One Year, One Sweater

A year.

We've been at this for a whole year. 

It's been forever.

It's been no time at all.

I remember casting this on because I needed something to do to try and keep myself calm and grounded. 

Shawls felt useless. Where would I wear one to? There weren't any events for the foreseeable future, so why bother making lace and pretty things?

No, what I wanted and needed was something I could wrap myself up in and hide away.

So I cast on Writer's Block.

I'd already planned on making it at some point and already had most of the yarn, so why not?

I just needed two more skeins of the Malabrigo Rios I used, so I ordered it from Harps and Thistles. 

It felt so weird, to order yarn from them online. Every other time, I'd happily go to the shop to get what I needed. Just so I could spend an hour or two with my fellow yarn friends. 

Cindy brought my yarn out to the car. No going in, no chatting or browsing.

That's actually the last time I've been to the shop in a year. 

I can't even begin to describe how much I miss it. And the people. Oh god, do I miss the people.

I've caught myself crying quite a few times when I start thinking about all the pj parties we've missed.

I haven't gotten to share my accomplishments with them, the new things I've made. Instead, I only see the social media posts of others. 

No chatting or discussing, really. No in-depth back-and-forth conversations about what went right, what went wrong, laughing and joking and actually TALKING.

I crave that human interaction. Especially because just seeing and sharing strictly through social media can make me doubt myself and my talents. I rely on the social cues from person-to-person interaction to understand and make sense of myself. To help combat the voice in my head, telling me that I am somehow lesser.

Watching other knitters crank out sweater after sweater after sweater during the lockdown made me feel inadequate. Like my knitting skills weren't up to par. 

But time seems to be irrelevant now. It's no longer linear. Things ebb and flow in different ways for different people.

I thought this sweater took me a year. 

Cast On Date: March 26th, 2020

Cast Off Date: February 9th, 2021

Finished Date: February 12th, 2021

But in actuality, this sweater only took me 47 days to knit. 

Perspective can really change things, can't it?

That's what I'm trying to hold on to. That looking at all this from a different view can help me make sense of the world. To not fall completely to despair.

Isolation and distancing have been hell.

But it's also forced me to change perspective.

I have learned and changed and grown and discovered just how strong I actually am.

I have learned secrets about myself, wonderful revelations that are shaping me into who I am supposed to be.

I've learned what I can actually accomplish if I am given the tools and resources I need.

We're not out of this yet.

Not even close.

But I feel a little more hope than I have in quite a while.

Guess I just needed to change my view a bit.

Accomplish-Knit

Clear back at the end of May, I finally worked up the courage to try my very first sweater after seeing Jacqueline Cieslak's Ursa Minor pattern.

Bulky weight yarn? V-neck? Size inclusive?

I was sold.

I even had yarn in my stash I could use.

So, I dove right in and got to work.

And promptly realized that I could only work on it for short bursts of time because size 10.5 needles apparently make my hands angry.

So it took me a *little* longer than I meant to finish it.

But I DID finish it.

On my birthday, no less.

Alas, we had to wait until it wasn't 90 BLOODY DEGREES outside before we could take pictures.

But guess what?

We managed to do that, too.

But as you're admiring my lovely new addition to my wardrobe, I need to bring up an important point dealing with taking pictures of sweaters...

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO WITH YOUR HANDS?!?!?!?!!

We tried out a few different prop options...

Before ultimately deciding to go with a copy of The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes from my library.

So, let's talk about the sweater itself.

I used KnitPick's Wool of the Andes bulky weight in spruce. I think I used just under 6 skeins? I haven't weighed my leftovers yet.

Because it's me, I decided to add lace to the bottom hem and sleeves. 

I also picked up extra stitches under the arm (12 as opposed to the 3 I think the pattern called for) and didn't decrease at all. I'm not a fan of fitted sleeves and wanted a bit of a flare at the end.

The lace pattern is an adaptation of the fern lace pattern from 750 Knitting Stitches.

I went with 3/4 length sleeves because I couldn't decide between short sleeve and full length. 

I think I went with the right option.

I was so worried that it'd grow too much since I tend to knit loosely. But this sweater fits like an absolute dream. 

Now, if only we could get some ACTUAL FALL WEATHER for me to be able to wear it.

BONUS!

Enjoy a couple extra pictures of my second favorite prop.

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The Leap

Well, I had planned on finishing out the month with the post for Teroldego. But between the rain and the ant infestation, not to mention the wild adventure I had tonight, I haven't had the time to go and take the proper pictures.

I'd rather not just take crappy "shawl laying on the bed" pictures, so we're just going to delay a few more days.

But I have no intention of leaving you to go completely without some sort of knitting related content.

So how about I show you what I cast on last night?

Non-knitters may not know what they're looking at. But can you hazard a guess?

It's a fitted garment, my first.

My first actual sweater.

It's the Ursa Sweater pattern by Jacqueline Cieslak.

And it's going swimmingly as you can see.

Not much else in my life is at the moment, so I'm glad at least one thing is going right.

Pictured Above: the pleasant way my evening started. The opposite of the rest of the night.

*sigh*

It's been an interesting few days.

So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to dive back into my knitting and do my best to relax.

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In January, We Wear Pink

Well, this month has been a punch in the face.

I am FINALLY over this damn cold... just in time for John to get it.

