Saturday, October 8, 2011

October is sweater weather

“Pity about the scarf — Madame Nostradamus made it for me — a witty little knitter. Never get another one like it.”
— The fourth Doctor, “Ark in Space”
What better way to spend an overcast autumn Saturday than to put on a comfortable sweater, drape a thick wool blanket over my legs and sit outside reading in the fresh air with the cat stretched out at my feet.

Every year I welcome fall’s return and with it, the opportunity to engage in these creature comforts.

Granted, I will wear sweaters every day of the year — indoor air conditioning makes the temperature painfully chilly for me. I end up having to dress for the season as nature created it as well as for the artificial climate in which I travel and work.

Layering. It’s all about layering.

Which means carrying all of these things that I will need during the day: hat, gloves and sweater to protect me from chill whenever I am indoors but that, conversely, have to to be removed when I step outside again. I suppose the alternative would be to tough it out, except that being cold hurts!

It’s so much easier in the autumn, when the indoor and outdoor temperatures more closely approximate each other. I only have to dress for one set of conditions instead of alternating extremes.

I am a firm believer that a person cannot have too many sweaters, gloves and hats. Whether through color or texturing, knit patterns are beautiful.

This year, I took up knitting with circular pegged looms that freed me from the limitation of poor dexterity. Stockinette, ribbing and mock cabling adorn my hand-knit caps. I dream of duplicating Fair Isle patterns on a knitting board and indulging in knitting-based cosplay: making TARDIS socks, the fourth Doctor’s knitted scarf that was made by Madame Nostradamus and the seventh Doctor’s question-mark vest. Perfect for a lady Time Lord, with the patterns already calculated at wittylittleknitter.com/.

The beauty of knitting — and crochet — would be reason enough to form the staple of my wardrobe. Beyond physical attractiveness, however, sweaters exert a comfortable weight that is immensely reassuring. I feel much more grounded and at peace when I wear a warm sweater or coat.

Tuck a blanket — the thicker, the better — over my legs and feet and my condition approximates experiencing heaven on earth.

The cat was likewise absolutely in heaven while sitting outside with me. The thick wool blanket that draped onto the ground formed a perfect little cavern from which Starfire could gaze out at the world, untroubled by a blustering wind that rattled the latticework.

Later Starfire stretched out full-length on the blanket next to my feet.

There is so much to look forward to now that autumn has arrived. High on the list is the opportunity to enjoy sweaters and caps.

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