I did it!

So, I did it.   I didn't think I could.  I'm pretty sure many of my loved ones thought I had bitten off more than I could chew.  And, I did.  But, thanks to a grandpa who was a dentist, I have fabulous teeth and can chew and chew forever (which is, at times, kind of how it felt working on this thing).  But, now the needles are down, the arthritic feeling in my hands is going away and I have a new sweater to wear!  Of course, it's a little too warm here now - 90 degrees is not exactly knit-sweater weather - but in just 3 short months, I will be styling in my homemade, handknit cardigan.
Now, I learned a few things on this bumpy road to knitville, and because I'm such a giver, I'm going to share with all of you so you don't have to repeat my mistakes ... or at least so we can commiserate together. These are in no specific order, just the way my brain has thrown them my way.

• When knitting a pattern, read through it fairly carefully.  If you don't recognize terms or symbols, ask someone, go online and research.  Do something other than think "it's ok ... I'm sure it'll make sense when I get there."  Because it won't. In fact, by the time you get there, you're gonna be almost too frustrated to go on, because inevitably what you should have understood was necessary about 10 rows prior to when you finished.
• If the pattern specifies by length, not by row numbers, don't stretch your knitwork out so you can 'be done with that part of the pattern.'  This is, of course, up to you ... you may be a person who enjoys habitually pulling down the back and sides of your clothing so they sit right.  I'm not so much.
• See the above, because if you think blocking it and stretching it will work, you're wrong.  Very wrong. And then it will be too late to go back and add a few rows.  Well, ok, I'm sure it's never too late for some of you who are really really fabulous at knitting. But, if you are fabulous at knitting, you're probably not reading my blog unless it's for kicks and giggles.
• Take breaks and stretch those hands periodically, because when you grip a tall, heavy glass of water and try to bring it to your lips, it can be very very messy if your hands are all cramped up from two or three hours of knitting.
• Don't get so engrossed in the film you're watching while knitting that you forget to count.  Count stitches, rows, whatever.  Do it, because unraveling is very stressful when you've been so diligent at a lovely lace pattern and now you've added a few holes where they shouldn't be.

So, are you amazed after that list that I managed to knit at all, let alone finish a full sweater?  Well, lest you consider me a liar ...

Ta da (imagine fanfair and trumpets ... confetti if you like).  I'm quite proud of it.  Sure, there are a few things I'd do different the second time around, but I wouldn't know those things if I hadn't tried it.  The point is, I did it.  I set my mind to it, only set it down a few times, and each time I picked it up and kept going. And voila ... a sweater. Yay!

So, I wonder what's next in my hobby jar ... here goes nothing.  Wish me luck!

It Almost Beat Me

So, remember how I said I was new to knitting.  Yeah ... apparently the pattern I picked doesn't lend itself well to new.  I managed to finish the back (yay!) and in spite of a weird little bind-off issue, it looks pretty much like I imagine a back should look.  I felt so proud.  I have one third of a cardigan!  I cast on some stitches and jumped head first into the front side of the sweater.  And stared at the pattern.  Worked it a few times, didn't understand what it was telling me to do ... lace patterns are unpleasant and difficult, I've decided ... did my best to figure it out, finished one full row and then put it down in quiet frustration.

A few days went by, and my darling hubby eyed my bag of yarn and asked how it was going.  What a sweet man to even recognize that I was working on something in the first place!  I rolled my eyes, sighed loudly and said, and I quote ... "The pattern is stupid and probably wrong.  I'm taking a break from it."

Now, my husband knows me well enough to recognize what "I'm taking a break" means.  It means, this will sit by the couch for a bit, then get moved to a chair, where it will be re-moved and shifted as it gets in the way of other projects I start and eventually be relegated into the black hole that is my craft room.  Left to live out it's unfinished existence next to the unfinished pajama bottoms, unfinished hemming projects and unfinished potpourri satchels.  Unfinished.  Are you sensing a pattern?

Luckily, again, my husband knows me.  And he knows I'm trying to turn over a new leaf and actually finish a project.  And, as luck would have it, he knows someone who is an expert knitter!  She even goes to knitting conventions!  And, she's nice.  So he asked if she could help me.  She said yes!

So, last Saturday, in between a neighborhood cleanup and a family dinner, I encroached on her precious time (she has a little one, and was willing to let me come during his nap time!  Didn't I say she was nice!) and she helped me.  And boy, did she help me!  She didn't even laugh when I told her how many times I restarted the pattern, didn't chuckle at all when I asked her how to do even the simplest of techniques ... SSK - I just kept dropping it.  And, even when I was showing her how I worked the pattern, and she noticed that I wasn't even knitting in the normal way (self-taught leaves a lot of room for error), she only studied my work and said nicely, "I'm really surprised that you were able to make this look right without actually doing it right!"  She helped fix my knitting technique (which, by the way, explains why I couldn't do a SSK in the first place) and then explained what to do within the pattern.  The whole pattern!  She even lent me a knitting book.  What a sweetie!  When I'm a pro at knitting, I will be just as helpful and nice to the newbies!

