Tea with Jam and Bread

We finally had a sunny day last week, and I was able to take some pictures of Paul’s Tea with Jam and Bread sweater!

This is a terrific basic pullover pattern. The only thing that’s a little unusual in the design is that Heidi Kirrmaier adds some short-row shaping at the back of the neck to get a more pleasing fit. In the photo below, you can see the nice effect it has. I like this so much that I’ll probably start adding it to other sweater patterns in the future.

At Paul’s request I didn’t didn’t do the color blocking or add the pockets that the pattern calls for. The only other modification I made was to the sleeves. To get a slightly more tailored fit, I started the decreases early and worked them so that the cuffs fit close around the wrist. I also shortened the length of the sleeves a bit to fit Paul’s arms.

The yarn I used for this was Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted in the “Cafe Au Lait” colorway. I got it on sale at Alpaca Direct. It’s something I’d been wanting to try for quite awhile because Brown Sheep seems like such a great company. They’re a family-owned business, located in Mitchell, Nebraska, and they’ve done all kinds of things to make their process environmentally friendly–things like coming up with a way to reuse 70-90% of their daily waste water!

I also really love a wool/mohair blend for warm, hard wearing sweaters. I’ve got a sweater’s worth of this in “Antique Mauve” I’m going to use to make something for myself.

Bottom line, I highly recommend both this sweater pattern and the yarn if you’re looking for a comfy, sturdy, well designed pullover!

 

12 Comments

  1. Beautiful sweater! This sweater is a great wardrobe staple (I love the name of the colour way!) and the pictures really show how your modifications have made for a perfect fit. Do you modify every sweater pattern you knit? (I’ve heard it’s really hard to find ‘the perfect’ pattern as is, and that mods are the norm). Thanks for the inspiration!

    • melinda

      Thank you, Shirley! This is such an interesting topic. I’ve actually come only gradually to modifying patterns. I’m a directions follower at heart, so changing things up is outside of my comfort zone. The more sweaters I knit, though, the more I’m able to recognize which elements of a pattern will produce what I want and which might not. In this case I knew Paul wouldn’t like the loose fitting sleeve, so making it more tailored was a must. Do you tend to modify the patterns you knit?

  2. I count myself a directions-follower, too. 🙂 At least in knitting, so far. I have not been modifying too much for the most part. How awesome that a knitting-feel for knowing what to expect from the pattern has developed with experience. I think this is so incredible – kind of like musicians who can ‘hear’ a piece of sheet-music! Bravo on this beautiful knit. <3

  3. Great photos, great sweater, nice to read about the modifications and how they worked out for your model. You are lucky, he obviously appreciates your hard work. Someone I know (who happens to be sitting right beside me but is not reading this as I type!\) is very reluctant to have anything ‘homemade’ – think he was scarred as a child in constant hand made items – he gives in to hats, but that’s all !

    • melinda

      Haha! I hear you. I long to outfit Paul in handknit socks, but he is adamantly opposed to wool on his feet. I’m not sure, but I think this may also have its roots in childhood. He’s also opposed to hats on general principle. The things we knitters have to contend with, right? Lol! Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I’ve just discovered your blog and look forward to following along! 🙂

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