I'm wearing the vintage raglan cardigan right now at work. I told the architects I work with that I made it, they ooh-ed and ah-ed, then I apparently made the mistake of telling them how I unraveled a sweater from a thrifted man's XL sweater to make it.
Now they think I am insane. Why buy a sweater to make another sweater?
Maybe because the entire sweater cost me about $10, and I like a challenge. To which they reply, what's your cost of labor?
Well, that really isn't the point. The point is that hand-knitting (at least, in this country, these days) isn't something commonly done for a livelihood: it's a craft, an art. It is done for pleasure. So the point is I didn't spend much money on this pleasurable and time consuming craft, and I earned some knitting street creds in the meantime. (Is there such a thing? That brings some interesting images to mind.)
Still, they thought I am foolish and masochistic, and mumbled, "Well, if you enjoy it..." incredulously as they walked off.
At which point I remind myself what they find entertaining: Fantasy Football and running to the window every time the weather changes like house-bound pets. Enough said, right?
The sweater is awesome. I am very pleased with it. No photos yet, but there will be soon.
Edit: a photo can be seen here or here.
3 comments:
How about people who pay INSANE amounts of money to go skiing? What is it with hauling your ass to the top of a hill, strapping a couple of planks to your feet and then having about a minute of "pleasure" (not my idea of pleasure) and then doing it all over again while in the meantime freezing your ass off? To me, THIS is masochistic and stupid.
One man's meat is another man's poison. Live and let live. And leave us knitters in peace. Harumph!
Ooh! The sweater looks super comfy, and will be nice with the cooler weather that's coming. Nice work!
It looks great! And I'd ignore the idjits at work. I'm constantly trying to not defend knitting. Because why should I? What's it to them what the heck I do for entertainment? I don't like football but whatever floats your boat.
Unraveling a sweater to re-use the yarn makes economic sense in most senses of the word. It makes a useful object out of something that was discarded. It saves money (my biggest craze is that people don't realize how freaking expensive knitting can be), and it's gorgeous! Sheesh. Enjoy it.
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