susie's furry cardi

Last week, I posted a fantastic retro pattern which was once owned and knitted by my aunty Susie. I am very sad to have to post that she passed away this morning.

Sue was a warm hearted, kind and generous woman, and this, as every knitter knows, was well demonstrated by her passion for knitting so many of these wonderful garments for her nearest and dearest. I am so glad that she entrusted the patterns she had worked so closely with, pored over and lovingly recreated over the years to me just before she died, as now when I knit something from one of them I will still feel close to her. One of the things I love most about the process of knitting and giving hand knitted gifts is their capacity to evoke feelings of nostalgia, family, tradition and love, and Susie was a fantastic example of this. In a lovely continuation of this family tradition, her grandaughters are four of the most beautiful girls you have ever seen and, just as I wore Sue's knits as a child, two of them will be modelling my garments in my next book, something I am sure Sue would have taken pleasure from and would have loved to knit herself. For this reason, I wish she could have seen the final book; her experienced knitter's approval of the patterns would make me very happy.

One of the stitches that I most enjoy knitting is a fur, or loopy stitch, and I still maintain that the reason for this is that I was exposed to it from a very young age by a series of fantastic cardis, which I am sure many of you will have had a version of if you were a child of the 70s or 80s. This cute and cuddly cardigan, which I had in pink, blue and white at differing ages, was affectionately made for me by my aunt Sue, as well as for many other cousins, nieces and other distant members of our loving and 'close-knit' family throughout that time. Her version of the pattern is so well thumbed that it is torn into two, but sometime ago I found the same pattern in a charity shop and bought it instantly as it reminded me of Susie, and of that well-loved cardigan. So here is that pattern, my very small tribute to a wonderful, beautiful lady who fought hard throughout her life and was loved fiercely and loyally by all those who knew her. We will miss you, Susie. x