Many years ago when I was in my late teens/early twenties (yes, many, many years ago) while I was still living at home, I knitted myself an aran sweater.
All those cables and bobbles took forever but such garments were very fashionable in the late 1970s so it was worth all the effort. In addition of course, it was very cosy and warm.
There were so many hours invested in the making of this sweater I could never quite bring myself to get rid of it... so when I was feeling a little chilly this morning (too much sitting about reading text books) I rummaged in my wardrobe for some instant warmth... and there it was!
Just as warm and cosy as ever... and I'm well past caring if it is fashionable or not.
Anyone else keep clothes for over thirty years or is it just me?
All those cables and bobbles took forever but such garments were very fashionable in the late 1970s so it was worth all the effort. In addition of course, it was very cosy and warm.
There were so many hours invested in the making of this sweater I could never quite bring myself to get rid of it... so when I was feeling a little chilly this morning (too much sitting about reading text books) I rummaged in my wardrobe for some instant warmth... and there it was!
Just as warm and cosy as ever... and I'm well past caring if it is fashionable or not.
Anyone else keep clothes for over thirty years or is it just me?
Your sweater is a beauty...why would you even consider discarding it? I think that some styles are just classics that transcend fashion trends, although they might be picked up every so often by the fashionista set.
ReplyDelete(I think that this year those horizontally striped bateau-necked French sailing jerseys are "in" fashion.)
I have got some hand knit sweaters that are much older than 30 years, including a cabled cardigan that I made while still a teenager ... oh, let's be kind and say it was 50 years ago.
xo
There are items in my wardrobe with name tapes still on. This dates them as being owned by my pre-17-year-old self. Very scary. Not to mention worn...
ReplyDeleteI have an arran sweater made by my aunt dating from the same era. And I get it out now and again to wear. We should be thankful that we can still fit into them!
ReplyDeleteI think Arran is timeless,yours looks lovely ,who would have thought when you were making that ,that you could take a picture of it, yourself, and show it to the world via this medium , we have all seen some changes since you first cast those stitches on ...love Jan xx
ReplyDeletehi Gina I missed the exhibition - Dave had important meeting. On the old sweater issue, yes I have a crocheted one which I did 18yrs ago, and what is great is that Mel started wearing it last year and thought it was cool. I have still kept it and maybe Lena will find it cool too in a few years.
ReplyDeleteNo you're not the only one ... I have to admit to holding on to old favourites too ... Aran is timeless and you've made me think its about time to get the needles out and see if I can still do it!
ReplyDeleteI wear my dead father's Aran.... I love it and it washes and washes and washes. I also have a "Scotch Wool" jacket (sort of tweedy) which has to be 30 years old if not more..... (I can't do it up any more, but hey! who cares???)
ReplyDeleteI would have kept that sweater too! I can't think of anything I have like that but my husband keeps every holey, worn t-shirt that he owns! Does that count?
ReplyDeleteYep! I do that!
ReplyDeleteAnd so does Cliff.
That's a lovely cardi.
Celia
x
I'm just hugely impressed you can fit into clothes you first wore 30 years ago.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want it I do! It's stunning
ReplyDeletex
Gorgeous sweater! Looks so cozy, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I have clothing from ahem-ty years ago. Can I fit into it, though? Erm.
Your opening sentence about knitting for elves had me momentarily confused. Anyway, if this was knitted late seventies, we must be talking Grease or Saturday Night Fever era - checking out that funky collar, I'm definitely going for the latter.
ReplyDelete...you didn't knit a pair of matching tight, white aran trousers, did you?
ReplyDeleteThe moral of this story is less text book reading, less woolly bobbles...
I wouldn't fit into anything I had 30 years ago! About the time your made your sweater I bought patterns and a bale of Aran wool to make sweaters for the whole family before realising I had never tried bobbles, cables, etc. I made one for my husband and each of our children then mine, which made me look like an elephant. I undid it all and reknitted it but I still looked pretty hefty. We all wore them for years but don't still have them.
ReplyDeleteJust a thimbleful....
ReplyDeleteI think I made that same pattern, only in navy! And I can beat 30 years, I still have the dress I wore to my 21st birthday - it was by the Irish couturier John Cavanagh (I don't suppose anyone remembers him now) in Irish linen and lace and I just cannot bear to throw it away, it is so beautifully made. It has hip padding, can you believe!!! I provide my own now....
I had a cardi very like that many years ago, some 15 or so years later my daughter wore it and goodness knows where it is now, haven't thought of it for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteNo your not the only one who hangs onto well made clothes that stand the test of time. Usually they are homemade.
ReplyDeleteI remember knitting an aran jumper for a boyfriend (around 20 years ago)- I think I can safely say he'll not still have it in his wardrobe anymore as it turned out rather big and lon in the arm! Still yours definitely has stood the test of time and still looks great. I do have a jumper I made around the same time but it only comes out for gardening in!
ReplyDeleteLovely cardi and no wonder you have kept it. My old knits were so dire I never kept them!
ReplyDeleteyes i even keep clothes that i will never fit into again ......I do sometimes move things into my fabric pile ...but then can't bear to cut them up ....a hopeless case.....Love the Aran though ....it is timeless thats very clever of you I have never had the patience to make one ...
ReplyDeleteI have more than one item that is more than 30 years old...
ReplyDeleteOh yes yes yes, and how glad am I that someone else has done it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab and cosy jumper! I would have kept that too!
ReplyDelete(Well, if I'd had the skill to knit it in the first place, that is!)
Lucy x
Great post! I have an old Aran sweater but have found myself lusting after the Aran cardis at vintage fairs lately - and I've seen a girl regularly sporting one very stylishly outside my daughters school!
ReplyDeleteI still have my Going-Away dress that I made out of a beautiful piece of red and white silk from Liberty. It is quite old. Cough.
ReplyDelete