Marco Blue

When he was little, Marco had this sweater, a cabled Nautica-brand cardigan from the TJ MAXX clearance rack. I can't remember what Family Celebration I decided he needed it for, but the first time he wore it one of my older brothers looked down at him and said, "Whoa. Is that your color or what?"

Back when I first decided to knit sweaters for my kids, I wanted to make Marco's in that particular blue and I didn't care how many on-line and local yarn stores I went through to find it. I now own one huge stash of blue Cascade 220. There was the one that was close, but had that electric purple/pink heather. One was too dark, the next one too gray, a third was too pale, a fourth was too pretty. It's very elusiveness made me dig in my heels. For his sweater, I would have that blue or none. It didn't help that I was relying on photographs -- many of which featured him in blue, but none of which featured him in that particular sweater -- and memory.

I finally shanghaied Clare and dragged her along to Nana's Knitting Shop. Tricia at Nana's has the best collection of Cascade 220 in the city and she stocks sweater quantities. Together, I was sure Clare and I would recognize "that blue."

Clare pulled a beautiful, bright, deep royal blue from one of the bins. "This is Marco blue."

"But I really want a heathered blue. Heathers are so much more fun to knit. What about this one?"

She gave me this look over her glasses and shook the skein at me. "This is Marco blue."

"Well. I suppose but what about...?"

She raised her eyebrow (I hate that she can do that and I can't) and practically hit me on the nose with the yarn. "This is Marco blue."

"Huh. So it is." (I've never been proof against The Eyebrow.)

In between the various closet projects, I've been knitting happily away for days now, secure in the knowledge that I was not relying on my faulty memory or those photos that should have been there but weren't.

Well. I was knitting happily once I ripped back and started over because I had twisted my cast-on and didn't notice for way more inches than you need to know (just in case you thought my knitting might have finally succumbed and acknowledged me as master of the universe).

Speaking of the closet projects, guess what I unearthed this morning?

Guess what else. That yarn? It's not Marco blue.

I hear afghans for Afghans wants sweaters.