Phildar et Moi

Pattern: The Phildar Swing Jacket, aka Veste Pattern #16 from Automne 06/07 Tendances (by the way, is this really accurate - autumn ends before 2007 begins, right?).

Yarn: Peruvian Highland Wool from elann in Oatmeal Heather (13 skeins for the smallest size).

Adjustments: After I finished knitting and sewing everything together minus the pockets, I let this sweater sit around for a good week or two. Then, I finally realized that I was never going to want to knit pockets, but I did want to wear this sweater. So, I hit JoAnn again (which is, fortunately, close to my home) and picked up some cheapo remnants of a soft brown fabric whose composition is unknown (this may have been a gamble, but I figure I'll be hand washing the sweater anyway, so it should be okay).

Comments: First, I would like to thank the Academy... I mean... Vanessa for the KAL that pushed me to get moving on this super lovely sweater. Also, I would like to thank all the other ladies over at the KAL who provided invaluable information on such exciting issues as yarn subbing and bias binding and such.

It was just too much fun knitting this sweater. In part because of the sweater itself and in part because of all the weird memories that it brought back for me. I lived in France at two different points in my life. At neither time was I knitting, but somehow just the feel of the magazine took me back. The use of English reminded me of all the ads that would come in the mail for Carrefour (kinda like a French Wal-Mart). It's weird how just seeing the French language in print unlocked a ton of memories that I didn't realize I still had. As I was knitting I could almost hear the accordian player who lived next door to us in Dijon. He would play on the street for money, so he was practicing a lot at home.

Anyway, I would definitely highly recommend this pattern. Even with shipping the prices for Phildar magazines are really reasonable.