Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Hannah's Owl Pullover

I know in the past, owls were thought of as bad omen, but I'm choosing a more positive symbolism for the sweater I made for my daughter Hannah:
The animal symbolism of owl deals with:
Wisdom
Mystery
Transition
Messages
Intelligence
Mysticism
Protection
Secrets

That being said, I find it funny, that Hannah took the pictures in a cemetery.

Hannah's Owl Sweater

pattern: free Owl Pullover at Needled by Kate Davies
yarn: Bernat Alpaca, 70% acrylic, 30% alpaca, color Ebony, 4 balls, 5th ball for about 1 inch at the collar, ~ 500yds total
size: S 34" bust
needles: 6mm
start-finish: Jan. 26-28

How is it possible to knit a sweater in 3 days? If you are slightly obsessed with it, and use 6mm needles, that's how.

From the first moment I saw this sweater, I wanted to knit it. Thank goodness, Hannah wanted it too! I wish I could have used better yarn, but it had to be easy care for her, and this way it was cheaper too. What I forgot to think about before I started, was, that I needed 34 buttons for owly eyes. Where do you get so many buttons of the same kind?

At first I thought I'll use 3 different kinds, but in the end (after sewing on about 4 buttons) I asked Hannah, if she would be O.K. with only the front 6 owls having eyes, and she was. Good girl!


This sweater was knit in the round from the bottom edge up. It's got decreases and increases in the back for better (close) fit. For some reason the sleeves took me the longest. Did I ever mention I don't like knitting sleeves? Argh!


I wished to God, that it would fit Hannah, and as you can see in the pictures, it does! I LOVE the one where you can see the back, not just because of the sweater, but the whole picture does it for me. :o) Thanks Honey, for the gorgeous photos!

owlsweater7[1] src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3444/3287983477_e78681fac7.jpg" width=500>

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32 comments:

  1. aelvaFebruary 18, 2009 6:18 a.m.

    NICE!!!!! Ist wirklich toll geworden. Ich liebäugele auch schon eine WEile mit diesem Pulli ...
    Liebe Grüße

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  2. Queen of the Tea CosiesFebruary 18, 2009 6:39 a.m.

    That is so beautiful. And so is Hannah.

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2009 8:05 a.m.

    Hallo Moni,

    Coole Tochter in einem tollen Pulli und die Fotos sind klasse!!

    LG von Heike

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  4. lexaFebruary 18, 2009 8:27 a.m.

    Love it! This is the girl in Halifax? Is that the cemetary where there are a bunch of Titanic victims buried?

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  5. AndreapgnFebruary 18, 2009 8:48 a.m.

    What a fun sweater, I love it!

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  6. Dreams of YarnFebruary 18, 2009 9:40 a.m.

    its such a pretty sweater! I downloaded this pattern as well. Seeing yours makes me want to knit it even more!!! it looks great on Hannah!

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  7. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2009 10:28 a.m.

    This sweater is beautiful!! It looks very nice on (my namesake) Hannah.

    Maybe this is a nice pattern for me to knit for Vera.

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  8. Yarn DevilFebruary 18, 2009 10:36 a.m.

    Love it! Love it! Reminds me of my granny who had an owl wall hanging in her livingroom! Thank you! And yes I like to think owls are the good stuff too!!

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  9. herzlichkreativFebruary 18, 2009 11:08 a.m.

    Pulli und Tochter sind so huebsch und die Bilder einzigartig.

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  10. GoldenTracksFebruary 18, 2009 11:42 a.m.

    I love the owl sweater. Hannah looks great in it. Too funny that she chose the cemetary for a backdrop. I consider owls a symbol of wisdom. Gonna have to queue this one up!

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  11. CloudberryFebruary 18, 2009 12:46 p.m.

    She looks great in it!
    She's lucky to have you as a mother :)

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  12. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2009 12:51 p.m.

    Lucky Hannah! I wish my mom knew how to knit!

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  13. FriedaFebruary 18, 2009 1:47 p.m.

