Everyday is BiRTHDAY

• Pattern name: BiRTHDAY
• Published in: Ravelry
• Designer: Ankestrick
• Yarn: Mayflower Easy Care Cotton Merino, colourway 207 (melange pink)
• Needles: 4mm wooden loop, 3,5mm wooden DPN’s
• Finished: January 2021

After a lifetime spent on sleeve island and running out of yarn approximately 5cm before the final cast-off, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier of an FO! Not only because I was starting to feel quite fed up with the project, but also because I absolutely LOVE my gorgeous new sweater!!

As I wrote in my earlier post about settling down to Belgrade, I started the BiRTHDAY sweater just before we moved away from Finland and headed for our new adventures in Serbia. The simple, repetitive 2-row pattern, the soothing light pink colour of the yarn and the soft fabric were a great comfort for me during the whole adjustment period. The body part was just flying off my needles!

Before this project, I never really understood the concept of “stuck on sleeve island”. To be honest, I’ve always really liked working on the sleeves – they usually progress pretty swiftly, and it’s a bit of a “home stretch”, when you can already see the finish line. And it seems that for many knitters it’s the part they mostly look forward to. But oh boy did I get the full Robinson Crusoe stranded alone on a desert island forever -experience with these sleeves! Each row seemed to take years to knit, and the decreases were just endless.

And what it worst, towards the end of the second sleeve, in late November, I realised that I would run out of yarn.

Usually it would not be a huge issue, I could always just buy or order more yarn. But when you live abroad, the difficulty increases severely. And this particular yarn (which was by the way very pleasant to knit!) was not from a LYS (had it been, I could have just begged them to send me one skein and charge whatever needed for the delivery), but from an online shop that only delivered to the Nordic countries. And I couldn’t find it anywhere else.

So with great frustration and disappointment I put the project away until after our 3-week visit to Finland in January, i.e. for another two months. Although I did consider packing the UFO (unfinished object) with me and finishing it while there, but I realised it would be easier to fit a skein of yarn than a sweater to an already full suitcase.

But all is well that ends well! I got the one skein of yarn, of which I used like 5% for this project and now have the rest of it as leftover, finished the rest of the endless second sleeve, and I am now ready to wear my new favourite sweater forever and ever! Because I LOVE IT! And it’s PERFECT! It was definitely worth all the trouble and frustration at the end, because it still is my comfort sweater that was there for me during some big changes in life.

Hopefully next time we move (or I run out of yarn, he he), I can wear my BiRTHDAY sweater like a big, soft hug to remind me that everything will work out just fine.

And a lesson learned. As a new year’s resolution (or just a general note to myself), I solemnly swear that from now on I will always buy one skein more than I think I will need for a project, just to avoid yet again running out of yarn. It’s a cheap price to pay, and the yarn will eventually be used on some other project.

And another note: Cotton Merino blend was a really nice material to work with, I should definitely try some other projects with that as well! I believe it might be just perfect for me: the memory and softness of wool but it drapes nicely and not quite as warm, so you can wear the garments also during warmer seasons.

Happy knitting!

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