So, I am once again knitting like the wind, and this time in the correct way (I totally own SSK now).  Looks like this project may have narrowly escaped the dooming clutches of the unfinished pile and might have a home in my closet after all!

And look, look at the pretty chevrons (I'm probably not spelling that right, but I'm not in the mood to look it up).  See how nice that will look on me!  Just use your imagination, that's what I'm doing!

Knit, Purl, Knit ... Wait ... Oh dang!

So, I began this project because I love the feel of a knitted sweater, I needed a cute off-white cardigan, and I can't afford to buy a really great off-white cardigan.  Now, I hate shopping.  I know, it can't be true.  But it is.  So, after looking on Amazon and seeing endless books that don't actually show what patterns it offers (did I mention I hate going to the store), I was given a brain-bulb (you know, lightbulb over the head ...  an idea).  Find a book at the library and see if you can even do the patterns!

So, I headed over to my local library - which I love, by the way, because it has everything. And if it doesn't have it, it will get it for you! Wonderful! - and found a few of the books I had unsuccessfully browsed online.  I found the book "feminine Knits" and was excited to see quite a few patterns I wanted to try.  So, I checked it out and brought it home, and stared at it for a few days, not sure how to start, what yarn to buy, why I was doing this ... panic.


Then, I took a deep breath and started searching online for any knitting website there was to help me understand yarn weight. Which, by the way, is insane.  I have to agree that we need to just move to number of times the yarn wraps around a designated and universally-sized and -accepted dowel.  But, I digress.  I found several websites.  My favorite is this one ... http://www.knittingbrain.com/yarns.php  Check it out if you ever wonder what type of yarn to use (or not to use!).


So, armed with that knowledge I ventured to my local craft store - because I'm not enough of a knitter to venture into an actual yarn shop (and I'm sure it would actually be spelled shoppe and they would recognize me as an interloper immediately).  I found a few skeins  - anyone know how to actually pronounce this, by the way? I've heard it several ways and am curious - that were on sale (yay!) and rushed home.  I brushed aside the little thought pestering my brain to check for any pattern corrections (yeah ... don't do that, brush it aside ... listen to that little voice and go online. It's your friend and will save you time and headaches) and got started.  And unraveled and restarted.  And unraveled and restarted again. And unraveled and restarted once more.  And ... you get the picture. 


Apparently, I need to read ALL of the instructions, not just the ones I caught while skimming the page.  This is a fun little irony, considering I've been working on helping my 7-year old enjoy reading to read, not just to finish (skim) a book. Life's little lessons.  

After several mishaps and discoveries - the corrections page on the publisher's website was probably my favorite - I have been progressing at a lovely pace and am beginning to actually see how this might fit on my body at some point in the near future. This picture is the back of the cardigan - you can kind of see the beginnings of the arm holes.

And, someday, if I'm patient, and look online for any tips or hints, it might someday look like this:  

Isn't it pretty? I hope it will be as pretty on me as it is on the model.  I'm excited. I'll let you know how it's going!

A Lapse - in Time & Judgement

So, many of you (all one of you, meaning ... me) will notice that I have done nothing with this blog since posting my ambitions.  The reason behind this lapse (at least, this is what I will 'blame' it on) is that we were blessed with a beautiful, adopted baby boy!  He has lovingly taken my time (which I give willingly) and scrunched it and anything else soft or smooshy up into his beautiful little hands.  


He is now sleeping through the night (knock on wood), and as I gather more of my wits with every extra hour of sleep, I am beginning to feel the need to create and do.  So, I have made a Hobby Jar.  In it, are many filled slips of folded paper giving me a project that I've been meaning to start - or finish!  Along with projects that have an end, I have included several projects like "do one page of scrapbooking" (because it's just so daunting for an open-ended "do scrapbooking"), or  "Complete one family blog post" (again, a small tribute to make it seem more achievable).  I have also put in three little suggestions that scare me more than anything else in the jar.  Three little slips of paper that, when I draw from the jar my hand will shake with fear should I draw one.  Those three say "Write for one hour."  Should I draw such a slip, I'm sure my enthusiasm and response time will lag a little, but, I shall prevail.  And, because those are the most frightening, they will go back in the jar once completed.  


So, Here goes my new goal of at least having a project in mind.  I'm currently knitting a sweater.  I know! I didn't really know I could knit.  I'm finding out that at first, I can't ... I've restarted a pattern 18 times now. But, I'm well on my way now - and using the internet to make sure I know what I think I know.  I've almost finished with the back.  So, I'll post pics as I go, as proof that I'm doing this.  If someone does happen upon this blog and wants info about anything I'm working on, leave a comment asking for it and I'll post it.  If you want specifics, leave a comment with your email address (you should probably have an email account that doesn't have your real name, like AwesomePossum @ something.com (and no, that's not my email info, but it would rock, wouldn't it?).  Anyway, here I go ... again. Wish me luck!