    I love the sweater , it looks terrific on Hannah ! How did you like the yarn ?

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  14. MabianaFebruary 18, 2009 2:37 p.m.

    It looks great! :-)

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  15. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2009 3:46 p.m.

    toll ist der geworden! Und sooo schnell!! hast Du Turbo-Nadeln? :)
    begeisterte Grüße aus Wien
    Gila

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  16. BeverlyFebruary 18, 2009 4:03 p.m.

    I love the owl sweater. Wonderful job and perfect color. She looks fantastic in it.

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  17. momsue84February 18, 2009 4:05 p.m.

    So Cute! Both sweater and model. I love the owls! You are just so talented, Monika.

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  18. TobyFebruary 18, 2009 4:17 p.m.

    What a great sweater! It looks like Hannah loves it too. :)

    I've had my eye on this one on Ravelry. When I was a kid we had a knit blanket made up of many wildly colored blocks, each one with owls like this in the center. Of course seeing it on Ravelry brought back a ton of memories of that blanket.

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  19. Claudia BughFebruary 18, 2009 4:20 p.m.

    Just wonderful - and not just because the sweater is the coolest.

    It's wonderful because I've never seen Hannah so happy. Now that is the best way to say thank you, I think.

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  20. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2009 5:34 p.m.

    She is gorgeous - love the photos!! and of course the owl sweater is beautiful - perfect in grey alpaca - 3 days??? I've been on the sleeves of Acer for a month :-)

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  21. MarianneFebruary 18, 2009 7:09 p.m.

    WHA???? Three days? That's amazing!
    wow.
    and it's a gorgeous sweater, the fit is outstanding.
    I like owls, I've always considered them in a positive light.

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  22. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2009 1:14 a.m.

    Mannomann, du hast ja ein Model als Tochter..... als ob sie ständig vor der Kamera stünde....

    Der Pulli steht ihr ganz toll.

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  23. StrickfimmelFebruary 19, 2009 4:29 a.m.

    Der Pulli ist ja superschnell fertig geworden. Die Fotos sind klasse und der Pulli steht ihr wirklich gut. Super Arbeit!!

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  24. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2009 10:43 a.m.

    I LOVE the owl sweater and it looks especially AMAZING on lovely Hannah in her photos.

    Keep on keeping on with the knitting!

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  25. sgeddesFebruary 19, 2009 1:47 p.m.

    I love it! I had no idea that owls were ever considered bad omens. My aunt has always collected little owl figurines and they are truly wonderous birds to see.

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  26. SusanneFebruary 19, 2009 3:01 p.m.

    Liebe Monika,
    was für tolle Fotos!! Ich freu mich sehr für Dich, dass Deiner Hannah der Pulli so gut gefällt und auch so toll sitzt. Was für eine wunderschöne Eulen-Borte - die sieht echt wunderschön aus. War das Dein eigenes Design?
    Ganz liebe Grüße aus old Germany von
    Susanne

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  27. AgnesFebruary 19, 2009 4:27 p.m.

    Lovely sweater on a lovely model! I would love to make this too ... just wondering if I should make it for myself (it would then be a cardigan) or for my 15-yo niece. Maybe both!

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  28. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2009 12:45 a.m.

    Love the owls!
    Margie in Maryland

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  29. La Cabeza GrandeFebruary 21, 2009 8:42 p.m.

    Oh, really cute sweater on a beautiful daughter! I like your smart solution regarding the buttons.

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  30. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2009 2:30 p.m.

    Cute Sweater and looks great on Hannah. The owls remind me of those I did in macrame many moons ago! I think everyone did those macrame owls.

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  31. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2009 10:11 p.m.

    I made an Owl dishcloth a while ago, not realising it could be on a whole jumper. It's fabulous!!!! Hannah is so lucky to have a wonderful mum!!

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  32. hakuchoFebruary 25, 2009 6:12 p.m.

    Love Hannah's sweater...reminds me of the owl vest I knitted for my oldest when he was a little boy. Instead of buttons I used googly eyes :)

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