Confession time.
I have never knit an adult garment (ok, an adult sweater). I tried to knit one this fall, and it's still on the needles. This confession has been rather hard for me, as I don't consider myself to be an advanced knitter, but I should be able to knit an adult sweater, even a stockinette stitch one.
I got to thinking about trying new things, and how I usually stick within my comfort zone. And then I saw the February Lady Sweater (FLS) KAL on Ravelry - specifically with STR heavyweight. I had this in my stash. I figured now must be the time. It is, afterall, the month of February.
So, February 2, 2009, I cast on for the sweater. Once. This is good, usually you just cast on a project once, and knit the project. Nope, not me. I failed the buttonhole miserably.
Enter February 3, 2009 - I cast on again, but this time I armed myself with practice sessions in knitting buttonholes. I knit the one shown in the tutorial on the FLS sweater pattern. It's actually published by Maggie Rhigetti, in her famous chapter entitled, "Buttonholes are Bastards." I must say, that while I disapprove of the language, I agree wholeheartedly that buttonholes are difficult and can be fiddly.
I knit to almost 10 repeats of the garter stitch yoke - you know, the one that goes on forever, when I realized that my stitch count was a bit off - so I frogged back again (only, guess what - the stitch count wasn't off. I was).
Enter this morning - I cast on for the third time, and have sailed past that first buttonhole.
My STR is hard to photograph (ok, most things are hard to capture for me, but I have a Kodak Easyshare, so give me a break). It's the Thraven Colorway. It's black with a small amount of a teal color. Gorgeous! I love knitting with it too.
But, I tell you, if this sweater does not fit me, I will not post about it. So, if you see a finished FLS, you know I was successful. And if not......well, there's always socks! :)
PS - Working the next 6 days in a row. Is it Tuesday yet? That's my next day off work!
7 comments:
For all this work, you are going to LOVE the sweater.
The third time IS a charm:) Your colorway is gorgeous, can't wait to see more. The FLS is a favorite!
Ooooh I've been wanting to do this sweater..hmmm got me kind of worried now!:) Might start it soon...
The best thing about top-down sweaters is that you can try them on as you go. When you do sweaters knit in pieces, it's a scary, scary thing about whether or not it'll fit.
It does look like it's going well though. Afterall, trying to count over 200 stitches at a certain point gets hard unless you want to do the tedious thing of marking every 20/50 sts.
Keep up with the FLS - I only have one sleeve left on mine. I started it early December and found the pattern written with a lot of vagueness but had help from my LYS. I'm happy with how it's turning out and can't wait to wear it. Newbie to your blog and will stay tuned to see if you finish yours.
You can do it! Love the yarn and I think its perfect for the FLS! My advice would be to try it on a lot!
You can do it! My FLS was only my second sweater for me! Good luck!
I'm chuckling over the comment on the potty language. I know I make drunken sailors look good with my potty mouth, so you and the family must have been whooping as you drove away from our house last summer. :-P
It's hard getting out of your knitting comfort zone. Top down sweaters are the best to start with. Good luck.
I really think we will get to see the FO picture. You can do it.
Post a Comment