Where Are They Now? 2KCBWDAY4

Alma

I first knit Alma, from the Rebel Knitter's Guide (Guardian newspaper supplement), in 2009. She was knit in Stylecraft Alpine in blue as a birthday present for my sister-in-law.  This first incarnation of Alma has travelled the furthest of any item I've knit, to the opposite side of the globe, New Zealand.

I enjoyed knitting Alma so much and loved the texture of Alpine, and the fact that it left my hands unbelievably soft, so I just had to knit her again.  For Alma 2 I picked a beautiful, autumnal colour mix of rusts and golds. This time she didn't travel so far, just scooting a little further south to my aunt in Cornwall.

I thought Alma and I were probably through now, though it was at the back of my mind that we might have to have another brief fling if I found a suitable purpley yarn for myself.  I was wrong.  My family had all seen either Alma 1 or 2 and she'd made quite an impression.  Alma 3 was soon under way, I can't remember the name of the yarn but she was a mixed texture of peach and pastel green with lilac and pastel pink ribbon; she moved slightly north to my sister who was studying in Birmingham and is now in Hertfordshire.

Was that the end of Alma? No!  I had some yellow yarn I didn't know what to do with, then I realised my big niece likes yellow.  I aquired a rasberry pink to go with it and, knitting with the two yarns together, Alma 4 in battenburg was born.  She didn't move far at all, just to one of our neighbouring towns.

I found out last Autumn that Alpine was being discontinued, so realised if I wanted to knit for myself with her I would need to do so soon.  The closest to purple I could get was a mix of pink, purple and charcoal, I liked it for accessories, though it would be too pink for a jumper for me. Alma 5 was under way.  Completed midway through last winter I think Alma 5 is probably the last in the line of Almas; she's lovely and snug.

So, Alma is a much travelled project:
Alma 1 - New Zealand
Alma 2 - Cornwall
Alma 3 - Birmingham, now Hertfordshire
Alma 4 - just down the road
Alma 5 - sitting on the kitchen chair.