This month’s theme are people who have inspired you or changed your life. My bear is to honor my dad who changed the trajectory of our lives. Like my dad, the bear is named Woo (湖), which means lake. Woo bear is wearing a postal uniform like my dad.

At 13, Dad made the long journey from China to work in the laundry business with uncles from the extended family. He graduated from high school, served in the Korean War, and became a letter carrier. His letter carrier job provided the family with a steady income and health insurance. It allowed the family to enter the middle class.

When Dad turned 70, I accompanied him to visit our village in China. I saw our concrete house with no plumbing and no electricity but for a single wire pulled into the house to power a single light bulb. I saw the villagers with their skin weathered by the sun and the long hours of farming. At that moment, I was so grateful that Dad made the decision to come to the United States because the people that I met could have been me.

Letter carrier sweater

Start sweater - sweater is knitted top down

• Cast on 24 stitches
• Place markers as follows: 2 stitches for left front, 3 stitches for left sleeve, 14 stitches for back, 3 stitches for right sleeve, and 2 stitches for right front
• WS: purl all stitches
• RS: (starting with right front) k1, m1, k to marker, sm, (sleeve) m1, k to marker, m1, sm, (back) k all stitches, sm, (sleeve) m1, k to marker, m1, sm, (left front) k to last stitch, m1, k1
• Repeat last two rows until sleeve wraps around bear’s arm (about 19 stitches). I stopped the increases on the front at the same time.

Separate body and sleeves

• knit to sleeve. Place stitches on waste yarn. Cast on 4 stitches. Knit to the next sleeve. Place stitches on waste yarn. Knit to the end.
• Join the fronts so you are now knitting in the round. Knit until the sweater is long enough.
• K1, p1 ribbing for three rows. Bind off loosely.

Sleeves

• With DPNs, pick up stitches for sleeve
• Knit and at the underarm, pick up 6 stitches. For the next row, you will k2tog at the beginning and end of the 6 stitches so you have 4 picked up stitches
• Knit until sleeve is the desired length
• K1, p1 ribbing for three rows. Bind off loosely.