I want to knit a sweater

...but the yarn doesn't agree it should be a sweater!

A few years ago I wanted to knit myself a sweater. Since I hadn't done it before, I thought I would start with an acrylic, so I chose some Bernat Soft yarn when it was on sale. I cast on to knit the Lacy Tencel Cardigan from the August 2008 issue of Knit 'n Style. I think I attempted it 2 or 3 times, before I finally conceded I should start with something simpler. I set the yarn aside.

Then a couple of months ago, I thought I'd cast on Mr. Greenjeans. It was going slowly only because I wasn't taking time to knit on it. Then on a weekend I'd planned to devote a good chunk of time to work on it, I discover a hole. I couldn't figure out how to fix it, I didn't want to tink it all the way back, so I literally threw the whole thing, remaining ball of yarn and all, in the garbage. Then I chatted with my friend a while, watched a bit of a movie, and decided I'd look for a different pattern.

I found it - Lace Edge Cardigan from the Spring/Summer 2010 issue of Knit Simple. I spent some time knitting up the lace edge. It was going well. Then, last Friday I was pausing during knitting to view my progress, and it occurred to me that perhaps I should have use the lace cast on. I contemplated starting over, but I decided against that. Instead, I decided I would do the lace cast on for the sleeves, but I would cast on the front the same as I did the back. Well, I guess subconsciously I decided that I needed to start again, because after knitting a few more rows, I realized something looked off. It wasn't a hole, but somehow I managed to add a stitch, and despite thinking I'd corrected it, I must have twisted a stitch. It looked odd, and while likely once the sweater would be done it wouldn't be very visible, I would know it's there and not right. So I've set it aside yet again.

Now I'm thinking that maybe the yarn is trying to tell me something. Maybe it just isn't sweater yarn. Or maybe I'm just being too critical. After all, is it realistic for my first adult sweater be free of visible errors? I don't know. But I think I'll work on some of my other projects before I return to this yarn.

Progress!

A progress update is long overdue. First up, the blanket I'm crocheting for my son; it measures approximately 34":

I haven't worked on "Living with Charm" in a while, so not much progress to show:

Lastly, a finish! I finished "Sunflowers" last month. I just need to get it framed:

It's Been A While

I have two reasons/excuses for the length of time between posts:

1. I've been really busy/overwhelmed with coursework, housework, and work
2. I've been debating whether to continue the blog

The course is done, and I'm taking a break from further coursework for at least six months.

I've decided to continue the blog, just for me to have a place to journal my projects, as I intended when I first started this, without worrying about how often I post, or whether readers find my posts interesting enough to return.

To end today's post, some progress on "Snow Family" and a new crochet project, the Dots and Dashes Throw:

Snow Family Progress

An update on my cross stitching:

Goals for 2011

Last year I felt I wandered rather aimlessly through my stitching and knitting. I guess it reflected how busy life was for me - working part-time, going to school part-time, trying to keep up with housework, and trying to find balance for it all, and not subjecting husband and son to the stressed out me too often (I don't think I was very successful on that one). I'm still working on finding balance, but I hope that setting some craft goals will help me in the coming year.

2011 Knitting/Crochet goals:
1. Finish 1-2 pairs of slippers for husband
2. Knit a prismatic scarf for myself
3. Crochet another dish mat or two
4. Knit another pair of lined mittens for son
5. Knit some dish cloths for myself and mom

2011 Cross Stitch goals:
1. Finish Snow Family
2. Finish Living with Charm
3. Finish Sunflowers
4. Make progress on Fish City, maybe finish another page?
5. Start large Christmas project (combining 2 Lavender & Lace charts)
6. Finish some of the ornaments that I've completed in previous years but have not yet turned into ornaments

2010 Review

Some finishes for 2010:

Finishes that I couldn't find images for include EMS Rose Sampler (cross stitch), and lined mittens for my son (knitting).

Although it appears I did mostly knitting and crochet, I did make progress on some cross stitch as well; I just don't have finishes. I did go through a stitching slump, but I also found myself suffering from startitis, and then losing interest in finishing. Some wips include L*K Living with Charm, Annie Beez Sunflowers, Stoney Creek's Fish City, and most recently a Christmas ornament from JCS, and Jeanette Crews' Snow Family. Hopefully 2011 will include more cross stitch finishes!