Another unplanned absence, but this time I have excuses - my mum fell and broke her ankle in two places on Tuesday which has been stressful for everybody (mostly her) and I've been trying to replan things so I can help her a bit more. I've also been knitting hard whilst it was cold so I could wear this...
Back in late May, early June, I started knitting my first jumper. I raced through the body of it, finishing it in July, but stalled seriously after that. It got hot, and somehow there was never time to sit down with the sleeves - the increases demanded just a little bit more concentration than seemed to come easily, and then I got a job which seriously eats into knitting time.
I still have a few ends to sew in and bits to do but the jumper is washed, and drying on a board as I type. It's longer than I expected - I didn't need to add in an extra round of motifs (a good thing to know for the future) and rather too big for my board - but at least it's drying nicely on it. I gave up on grafting dark colours together and cheated by using a 3 needle bind off - but it's meant to be a workaday type of jumper so I'm not worried about that.
I overcame my fear of steeks (it's a nasty moment taking a pair of scissors to something you've worked on for months for the first time) although I still don't much like them - I'm tempted to knit flat, back and forth, another time. The biggest thing though is knowing that I actually do have the patience to take on bigger projects and that with a bit of planning I'll stay happy enough with my colour choices.
That's not a bad takeaway even without something warm to wear. There are tweaks I would have made to the colours if I'd been able to buy more yarn when I started - more to do with the order they're in than the actual colours - but overall it works for me as is. I'm already thinking about what my next jumper might look like - maybe something lace based and with a bit more shaping, and for all it's faults and flaws I'm proud of the one I've actually made.
Sorry about your mum and hope that she can weather the storm with some good reading and other amusements! I love the color choices of the sweater but am wondering if you have a scaled up version? One that really shows off the motifs and the colors or which can at least be enlarged to allow us to determine the designs. You have done a lovely job and I would be so happy to see it in a larger format so as to speak.
ReplyDeleteThis is a major piece of knitting and a lovely job so bask in the adulation! No sweater is ever really too long (although if you want to be really warm -- keep the back warm) and over time it may shrink a bit.
Ginny Jones
I enlarged your photo and I am so impressed! It is beautiful and you should tell everyone you made it when you wear it. I hope your mom is feeling better soon.
ReplyDeleteThe jumper is lovely! I have always wanted to be able to knit something other than a scarf but have never advanced that far.
ReplyDeleteI hope your mother is making a good recovery. When mine broke a bone several years ago, it was very worrying wondering if she would get impatient for something out of reach before one of her offspring could dash over. We did make her promise not to climb on chairs or ladders and so far she has obeyed (grumpily).