photo by ldyck
Chapter Sixteen
To celebrate our first Christmas together, I was inspired to design and knit Jaron a sweater—like a knitwear designer's love ballad. Around the time I hatched that plan, a shipment of yarn arrived from a new supplier. Marta read the label before slicing open the first box. She pulled out a plastic bag containing several skeins of yarn. “Alpaca is a beautiful yarn with a luxurious, fine drape.” She tore open the bag and handed me a skein. The label read Suri Alpaca. She sliced open another box. This label read Huacaya. On another box, that label described the fibre content as 50% wool/50 % alpaca.
I couldn't decide between a deep purple or a subtle grey. Then I found the perfect shade of periwinkle—Jaron's favourite colour. I did some mental calculations and scooped ten skeins into my arms—one more than I thought I'd need.
My knitting went quickly, and days before Christmas I sewed the seams and wove in the ends. Love in each stitch, I couldn't wait to see Jaron's reaction. I placed the sweater in the bottom of a gift bag and stuffed the bag with tissue paper. On Christmas Day, tissue paper flew.
As he pulled out the sweater, Jaron sang, “Oh, Gwen, this is beautiful!”
He wore it all day and to every special occasion—New Year's parties, book readings, and art openings.
“My girlfriend is a fibre artist. She designed and knit this sweater,” he told everyone. “I know, she's very talented.”
He collected compliments like wildflowers and presented the bouquet to me.
