Smilla's Sense of Sweater

Some time ago, my friend, Mary, asked if it would be possible for me to knit her a sweater. I balked a little... it's a big commitment, and when there's a deadline or someone else to please, it's a little nerve-wracking. She said she would pay me handsomely, but I chose not to accept money for the project. Instead, she paid me in yarn. I also told her that it would probably take me a while to get it done. Well, embarrassingly, it's about two years later and I'm finally making headway on the project. It's turned out to be the kind of challenge that presents plenty of learning opportunities, and it's been quite enjoyable rising to the occasion. Why? Because there is no pattern for the sweater of Mary's dreams. In fact, she ogled the sweater in a favorite movie of hers, namely Smilla's Sense of Snow. Following is a link that you can click to see more about this movie. There's even a trailer to watch that shows a few, fleeting glimpses of Smilla's sweater.

Click here for more information on Smilla's Sense of Snow

Two years ago, when all of this began, I searched and searched for pictures and/or patterns for Mary's desired sweater, to no avail. So, Mary sent me the DVD and I watched the movie. I took notes on which scenes contained the sweater and then popped the DVD into my computer, queued up the scenes and used the zoom-in feature to see this beauty up close. I started sketching and taking notes and pretty soon I came up with a concept for Smilla's sweater.



Here are two photos I took of the sweater during a paused scene while watching the DVD on my computer, just so you can get an idea of what it looks like.




Following are some pictures of my work in progress. At this point, I'm pleased with how the sweater is turning out, and I'm pretty sure Mary will be, too. Although I'm a bit sorry to have taken so long to get this baby out of the starting gate, I'm really pumped up about seeing it reach the finish line. And I've learned a lot along the way, as well. I hope Mary enjoys the final product as much as I have enjoyed the process of designing it.



It's a cold, yet sunny day here in Ohio, and the sun is streaming in my southern-facing windows. There is a nice fire in the wood stove, and my chair looks warm and inviting in the morning sun. My knitting basket beckons, and I do believe I will be sitting in the quiet this afternoon, enjoying the rhythmic meditation of the wool sliding through my fingers and onto the needles, as I motor on to the finish line of Smilla's Sense of Sweater. An apt name, I feel, to capture all the aspects of this project.

Smilla, I hear your call, but first, back to my tasks at hand...