Friday 19 June 2009

Reflecting on Knits part 2

Now we get into the list of unfortunate things I've been thinking about lately. This sweater (Assemblage from Norah Gaughan Vol.3) has been on my mind since the day it was finished.


I love this pattern. I love the cables, I love the casual fit and the big loose collar... unfortunately something is just not right with it because I haven't even worn it once. I think that the problem is in the length of the sleeves. They're just too long and get in the way. I'm considering having a serious sit down with it and taking out the sleeves, undoing the sleeve cap and a couple inches in the upper arm, then re-knitting the sleeve cap and sewing them back to the sweater, then I'd have shorter sleeves and perhaps a sweater that I'd wear. At least this was knit in pieces, so I can alter some things without having to re-knit the whole thing. I'm not sure, I'll have to try it on again and see what I think. The body was a bit big too... it just kills me that I've got such a beautiful pattern and such a beautiful yarn and a sweater that I don't use, maybe this one will just have to find a new home with somebody one size bigger than me?

This one really bums me out too. I bought this pattern book because I was in love with this pattern.

I made a critical mistake that was due to sheer inexperience. As written, I was pretty sure that the sweater would end up being too big for me, so I made a couple of changes. In the end, the thing fits perfectly, except for one major detail, the cable that goes horizontally around the shoulders has very little stretch, in trying to make a smaller sweater I knit the cable a tad shorter then was written and now when I raise my arms the whole cabled section pops up over my shoulders. Not super practical, I'm always pulling it down and trying to remember to keep my arms by my side. This is one that I'll have to just deal with, because short of starting from scratch there's no way to fix it. I still wear it, just not as much as I would if it didn't have that pesky little problem.

Lastly, we have the Aran Accent Vest. The pattern is in the same Patons booklet as the previous sweater.

Again, great pattern, lovely yarn, it turned out just right, except I don't wear it. Basically, it's just not my style. Not much more to say about this one, I think I'm just going to hang on to it and see if my style changes.

After all this reflecting, I think I've come to a conclusion. I've got knits that I love to wear, knits that I don't, but in the end it doesn't really bother me. I loved knitting all of them. I guess I'm a process knitter. I like working on projects, learning new things, and when they're done I like petting and ogling my finished projects, but I don't mind wether I wear them or not. Which is a great thing, because I seem to have a habit of knitting great pieces that I don't wear, good thing I'm ok with it.