Fifty years ago. This is me in 1974. Man, I loved that sweater! My mother knit it of a variegated yarn of light pink to deep maroon. And the pattern worked out such a cool design; the top looks like just variegated yarn, but just beneath what you can see in this photo it worked into large stretches of the individual colors being grouped together, so there were large areas of the individual colors.
She also knit one just like it in a different color (cream to deep gold) for my best friend. Sadly my best friend and I had a falling out over a boy before my mother finished that sweater, so I got to wear that one too. 😂 My friend and I eventually figured out that besties trumped testes, but by then I couldn't give her a used sweater.
I absolutely loved the special things my mother made for me. Besides just knitting, she was a fabulous seamstress. I went through a phase where I wanted to wear ready-made clothes like my friends. I think it hurt Mom's feelings, but she bought me a dress that I wanted. Then the very first time I wore it to school, another girl wore the exact same dress. That had never happened to me before, and I never wanted it to happen again. LOL We were both happy again when we went back to the old way of doing things.
My Mum got a knitting machine when we lived in Belgium and made lots of sweaters. She used to buy the wool in big plastic square bags, almost like one of today's organization totes, I think it was close to two feet tall and sat on the floor underneath the machine. She was not happy when our neighbor bought the same machine and the same wool and made the same sweaters for her daughter. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - NOT! when you're in high school and look like a Bobbsey Twin!
ReplyDeleteBobbsey Twin...LOL! That is SO true!
DeleteWhat a sweet story! My mother adopted me when I was 3 years old. She always made my dresses until I got old enough to require zippers. :) I wore a lot of hand-me-downs from cousins. Your mother was very talented and loved you very much.
ReplyDeleteMothers who love their children, and love to sew for them, are true blessings.
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