Delancey Knit Along: Week 4

The goal this week was to finish up the body. I also gave my Delancey a little bath to straighten everything out before I seam up the shoulders.

Lookin' Pretty Fine! I'll be using the rest week of Week 5 to weave in all those pesky ends and seam that puppy up.

Delancey Knit Along: Week 3

My post is a little late this week because I've been so busy working on other projects Delancey took kind of a back seat. I also was nervous about separating for the arm holes. It's a lot of row counting to keep track of and depending on what size your knitting your instructions jump around in the pattern. Finally I sat down with my highlighter, planned my route through the pattern and got started. I'm sorry I put it off for so long because once I started in, it really wasn't that hard. This week it even started to look like a sweater.

I'm done with the right front, about half way done with the back and then it's on to the left front. I'm just a touch behind of the week four goal (to have the body complete) but we have a rest week next week so I'm sure I'll catch up in no time. This sweater has been such a breeze to knit. It's simple enough but so engaging because of the construction.

Delancey Knit Along

I've participated in a few Sweatshop of Love Knit Alongs, although all of them haven't gone swimmingly (looking at you summer.) This time around I'll be knitting the Delancey Cardigan. I've been waiting to make this sweater for awhile now and I'm so excited to chart my progress along with all of the other fabulous knitters participating.

After my massive sweater debacle I've become a little more dedicated about swatching and calculating my gauge.I know that a little more work in the beginning will save me A LOT (re-knitting an entire sweater) work in the end.

This pattern runs a little large so I'm going down two needles sizes ( I knit a little loosely). I ended up with a swatch that is a little narrower than called for in the pattern gauge. I'm going to knit a size smaller than I normally wear. Sometimes sweater making is part logic and part gut feeling. I know that I would much rather have a smaller sweater I have to block out larger then a sweater I'm swimming in. I'm looking forward to casting on for this project so soon and excited to stay on top of it documenting it all! 

Resolutions

Six days into the new year and most people have written their lists of resolutions. They have looked back on the year that has passed, reflecting on what has happened, perhaps thought about successes, assessed what they would like to differently in the future for those less successful times. This blog is no different. There are many notes that I have scribbled down over post-its on my desk or the pages of my journals and one of them dirrectly relates to my knitting.

You see, earlier this summer I had the idea to knit a sweater for a very special gentleman in my life. I worked, in secret on this sweater waiting, until I could reveal it as the perfect, well thought out, and crafted with care present I envisioned it to be. As I was knitting it, I kept having the nagging feeling that something wasn't right. But I pushed those feelings down and kept blindly following the pattern. I've been known to go rouge on patterns at times, and I was determined to put my head down and follow the pattern to the t. All of this was going fine and dandy until the gentleman opened my gift, and prompltly drowned in my sweater.

You see, I had knit something large enough to fit not one but TWO adults. So, this sweater had to be ripped out and knit over again. I was able to save the sleeves and just rip back the shoulder caps but the entire body was a gonner.  It languished for months until I mustered up the courage to start ripping that sucker out. Over Christmas I recast on. I'm hoping to finish it by end of February hoping that it can see some sweater weather this winter.

In frogging this sweater I started to think about some of the other projects I have that don't work for me. Although I loved knitting The Dollar and Half Cardigan. I've never actually worn it. It was the first sweater I made and there are some changes I would make (like remembering I have the worlds shortest arms EVER and I need to not knit the recommended lengths, ever.) Other sweaters like The February Lady, just really aren't my style anymore. So, I have made an executive decision. I need to be using, and loving the things that are in my life. 2012 is all about making what I have work for me. The February Lady has been frogged for good, and the dollar and half is in the process of being frogged to be re-knit. Sometimes it can be hard to re-do projects, or to let go of them all together but there's no use in keeping them in my life when they aren't working for me. This year is about doing more with what I have and one of the ways to do that is to re-purpose the things that are already in my life. Sometimes that means letting go of things to make space for something new and sometimes it means starting over, and trying again. The best part of re-doing a project is getting to use the experience of making it the first time around. Thanks to Allyson for being my co-model and here's to 2012.

Sunday Snapshot

Today was taking instead of making. Ripping things out, or frogging, as it is called takes a fraction of the time it takes to knit something, even so. It took me a solid 3 hours to finish ripping out this puppy. Here's to second chances. ugh.