Monday, December 15, 2008

Pearly Blues

Disaster struck the fleegle household this week. Harry pranced in the door a few days ago with an iPod Nano that he won cheating in a poker game. He then spent two days downloading the lyrics to his tunes--an ominous portent of things to come.

With astounding proficiency, he proceeded to jack the iPod into a pair of speakers only slightly smaller than Toad Suck, Arkansas. And in a final display of arachnid ingenuity, he added some tiny wheels to the Nano, turning it into the world's first MP3 skateboard.

The next day, our nearest neighbor (who lives a half a mile north of us) called the police, complaining that a brain-melting version of Irene Cara's Fame was blasting out of her poinsettia.

Fortunately, Roy and I had invested in sound-suppressing earphones minutes after we were introduced to Harry's karaoke machine. We never heard (a) the police hammering on our door or (b) the high-pitched yelps as they fled from the vision of a ten-inch break-dancing spider draped in Red Roxx earbuds, caroming around the dining room on a purple iPod.

And anyway, I was too busy finishing this sweater to bother about the noise.


The design is loosely based on the Feather and Fan Sweater in Gathering of Lace. The original reminded me pleasantly of a raspberry sundae, but I am past the days of wearing ice cream, so the first thing I changed were the colors. I didn't care for the shapeless bottom hemline, so I added a neat twisted ribbing. The sleeves of the original were way too long and wide for someone who cooks on a gas stove, so the shape was streamlined. And during the cuff redesign, some pearl beads wandered in.



By this time, I was having too much fun deviating from the original, so the feather and fan pattern itself was modified (didn't care for the purl ridges) and more beads were added around the neckline. Having been knitted with Blue Sky alpaca/silk. it's a luxuriously soft and warm confection.

16 comments:

yarnlot said...

A most refined sweater of which the neckline reminds me of Japanese patterns...
Harry should stick to his first specialty: knitting spider lace.
Or he could take a course in bobbin lace and be seated on a cushion all day!

Dave said...

Very pretty -- it looks quite festive. And somehow, the top part reminds me of snow drifts. Hmmm.

Harry better be careful. You can get away with a LOT less when you're on parole. :-)

Kitty Kitty said...

Wow.... The sweater is simply lovely. The details are really beautiful. It really does remind me of something you would see in one of the Japanese knitting patterns like yarnlot pointed out.

HAHAHA... Harry should be careful.

Monika said...

I would love to see you in it. It looks very noble, very elegant. Nothing but trouble with your spider, eh?

Janice in GA said...

Very nice!

Does the neck have an opening/fastener? Do the beads restrict the stretch of the neck at all? I think it looks very nice as is, just wondering how it worked.

I'm too boring to use many beads or other embellishments, so I don't have much experience in how they affect fit.

Batty said...

Lovely! Now, can we get a modeled shot? Don't be shy!

Sarah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sarah said...

Really lovely! Looks like a Victorian top for ladies of means (ie able to wear whatever they want). I think one in all-black would suit my wardrobe quite well! By the way, which pattern is it in Gathering of Lace? I checked Ravelry and I don't see Feather and Fan Sweater as one of the patterns... Thanks!

Opal said...

Lovely sweater. Does Harry have Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" on his iPod too? It seems like something he'd like. ;-)

June said...

I hope a modeled shot is forthcoming?

And, omg, I have *been* to Toad Suck. I was there sometime in junior high. Crazy.

gwtreece said...

Wow the sweater is most wonderful. FYI, I only live about 20 miles from the sign pointing to Toad Suck, AR. We always take visitors to the sign so they can have a picture of it.

Smitten Knitten said...

What a beautiful sweater! Harry, Harry, Harry...you'd better be careful, they won't let you take your needles or Fleegle's fancy yarns with you to the pokey ;).

Anonymous said...

Gloriosky! What a lovely sweater. Your modifications have made it perfect. Your knitting always is a wonder, but this one made me gasp with delight.

LittleBerry said...

lol.... Harry is obviously entering a difficult phase in his life... teenage years or mid life crisis?

The Jumper is stunning and as others have said reminiscent of some of the Japanese patterns but it looks nice in the blue with the cream cuffs and neckline...

Thanks for the comments on the shawl :o)

BadCatDesigns said...

Well, that is certainly a lovely holiday sweater, but will you be wearing it in the lock-up?? The cuffs look nicer without hand-cuffs covering up the wonderful lace-work, eh? Maybe for 2009 Harry will consider going up-plugged...

Lacefreak said...

That sweater is a beauty! Very refined. Can spiders go deaf?