A Clothing Rant and the First FO of 2012

First the rant, for my birthday back in October, I received an Aventura cardigan. It is a whole two and one half months later and the cardi is literally falling apart at the seams!! I wear it about once a week, so maybe I've worn it six or seven times since I received it. Honestly, I've heard about such things happening, but I have never had an item of clothing actually self destruct this quickly. This cardi retails for around $80, which is not an insignificant amount of money. I might expect this from a Target sweater, but not from a company whose motto is "Aventura -- helping the earth one garmet at a time." How is making crap helping the earth? This is not even good enough to recycle at the consignment store. I will most likely try to mend it, but I think the gazillion other cardis like this one are making a beeline for the landfill. What a waste.


I know wise shoppers check clothing for quality before buying, but honestly to look at this sweater when it was brand new, it really was lovely. It's in a price range that I would think would offer at least moderate standards of workmanship, although I do know crap comes in every price range. The friend who gave me this sweater is the boutque owner.  Do I tell her so she can inform her vendor of the shoddy workmanship? Do I return it? Neither of these options appeal to me. I think I will most likely keep it, thankful for the generous friend who knew I would love both the cut and color of this sweater. One thing I know for sure is that I will never buy anything from this company.

For better quality knitwear, I finished my first knitted sweater of the year, Zephyr, and learned a couple of new techniques along the way including Judy's magic cast on and how to knit a contiguous sleeve. The best part is that I'm very happy with my new cardi. The yarn in incredibly soft and luxurious(44merino, 44alpaca, 12nylon), made in France (reasonably sure mill is not a sweat shop, unlike the Made in China cardi above, of which I am not reasonably sure) and I can personally vouch for the workmanship. 





Ascots for All

Newly knitted for Christmas gifts

Yes, I go on knitting “kicks” where I knit multiples of the same pattern, especially at Christmas time. One year it was hats, another knitted animals, last year it was a Knitty pattern called calorimetry; this year it’s ascots. I have made these before and this year two of my nieces and my SIL have requested them for Christmas; I am happy to oblige. I love this pattern because it’s fun to knit, quick, cost effective, quirky, warm and leans preppy on the style spectrum. Here’s the link if you want to knit the Anthropologie-Inspired Bobble Cable Ascot by Kayla Kramer.


The first group of ascots



Warm & colorful