*sigh*

Anyway, I DID manage to get January's KOGOTP project done.

I started this thing clear back in fall of 2017 with the intention of gifting it to Renee for her birthday.

Yes, I know. I was just a *wee* bit late.

But it's done now and gifted to her so I can show it off here!

I made her another one of my bulky sweater shrug things.

"So Ashtan..... where's the usual photo shoot?"

Listen, the fact that I was able to finish this thing at all is a bloody miracle.

Blocking it was a total nightmare that zapped all of my energy. And trying to keep it away from as much cat hair as possible since Renne is allergic? Hello, energy debt.

I got it finished up as fast as I could and sent down to her before I could infect it with my germy-ness.

So, no photo shoot. Just some attempt at artsy-fartsy pics on the bed that I was practically confined to.

Awww, yiss. Look at that *arty angle*.

Oh, you want to know about the actual knitting behind it?

You're acting like this is a knitting blog or something...

ANYway, this is another original lace pattern designed specifically with the recipient in mind. I wanted to incorporate leaves, as they have a special personal significance. Continuing the garden theme, the outside lace was meant to mimic trellises, while the middle is representative of vines twisting up through each other. Everything is reaching skyward, signifying growth and change, always striving to better itself.

Yeah, I know, much more in depth than, "I thought it'd look pretty."

I'm happy to report that Renee seems rather fond of it, despite how late it was.

And now I get to kick back and work on a relaxing project and certainly not something that is going to have literally dozens of ends to weave in that I'm designing purely out of my head...

Whoops...

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Put Some Levels in Warlock

Well, it's been more than a few days.

It's been 16 days, to be exact.

Jamie has come and gone and I haven't made a post about my sweater.

Ill tidings my friends.

Yeah, totes kidding. I had that thing done the Monday before their visit.

So, that means I made an entire sweater, start to finish, in 7 working days.

Not only did I finish it, but I didn't even have to mess with the 4 balls of yarn that I had double wound. 

At this point, I should probably confess to selling my soul to a wool demon. Which is totally cool with me because I get to make really pretty stuff really, really fast.

As for the particulars, I based my pattern off of the Speckled Shrug by Lion Brand on Ravelry. The pattern is a one-size-fits-all sort of deal, which meant that I had to do a lot of math and a lot of swatching.

I also decided to chart out a few lace patterns so I could keep myself from the unholy nightmare of 40 inches of stockinette.

I used 930-ish yards of Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes Bulky Superwash in the Briar Heather colorway.

I did 21 repeats of my lace chart and blocked this out to 60in x 40in. Also, left 8 inches for the armhole rather than 7 because I'm not exactly a tiny person.

And fun fact, this yarn was actually purchased to make a blanket a couple of years ago.

I like it better as a sweater.

There is a cost to this knitting madness, though. My family knows how fast I can make these now and the requests are starting to creep in.

Maybe my Wooly Demonic Patron please send a couple of imps to help.

Confessions and Commitment

So, remember when I said that I wasn't going to be knitting very many Christmas presents? Yeah, the post right before this. I said that I wasn't going to stress myself out and try to get a bunch of stuff done. That I was going to concentrate on ME and make all the fall weather stuff I could.

My very first project that I finished after that post was a pair of socks that I intend to give as a Christmas present.

To be fair, I had started the grey one right after I finished my first pair of socks. And I needed a purse project since I finished Brass and Steam, so I tossed it in.

It wasn't my fault that I had a bunch of downtime and finished it super quickly.

And yes, this is a matching pair. The recipient isn't a fan of matching socks, so I obliged. Both are Kroy Sock Yarn, this one the Jacquard Slate. The other is the FX line in Celestial Colors.

And actually, it was fun not having to knit two of the same socks. It only took me two days to finish up this one.

Now, lest you think that I am neglecting my fall projects, I have once again challenged myself to the impossible and knit something really bloody big in a very short amount of time.

I finally cast on my Autumn Lace Shrug late Sunday night. (Pattern is Speckled Shrug on Ravelry.)

Most of Sunday afternoon was spent swatching, charting out various lace and cable patterns, debating about whether or not I wanted to just do an all over pattern or have a panel in the middle, and winding yarn.

That night, I only made it through the first 2 inches of ribbing and was disheartened. This thing was going to take forever and I was never going to get it done. I sat it to the side, and figured I'd pick it back up sometime next to never.

Tuesday, though, I figured that I should at least get through the first chart repeat for the lace section just to make sure that I liked it. And that went super fast, much to my amazement.

Apparently, if you add some yarn overs and decreases to any project, I start burning through it. I took it with me Wednesday and Thursday to the various doctor appointments that I've been going to with my grandma. (She's okay. Just needs some minor knee surgery). I've been working on it non-stop. As of right now, I have nearly 16 inches of it done.

All in 3 (4 if you count all the prep work) measly days.

Which brings me to my challenge. Jamie is due up here next Thursday. We plan on going on a date Saturday. You see where this is going?

Yep, I'm trying my damndest to get this done before they get up here. And, by all the wooly gods, I think I can do it.

Which means that I should probably stop typing this and actually get some of it done today.

So, I'm going to end this as hastily and awkwardly as I can. Because that's what I do.

Be back in a few days to check in, assuming that my fingers haven't fallen off.