I’m here to say that I finished one of the projects I talked about in November. Whew! First, however, I’d like to thank those of you who have reached out to make sure we are okay.
As many of you know, we moved to Boulder about four years ago to live near our daughter. And, as you’ve probably seen on the news, a devastating fire destroyed whole neighborhoods in several communities in and around Boulder just before the new year. It’s hard to describe the scope of the damage. Almost a thousand houses burned to their foundations in a matter of a few hours. We were having such high winds that the fire was racing the length of a football field every few seconds.
You can get an idea from this Map. In it, the red markers are houses that were destroyed, blue indicates damaged. If you zoom in on the affected neighborhoods, you can see the scale of the loss. My neighbor’s daughter lives in one of the areas that was hardest hit. Her home survived. It’s the only one in the neighborhood that did. Please keep the residents of Superior and Louisville in your thoughts. It is going to be a slow and painful recovery.
Back to knitting. I finished Hinterland by Jennifer Steinglass. I had originally set it aside after knitting the yoke. That was the fun part, right? I did eventually knit the body, but was left with the dreaded sleeves. Despite wanting to start so many new projects, I persevered and it’s finished. My husband thinks it will make the perfect après-ski sweater when we hit the slopes later this winter. (Weather and Covid permitting.)
The main yarn is Arranmore Light by the Fibre Company in the color Meara. The contrast color is Salty Dog, Spincycle Dyed in the Wool. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have the design at the cuffs or leave the sleeves plain. I finally went for the color work because I thought I should be more daring. I deliberately mismatched the cuffs just to show more of the color changes.
So glad you all are ok, although that’s a relative term when you are so close to people who are not. Thank you for sharing this beautiful sweater. Jennifer Steinglass has quite a few yokes that call to me – but I haven’t made any yet.
Comment by Pam Henager — January 4, 2022 @ 2:59 am
Glad to hear you are ok and very sorry for those that aren’t. I think that the last couple of years have taught us not to postpone things, including being a bit more daring!
Comment by Kay — January 4, 2022 @ 8:36 am
When I read your note about the fires with the map of the dreadful and heartbreaking destruction and then saw your gorgeous sweater, my first thought was the famous-to-knitters quote from Elizabeth Zimmerman “Knit on with confidence and hope through all crises.”
Comment by pt — January 4, 2022 @ 9:15 am
So glad you are ok and your daughter is as well. However, I do know that disasters like you are experiencing are hard on us mentally and emotionally. Please take good care and we are all watching with care how Colorado areas will recover.
Comment by Susanne Scheurwater — January 4, 2022 @ 4:50 pm
I’ve been wondering how you are. So glad to hear you are OK. Love the sweater and I think doing colorwork on the sleeves too was a good decision. Take care, and the best to both you and your sister for 2022. We all appreciate the time you both take to write this blog.
Comment by Anne — January 4, 2022 @ 5:08 pm
Another stunning work, Sally.
So grateful your family is safe.
Godspeed.
Comment by poodletail — January 4, 2022 @ 9:27 pm
Gorgeous – and I especially like the fraternal twin cuffs. Lovely touch.
Comment by Mike — January 4, 2022 @ 11:03 pm
First, it’s so good to hear you all are safe. That fire was really scary to see on the news, can’t imagine how much worse it was up close.
Second, that’s a beautiful sweater, congratulations on finishing it. I have a question, though: Arranmore Light is listed as a DK-wt yarn, and the pattern calls for a fingering-wt. Did you knit the Arranmore at a tighter gauge than the 5.5 spi, or did you make a different size than you might have with a fingering?
Comment by Anne C. — January 5, 2022 @ 12:23 pm
Glad to hear you are ok! I know of a couple of people in the area, and thankfully they are both ok as well.
This sweater is fantastic!!!
Comment by Penny — January 5, 2022 @ 12:44 pm
Wow, nice! But don’t you two ever knit anything for men? Do you have something against us? Thanks for reading…
Comment by Matthew Olson — January 5, 2022 @ 10:43 pm
Hmm…thought I had hit Send when I wrote my post. Maybe not. Anyhow, so happy to hear you are okay, Sally! I had been wondering. Beautiful sweater as always and worth the sleeve slog. Jennifer Steinglass designs are always so striking.
Comment by Chloe — January 7, 2022 @ 6:49 am
Hi, Sally! Your sweater is beautiful beyond words! C’est tres fantastique!
(Sorry about the lack of accent on tres) I admire your perseverence and think it was so worth it!
My daughter, Annie, lives 2 blocks from the fires. She said it was so very scary! From the deck of the house they could see the flames of the fire leaping high into the air! She said the smoke, ashes and debris flying around from such high winds made the air very toxic! They missed the worst and we are grateful. We so feel for all those who lost everything! Very curious that the one house was left standing while all around them were burned to the ground! Take care and keep knitting! Happy New Year!
Comment by Kathy W. — January 8, 2022 @ 1:04 pm
Beautiful sweater. You and your sister are both deserving of an Extraordinary Taste and Talent Award!
Comment by Emm — January 9, 2022 @ 1:38 am