Old Sweater and a Gift

I just have to laugh every time I use blogger for pics. No matter what order I put them in they change it! LOL I guess you get what you pay for!

Awhile back I was talking about a sweater I made for myself in 1993. I couldn't find it in the closet this winter and today came across it...and needed to wear it! It is cold here because we have no insulation! Even though the thermostat says it is 70*, there is no way it is even close, so we bundle up...we have the opposite issue in the summer.

Anyway, this is the only sweater I have knit for myself. It was initially called the Vienna Woods Sweater and was published in Knitters about 1991-2. It is now called the Color Your Own from Philosophers Wool (a fun site to poke around...if you click on "Picture Yourself Here" you can see garments and items customers have made and it is really awe inspiring). I ordered a kit from them...they were not really heard of at that time so you couldn't just go to your LYS. I used half of the wool they sent then went to my lys which at the time was The Knit Shop in Bellingham, WA. I picked out different teals and purples and put them all together. I did the same for my hubby's sweater which is as I mentioned blues and teals.

I love this sweater. I wore it through my pregnancy with DS...it couldn't stretch to accomodate twins though! LOL It has gone with me to England, Scotland, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada and has warmed me at several locations on the Pacific Coast (WA, OR and CA). Oh what sorrow today to find a hole in the side and also at the neckline. I am not certain if this is (SHUDDER!) from a moth or just wear and tear. The neck looks like it is wear and tear but I can't tell on the side, but it's only small so I am hoping no wool loving moths have visited here! At some point I would like to make another one because I wear it as a coat, so I might make it a cardigan. The Philosophers Wool is pretty scratchy and really needs to be for outer garments. I might consider using the pattern but different yarn, however there is something nice and rugged about their yarn and the dyed colors are wonderful, so maybe since it is going to be a coat anyway, it won't matter. But this will probably be a few years down the road so I have some time to decide! :-)

The basket was a nice surprise from my cousins in North Carolina. If the basket looks semi-empty that's because anything remotely looking like chocolate is gone! LOL Everything came from North Carolina and what is left is a great mill ground corn bread mix, local honey (hmmm!), plum preservers (already tried on biscuits today...nummy!) and some Carolina coffee, which I think I will stick in the freezer since I don't drink it but that way we will have some if someone who drinks coffee comes over. I love baskets and especially well made ones. I'm going to confiscate this one for my small knitting projects. If I could design a kitchen/pantry with no cost in concern I would probably incorporate many Longaberger Baskets. I don't have any because they are $$$ but the ones I have seen are very well crafted and look like they could be passed on to the next generation. They also have some neat organizing accessories to go with them. It was a surprise to get this box with the gift basket today and made us all smile! Thanks Mark and Brenda...we miss you on the left coast!