beachlass: woman knitting with red yarn (knitting)
beachlass ([personal profile] beachlass) wrote in [community profile] unclutter2011-07-11 11:02 am
Entry tags:

sense and sentimentality

 In the ongoing project What is in this closet, anyway?!   I have started to unearth the sweaters that my much loved and missed grandmother knit for me.  In the 1980's. In acrylic. Which is pretty much indestructible. 

What do I do with them. I will ask my daughter when she gets home, maybe they are the right kind of retro for her. But... I am a fibre snob now, and a competent knitter in my own right. 

I think I am getting close to being able to let go of them, after something that is shoved in the back of a closet isn't really being enjoyed.

Suggestions Support?
adair: hands knitting (knitting)

[personal profile] adair 2011-07-11 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You want to keep them because your grandmother made them for you. That's a good reason, but maybe not for keeping all of them. Good acrylic is not bad looking, and has the advantage of easy washing. 80s sweater styles may or may not work for you; I like them - those drop shoulders still give me a good fit; I've saved a couple of basic patterns to use now because I don't like the close fit of recent designs on my body.

Do you like the colors? Would any of the sweaters work for your life now? Maybe you can pick one as a favorite to keep to remember the love that made it for you, and perhaps still use it from time to time.

I have a blue fluffy-yarn cable cardigan knit for me by a great-aunt as a high school graduation gift in 1964. She also made a straight skirt to go with it is some kind of fluff-textured fabric popular then. I wore them as my Sunday dinner in the dorm outfit for 3 years in college; dressing up was required. I kept the cardigan, and wore it as long as it still fit; it may still be in the cedar chest. I will probably pass it on when I go through that; last time I saw it was still in good condition and a classic cable cardigan.
peaceful_sands: butterfly (Default)

[personal profile] peaceful_sands 2011-07-11 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
It's a difficult thing to decide when sentimentality is involved. Do you have other things that bring back the good memories of your grandmother? If so, perhaps these sweaters could find a new home. If not, perhaps you could pick a favorite to keep purely for the sentiment. I get the feeling that you wouldn't want to wear them now, perhaps that's also your own way of telling yourself you don't need to keep them forever.