I recently had the opportunity to knit a cardigan called “The Old Man & The Sea”, designed by Mel of Single Handed Knits. Which you can purchase from her website here or from Ravelry, here.
A group of us participated in a RAL/KAL, where we read “The Old man & The Sea”, which was the inspiration for the cardigan. I have a copy of Hemmingway’s book in both digital and audio format, which made it very easy for me to listen to the book on my commute to and from work. I must have listened to it at least a dozen times. The book begins to feel like an old friend after about three or four times through. What treasures there are to be found!!
As I was reading and knitting I tried to jot down any little tidbits that the yarn and the word chose to reveal to me. Some profound only to me, but still here they are:
My little notebook is red with the word “Parallels” printed simply in white on the front cover. How appropriate!
The yarn I chose, Dream in Color Everlasting Sock in club color Posy, reminded me of the beautiful sunsets we get to see on our Pacific coast.
One of the skeins was darker and richer, so I chose to save it for the top portion of the cardi since this would emulate the darker skies as you look up at the sunset.
Tuna, Marlin, Dolphin, Shark, Heavy Rope, Gnarled Hands, An Old Man at the End of His Life, His Rope, His Strength, How He Copes With and Endures His Age, Both in Strengths and in Weakness.
What I enjoyed most about knitting this garment is the way Mel, the designer, encourages you to think, to expand, to create, and to allow your work to ‘happen’.
The natural progression to this process is to continue on and learn and grow…through Manolin and now Makai
May I be worthy of the journey…
-Kelly
