Time you-know-whats

(Il tempo tu-sai-che-fa)

Yesterday I shot this photo of my five-and-a-half year old wearing this sweater I made for him back in 2004-- in fact, it was the first thing I knit after years of not knitting.  Honestly?  I can't remember the last time he wore it.  What a waste-- I mean, look at all of those chewy cables and juicy bobbles!  And of course, when I look at it I also see the hours I spent making it.

Ho scatto questa foto ieri, di mio figlio di cinque e mezzo anni-- sta portando un maglione che ho fatto in 2004 (il mio primo dopo anni di non lavorare a maglia).  Non posso ricordare la scorsa volta che l'ha portato.  Che spreco-- guarda i cavi belli!  E poi, quando lo guardo, vedo anche le ore lavorando.... 

So what went wrong here?  Well, to begin with, I didn't try very hard to make it fit properly:  the pattern (from Debbie Bliss' Classic Knits for Kids) was written for only one size, 4-6 years, and when I knit it, my boy was only a year old-- I just figured that, since the pattern called for aran weight yarn, and I was using closer to a light worsted, the finished sweater would end up being something he could wear within the next few years.  As you can see from this photo, taken when he was less than two, it was way too big when he first tried it on.

Allora, perche' e' andato male?  La prima cosa, non ho provato di fare la taglia giusta: il modello ear scritto per solamente una taglia (4-6 anni) e quando l'ho fatto, mio figlio aveva solamente un' anno-- pero', pensavo di usare un filo piu fino come nel modello, e, non importa-- pensavo che potesse portarlo negli prossimi anni.  Era sicuramente troppo grande quando l'ha messo la prima volta! 

But more importantly, I don't think this is really a very child-friendly pattern, and especially not very boy-friendly. For one thing, the extravagant collar was an issue from the start-- gorgeous, yes, but a little feminine (at least in the eyes of Dad and older brother!), AND it's quite heavy, meaning that the wide neckline tended to slide off the shoulders.

Piu importante, non e' un modello "bambino-amichevole."  Il colletto stravagante e' bellissimo, ma un po' femminile (almeno secondo a Papa' e il fratello), ed anche e' pesante, con una tendenza di scivolare dalle spalle.  

In addition, it has a tremendous amount of ease (look at how wide it is in relation to length!), which may be cute, but didn't turn out to be practical or comfortable for my kids. 

Anche ha moltissimo agio (guarda come la larghezza comparato della lunghezza)--carino, pero', ne' comodo ne' utile per i miei figli.

So it's with some sadness that I post these photos, knowing that this particular sweater will never suffer the bittersweet indignities of frayed cuffs and threadbare elbows-- the signs that a handknit has been much worn and loved.

Quindi mi sento un po' di malinconia mentre affiggo queste foto, sapendo che questo maglione non soffrira' mai le indegnita' agrodolce dei polsini e gomiti logori-- l' evidenza che qualcosa lavorata a maglia e' stata spesso portata e amata.