It's done! Oh my goodness, it's really, really done.
{Papa's tee is from Silk Oak, for those of you curious about the peeping owl in the background!}
This is - without a doubt - the biggest knitting project I have tackled - in oh so many ways. I started this sweater well over a year ago, and it's had oh-so-many stops and starts along the way.
I am so used to knitting for little ones...where not only do things go quickly, but fit is a word that matters a whole lot less. If something doesn't fit when it comes off the needles, it surely will fit eventually...or fit another. Which takes a whole lot of stress out of the equation, not to mention math. Even the knitting I've done for myself, well there are just so many different ways that women wear clothing that there seems to always be a way to make it work.
Yes, through all of this I have determined that knitting clothing for a man is the hardest of all. The sheer man-size-ness (and therefore amount of knitting) is just a small part of that. Fit, style, comfort. Oh goodness. Tricky!
But of course, all of that makes it all the more rewarding when it does work in the end.
{Full pattern details are on the Ravelry page. I used Elizabeth Zimmermann's EPS (Knitting Without Tears as my guide) for the seamless raglan pattern. The yarn is Beaverslide Dry Goods in worsted weight.}
For all the bumps and restarts and the time that it took, I would think I should have something to show for myself besides the simplest of classic raglan sweaters in black wool. And yet - this is just precisely what I wanted for him. I wanted something that was able and appropriate to withstand the wrangling of four children, a stack of wood, a farm chore, a trip down the mountain, or a dinner out - for this sweet man of mine makes no wardrobe distinctions between such things. I wanted a sweater that wasn't too fancy and definitely not gimmicky, but...classic. Steadfast and strong, and up for just about anything (with patience and a sparkly grin) - just precisely like the man who wears it.