I'm back in France having spent a wonderful week with my mother. She used to be a very good (amateur) photographer and has albums going back to her childhood - and beyond if you count the albums of her mother and grandmother. So this week we spent a lot of time looking at some of these, starting with 1940 when she was 10 and had been sent to live with her grandfather in New York. I have mentioned before that her mother's sister was Diana Vreeland, and in the summers Mum would go to their house in upstate New York to spend the summer with Diana's sons and all of their Vreeland cousins. Although I know the sons, Frecky and Timmy, I had never given any thought to other cousins. It was great fun seeing this generation when they were young men and as we turned each page Mum would say "That was Herb, I had a crush on him" or "That was Eggy, he was gorgeous, I was in love with him" and so it would go on. I'm not surprised since all the Vreeland men were (and still are) able to turn a young girl's heart. (Even my mother-in-law, who is blind, went weak at the knees when she met Frecky a few years ago!)
Staying with Mum also gives me plenty of knitting time while we sit and talk. She enjoys seeing my projects grow and was very keen that she should see my blue jacket finished. I don't think I have ever knitted so fast, a real marathon to finish it - and buy the buttons - before I left. But finish it I did and on Monday afternoon she was able to see it on me.
I am not entirely satisfied with the cuff on the sleeves which are a little too bulky for my liking. I am considering options for changing them although I suspect I won't ever get around to it. Otherwise I am pleased with this. I did add some waist shaping since I prefer wearing a jacket with a little shape rather than a sack. Otherwise the only change I made was in the actual construction. After making the back, I joined the front as I knit and then made the sleeves from the top down, using the seamless method. As it turned out, this meant I was able to finish it on time as the only "finishing" to be done was the buttons.
The wool is Donegal Tweed from Connemara and the buttons come from Peter Jones. Note to self...if you choose to make a jacket with 18 buttons remember that they might cost more than the wool. The original buttons I chose were 2.50GBP each; not surprisingly I went for a cheaper option!!
Now I'm home I hope to finish the shawl this week but the workroom is calling and I have five chairs awaiting me together with a table cloth for a new client.
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