Following directions, or not...

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

It's amazing how much knitting can be accomplished on a bus ride or two:For full disclosure, I did work a few rows after I got home, too. (It's the start of a Supernova sweater, from the fall 2006 issue of Interweave Knits.) My four year old's preschool this fall is about six miles away from our house, and he and I will be riding the city bus to deliver him there in the morning and to bring him home at lunch time three times a week, so I'm already thinking about how much stash yarn I'll be able to knit through just on the bus alone.

This morning, my little guy and I walked to the post office. Once home, I started working on a reversible vest for a birthday gift. As it turns out, similar to how I can't knit a sweater without changing the pattern, I can no longer sew a pattern without revising it somehow, too. For this pattern, the changes were significant. I bought a simple, unlined, vest pattern. I decided I wanted it to be reversible, and also incorporate some techniques from Nancy Cornwell's book, More Polar Magic, such as stitching the layers together with **wrong sides** together: After that, trimming the edges carefully (key word: "carefully") with a pinking shears. That way, there's much less bulk around the edges, and it's just sort of a funky finish. I also added some reverse appliques ala' Nancy's book. Here it is after trimming with the pinking shears and with a couple of the appliques sewn and cut out: I'm going to add a few more of the reverse appliques. To do it again, I'd make the collar on the purple side match, though I think it looks okay with the contrast, too. And, here's the reverse side:
Were you able to spot the four year old in that photo?

Anyway, reading Nancy's books and attending her seminars has changed the way I sew with fleece. She is sort of the Elizabeth Zimmermann of fleece, and she has fabulous ideas, so if you enjoy sewing with fleece, I highly recommend her books.

Finally, I just want to say that your comments about wanting to be a mom, and how it's okay to want to be "just" a mom, made me cry. That's what I wanted for myself since I was a little girl, too. Mostly, to be just like my mom.

My mom put off going to school to pursue her "dream" of being a nurse until her three kids were all in school, and I don't know how she managed to get through school while taking care of all of us seamlessly (especially since, I have to say, we really weren't much help to her around the house or otherwise), but she somehow got it all done. When I was lamenting to her one day that it might be too hard on me or my family to continue with my schooling right now, she said, "Well, I did it!" Anyway, I still think her real passion was caring for all of us, even when she was working as a nurse, though I'm so glad that she pursued her own dream, too. What a great example for us kids.

In any case, it was very affirming to "hear" you say what you did, so thank you!!

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)