Sweater Drama

I've got a real problem with sizing lately. Between the debacle with the tunic for me and the sweater I'm going to tell you about today, you might start passing some judgement on my skills.

I recently finished one (of the two) holiday sweaters for my boys. Wait...what? The holidays were almost half a year ago. Yeah, well those cables took me longer than expected. Plus, I've been distracted by a lot of drawing in the past year. I'm sort of on a drawing bender (please refer to title of blog for explanation). I'm shooting for new sweaters for next holiday season :)

It looks like nothing is wrong from this angle. Just wait.

The pattern I chose to knit is Mariah by Janet Szabo. Ms. Szabo has a lot of designs in her collection (one more beautiful than the next btw) and so I'm assuming whatever went wrong was me, not her.

Anyway, one is finished, and it's not perfect. I realize now that I chose the wrong size for my boy (or maybe my gauge was off, but I actually don't think so). Even though I took the proper measurements, the whole thing is way too wide. If I knitted it longer in the arms and torso it probably would fit me!

Woo, this is one wide sweater.

The actual knitting part of the project was great. I loved the cables and as always, it was a thrill every time I saw them emerge from nothing. Knitting cables is magic. If you've never done it, you should. They are actually not as hard as you'd think, but you do need to keep your wits about you.

There were two things I did to make the cable knitting process as foolproof as possible on this project. First, I sliced apart the pdf cable instructions and created my own all-inclusive cable chart to work from. I couldn't handle remembering if I was supposed to be looking at chart A, B, C, etc. Also, I always kept a lifeline in my knitting...because unknitting cable stitches is one of Dante's circles of hell. (For those who don't know what a lifeline is, see this video. I actually use dental floss for this because it's easy to slip in and out without disturbing the texture of the yarn.)

Anyone with a pet bird will know who frayed these pages.

In my defense on the neckline, I did extend the saddles a couple inches on each side to try to minimize the neck a little, and it still turned out rather huge. This sweater is borderline Flashdance.

Want to know the craziest thing of all? My little one loves it. He wears it all the time, even to school. So, that is sort of a win because I've knit sweaters that fit him beautifully that he never requests to wear. I think part of his attraction might be the color. It is golden-yellow dreamy! The yarn is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Tumeric. I never got tired of that color when I was knitting. Never!

Now, here's my dilemma. Do I charge ahead and make sweater #2 from the same pattern? Or do I try something else? I better make my mind up soon. The holidays are only 7 months away...

Cassandra

Not-So-Epic Fail

Recently, Cassandra entertained you with a the story of a project that was not as successful as she'd hoped. Of course, all failures teach us something and, in this case, Cassandra learned about accurate measuring and the value of knowing someone who is a size or two smaller than you who would really love that handmade "mistake". 

I'm here today to share my not-so-epic failure (of which there have been many but this is the most recent.)

As you may know, I've been knitting a lot of Yoda hats recently. And, because I'm a person who prefers to finish one project before I start another, I waited WAY too long to get going on a scarf for a friend's birthday. So, at his party on Saturday, I showed up with a 1/3 knitted piece and the promise that it would be finished soon. He seemed to like the color (it's his favorite) and, I'm pretty sure he'll be happy with the finished project. 

So... how is this a failure, you may ask?

Well, what happens when you rush is that you really don't think things through all the way. And here's where I failed (and learned stuff):

I didn't have enough yardage in the skein of choice to do the entire scarf so I decided to embellish with some stripes of a coordinating color. However, while I chose a great color in a complementary yarn type - the main part is alpaca and the stripes are merino - I allowed myself to believe that the sport-weight alpaca and the DK weight merino were close enough to "blend".

As I was working on the piece, I started to question the decision of using two different weights. But, as I mentioned, I was in a hurry and I thought, "hell, who's going to notice??"

Also, because I was in a hurry, and I wanted to show it to my friend at his party, I wove in all the ends at the stripes. *facepalm*  I can never take it apart now... 

My dear friend, D, who will always be honest, looked at it and said, "This doesn't look like something you'd knit. It's just not as good as your usual work." Ugh. And, of course, the alpaca is long discontinued so it's not like I can just go out and buy more.

Needless to say, I'm going to finish what I started and hope that my friend sees the love that I knit it with and will graciously overlook the failure in my work.

Keep calm and knit on, friends.

- Alex

Hell in a Handcart

The project was started with such gusto. I sewed the work with such care. I even blogged about it. But..

Oh, I might as well just come out and say it. The Schoolhouse Tunic I was making for myself turned out too small. I measured myself and picked the size that seemed right, and I even cut the pieces out a little larger than needed (to allow for tailoring). As I sewed together the pieces and saw the garment take shape, it became pretty obvious, pretty quickly, that this tunic would be a little too snug.

I spent a couple days just looking at my dress form wearing the top portion of the garment. Feeling sorry for myself. But, in the end, it was my fault. The ladies would tell me no different.

Did I make a muslin? Nope. Will I make one next time? Damn straight. Lesson learned.

I ripped a few seams out to see if I could loosen it up a bit. Nope.

And then it occurred to me, my mom is small. This will fit her, it may even need to be brought in a little. So, it's hers. And I think she'll love it. I'm going to make lemonade here.

After a trip to the store for some muslin...I'll be back in the game. Cocky sewing attitude in check.

–Cassandra

PS - I'm sharing this with y'all because I know it looks like this sort of thing doesn't happen to us crafty bloggers. We like to show you the sunshine and often hide the rain. Alex and I think it's important to show some of our fails because it's our way of encouraging you. I fell off the horse, and I'm getting back on. Making doesn't come easily to anyone, no matter how it looks. So never let your challenges stop you from keeping on.