Since I'm reasonably sure my dad doesn't read this blog unless my mom tells him to, I don't feel too bad posting pictures yet. And my family, my dad in particular, has a bad habit of not being able to keep from giving gifts until the intended date, it won't exactly ruin the surprise.
It's probably not that much of a surprise anyway, considering I called my mom last week and had her measure him. I believe the specifics are still a secret, but I'm pretty sure he knows he's getting a sweater. Unless my mom just likes to measure his arms when she's on the phone, I don't know what goes on when I'm not there.
The reason I had her measure is that the sweater appears to have monkey arms. Somehow, despite being spot on for the rest of the pattern, something about my row gauge seriously screwed up in the arms. It's a full 4" longer than the pattern calls for. But my dad always complains that arms are too small and tight for him, and you can always cuff them. They match, so that's the important part as far as sleeves are concerned. The zipper is not yet in. That's going to be a job for my mom and her sewing machine. I don't have room to set mine up and I don't trust handstitching with a zipper my dad is going to use. I don't know if my dad will like the color, but 1) it's hard to screw up grey and 2) I know my mom will like the color on my dad, and that's what really matters around there.
I borrowed Jim to try it on. He's not quite as big as my dad, but he's a lot closer than I am and at least he has big shoulders. I looked at him and said "If you were my dad, would this fit you?" He instantly pulled out the stomach for an imaginary pot belly, saw that there was room to stretch and said it would.
Okay, now the knitting details for those of you who want to know. The pattern is the Cambridge Jacket from this year's Summer (for some reason) Interweave Knits in the XL size. It called for Cascade 220, which I adore, but my dad (as all boys do) needs the superwash version. It took 8 skeins. Think about that. That's 1760 yards, exactly one mile. One mile of this yarn has passed through my fingers. No wonder I've been knitting this thing forever.
In summary:
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash x 8 - $7.95 a skein
Needles: Size US 8 and 9
Pattern: Cambridge Jacket from Interweave Knits, Summer 2006
Cost: $63.60 plus tax (and the two skeins from the bag I haven't returned yet)
Time: 52 days of intermittent knitting
I might finish my mom's knitting pretty soon, but I know she reads this, so don't expect any posts till after Christmas. But 1) that's only 11 days away and 2) it will totally be worth it.
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