Purple Aran

Aran sweaters are rich in history. The individual stitches have specific meanings . The grouping of certain stitches and patterns identify specific Irish clans, so that if I see a center trinity stitch panel flanked by rope cables and seed stitches, I know who your family is (or whose sweater you've borrowed). For centuries these traditions have been handed down from one generation to the next. When you make an Aran, you are honoring these traditions.

The only trouble with this history is that it's wrong. A famous knitter debunked these romantic fallacies in one of her Aran sweater books, but they will still pop up from time to time, and you can still buy an "authentic" Irish clan sweater on certain websites. The stitches have no significance beyond what you give them. I like the look of blackberry or trinity stitch so I use it in my designs because I like it, not because it signifies the Holy Trinity. There are no "authentic" clan patterns, unless you designate that your design is your family's "clan Aran".

So why is this important? To me, it liberates you from having to follow certain Aran rules, so that your sweater can be uniquely yours. Here are those "rules":

Aran Rules You Can Ignore

1. Aran sweaters must be off-white/natural/bainin. Not true, although lighter colors do show off the stitch patterns better than a dark or variegated yarn. Shadows created by the 3-D aspect of the cables and textured stitches get lost in dark and multicolored yarns.
2. Aran sweaters must be wool. Wool was traditionally used, because it was the most readily available yarn. You can use whatever yarn you like, even acrylic!
3. Aran sweaters must be knitted in an heirloom appropriate yarn. The thinking is that because of all the work you've done, you're going to want to hand this sweater down, so make it in the "best" (code word for most expensive) yarn. Again, it's an option, not a rule. My best in show Aran cardigan was done in Red Heart Super Saver! (Since acrylic is virtually indestructible, I'll be able to hand it down when I'm gone.)
4. Aran sweaters are clan-specific. Not true. Use your favorites in any grouping you like.
5. Aran sweaters have a specific sleeve type. Not true. I've seen set-in sleeves touted as the Aran sleeve,  that Arans traditionally have raglan sleeves, and that most Arans feature a saddle sleeve. They all can't be true, so use the sleeve type you're most comfortable with.
6. Arans have a larger central pattern, flanked by smaller cables, with filler stitches at the sides. Again, they don't have to follow this design, but the use of filler stitches at the sides of the body and correspondingly, the underarms of the sleeves, is a good idea. Filler stitches, such as seed, moss, rice, and sand stitches are flatter and are less bulky. This allows more ease of movement in the underam area.

Purple Aran

The words "purple" and "Aran" don't seem to go together, but that's what's on my knitting needles now: a purple cotton cabled sweater, adapted (from a Bernat booklet) to be worked in the round. The yarn is definitely not traditional. It's a cotton, light worsted weight by my guesstimation, reclaimed from a Lane Bryant sweater that I bought at Gabe's for a dollar. It was only a dollar because the collar was already coming off, which for me was a bonus-it's already started to frog itself! If I work fast, it might be done for the Fayette County Fair. If not, maybe the Westmoreland county Fair.

One tip I learned from doing this sweater is that in order to make the cables line up correctly once the yoke is reached, you have to do a little math. I did the body first, and it took nine 12-row repeats plus the ribbing to reach 16.5 inches. Since the underarm length was to be 19 inches, I measured the 12-row repeat, added that to the measurement of the whole body and made up the difference in ribbing. Then when I joined the sleeves with the body, I was on the same row. This might not be important if you're working smaller cables that twist every fourth row or so, but this was a v-shaped cable that would have looked off-kilter. Although some knitting mavens suggest working the sleeves first, in order to make sure your gauge is correct, in this case, I suggest doing the body first. If you have a large row repeat, you might have to start some place other than row one on the sleeves in order to synchronize everything at the yoke.

So, Aran knitting tip number one: Plan ahead if you're working in the round to be sure that your patterns line up correctly, ie., all start on the same row when joining at the yoke. A slight variation in ribbing length may be enough, or you may need to adjust on what pattern row the sleeve cables should start.

The Trouble with eBay

It seems so simple. List your items and wait for someone to bid on them. What could be easier?

Well, that's what I thought until I actually listed some items on eBay: yarn I knew I would never use but it was too good to just donate to Goodwill, some out of print Barbie patterns, a Vera Bradley bag that I actually had bought on eBay (and foolishly didn't realize how big it was). Nothing Earth shattering. Then the wait for bids. In some cases, that wait was fruitless. Then the wait for payment, and as a new seller, even after the buyer paid, I have to wait until PayPal deems I'm not a con artist. And still waiting for payments.

But I have learned to be more specific in where I'll ship-US only. I've sent care packages to my brother overseas and filling out the customs form is no fun. I'm not a business; this isn't supposed to be a hassle for me. Since I don't get paid right away, it would mean shelling out for overseas postage then waiting for three weeks to get re-imbursed. At $40+ dollars to send a Priority Mail package to Great Britain, that's a not insignificant chunk o' change, and again, neither fun nor something I'm going to do.

So as soon as my yarn sells, or doesn't sell, my days as an eBay seller are done.

On a brighter note, I did buy some yarn, Nature Spun sportweight in a light brown, similar to the fingering weight wool I had previously bought. Maybe a scarf and glove set? 

Bargain of the day is three books from Goodwill: a Fannie Flagg novel, true story about Pat Tillman, and a true crime (my favorite type of book!). At $0.99 each, less the 15% "senior citizen" discount, it's a real bargain.