The curse

Even though there's a significant number of male knitters, the knitting world is still quite gynocentric. And its female denizens have perpetuated a legend called "The Sweater Curse." If you knit your significant other a sweater before the proper threshold of permanence has been crossed in your relationship, the curse will get you -- the sweater will precipitate a breakup.

After twelve years of marriage (but only three of knitting), I hope I'm past the point where the curse applies. And when I saw this beautiful sweater vest in the latest issue of Twist Collective, I knew it would be the first sweater-like object I would knit for Noel. He wears a sweater vest quite well, if I do say so myself, and used to do so quite often when he taught the occasional class in my university department.

The yarn I'm using has been backordered since early June, but it finally arrived today. (It's the same yarn and color featured in the magazine photo.) And now that I'm finally faced with the prospect of knitting Noel something other than an accessory, I find that it's a daunting prospect. Maybe the curse does not apply, but the pressure toward success is still notched up a bit from the garments I might knit for myself -- or even the scarves and gloves knit for others.

I'm going to take my time with this one, since there are a lot of other projects I need to finish and several more I need to start in order to be timely with various obligations. But I'm hoping that it will be under the tree at Christmastime. And that its very existence doesn't bring down the wrath of the relationship gods upon us, as the legend warns.