Web-Letter, Issue 42 – Pat's Green Child's Pullover Pat Chew, owner and CEO of Classic Elite Yarns since the early 1980s, died on May 16 having fought leukemia for the past few months. Pat was a woman of gusto. She loved to garden and could whip up an incredible salad for twenty in the blink of an eye. An avid sailor, she raced sailboats. Last summer, she traveled to Spain to photograph an America’s Cup trial—clinging, as she described it, camera in hand, to the gunnels of a pounding speed boat as it followed the race. Pat relished learning how to use the latest in electronics; she was one of the first to own an iPhone. And she was a loyal Red Sox fan; within hours of being admitted to the hospital, she had ordered a large screen TV so she wouldn’t miss a game. Pat knew how to knit, but it wasn’t her favorite thing to do. Never one to waste time, however, she worked up quite a few scarves from a Twinkle pattern during her convalescence. I think she was a little surprised at how much she enjoyed it.  Avid knitter or not, Pat knew a lot about yarn. And she had a keen interest in color and pattern. When asked to review a color palette for a new yarn, she’d go first to the greens—her favorite color. She loved green, the grassier, the better. So, in honor of Pat Chew, whom we are missing very much, we offer a pattern for the greenest green sweater we could find. Here’s to you, Pat.
The Story: Photographing children can be a challenge. We have a talented photographer and great patterns. But it’s the person who wears the sweater in a photo who makes it come to life—or not. Rhys, our model for the Provence Pullover, has never failed to step up to the plate when asked to participate in a photo shoot. On the sunny day he was photographed here, he arrived on location with a huge black eye. His mother was mortified that he might be unable to participate in our shoot and apologized over and over. Rhys, who took off to play as soon as he arrived, was game, however, so we decided to go ahead and photograph him—the bright green sweater looked so good on him with his fair complexion and blonde hair! And we got one of the best photographs ever. So with a little digital magic, voila! No black eye. Rhys and his brother were two of Pat's favorite models for kids’ sweaters. And we can certainly understand why. Thanks Rhys! The Yarn: Provence — 100% mercerized Egyptian cotton Provence is the perfect yarn for a child's sweater. The mercerization process helps make the fibers more durable and able to handle the wear-and-tear of children's play. It's also machine washable—no worries about spilling. What does mericized mean? The Stitches: When deciding on which pattern to choose as a tribute to Pat, we wanted one that would represent some of Pat's favorite design elements—one of which is the color green, another is cables. The cables in this pattern travel back and forth over ribbing, giving the sweater a beautiful all-over texture. Learn how to make cables.	more photos The Pattern: Here is the free downloadable Provence Child's Pullover pattern.
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