hope to go over there this summer. And if that all pans out, then I am going to ramp up the stripey sweater over here and try to knock it out before I leave. Or at least finish it on the long flight over. Theme-dressing-- might be corny, but that's fine by me. Just get me to the palace already, and let me be wearing my London sweater while I'm there.

Spike