Denial....

Knitting denial that is.....a project that you have a little feeling isn't quite "right" but you go on...blind faith that it will all work out. Then one day, you decide to really check things out after spending a little over 2 months on it as you just can't deny it any longer.

I had started the sleeve decreases immediately. There was no way on earth I would decrease enough to fit me. I decreased every 5th row....just not enough...


I only had to knit until mid forarm for my 3/4 length sleeves, but seriously, who was I kidding. The sleeves are more than 3" too big for my arms. I don't wear 3" thick shirts...not around here anyways... Let alone the "extra" fabric around the armpit was a bit uncomfortable.

You see it wasn't just the problem above....

Neck back ribbing....yeah it looks a bit big here. Not talking about the 2plus inches of it either.


I'm talking about the poufiness of it!!! WTH! Why didn't I see this before! If this would have been the only problem, I would have ripped back and started again.

The sweater is knit on US 8's, the ribbing also. Big mistake on that. Plus I think i picked up way too many stitches...you think ;)

Oh and if that wasn't enough for you to feel sorry for me...

Um...see here...like 2" too big on the sides...ok, maybe only 1.5" (I don't want it that tight ;)
so only 3" vs 4" too big around!! I don't normally wear anything on top with stripes around, they normally aren't very flattering on me. I just love this colorway so I took a chance.

Um..no I'm not a linebacker thank you very much, and I'm not that big either...not skinny but you know...


So I pondered for a little bit and decided I wasn't happy and would never wear it, so I started frogging it. I planned on frogging every stinkin' stitch! It was as tough to frog as it was to knit with my hands. So I took a break or two.

I frogged down to where the start of the sleeve split and thought..hmmm wait a minute, this is top down, maybe if I try this on and see if this meets the underarm area enough...I'm knitting not sewing...maybe, just maybe I can get this to work.


You see that black stripe at the bottom, surrounded by the beige. I never did like that stripe anyways. It was my attempt to "make" the colors go the way I wanted to. Yeah..me telling Noro yarn what to do...

As you can see...

It's back on the needles and that Charlie Brown center stripe is gone. I'm going to knit a few rows to make sure I've got my raglan markers in place (I'm on a purl row now) then split for the sleeves, and try on again. Doing this should take almost 2 or more inches from the underarm. I'm starting to realize, I don't need the pattern for this or the stitch counts...that's what got me into trouble. Gauge was fine, I picked the wrong size I think. Either way, I'm winging it from now on!

I did try it on before I put the needle back on and I'm thinking very positively for the first time in a while with this project. But...I am a bit sick of this project right now too...thinking I'll take a wee break and work on this

S is for...

Sewing, which has been happening a lot around here since last week.

A wee gift for a baby.

Cuddle wrap & little lap blanket. I have made probably 20 or more of these over the last 5 or 6 years. I used my serger for this, but if you can halfway sew on bias tape binding, you can make one too. All the moms that received them, say they are perfect for car seats. I just love the wee Meathead hat too!

My first denim needlecase request. Sorry for the blinding red bias binding though. This is going to be so sturdy as the denim is on the inside as well.



I did sew another different one, but no pics. I seriously doubt I'll ever sew a lot to upload to my Etsy store. For me, custom orders are the way to go. I have way too much knitting and spinning to do, but it's nice to earn a bit of extra cash. (no I'm not begging asking for orders either...just blog fodder ;)

Oh..here's some recycled yarn prOn...

Remember my hat last week. Yeah...blocking over a plate killed it....bad! I should have left well enough alone. Whatever possessed me to do that! It covered my eyes, unfortunately I need them to walk and drive...yeah..stay tuned for the re-incarnation...it's already started...sigh...
Just say NO to blocking hats....good friends don't let good friends block their hats, if you block your hat, you'll have a frog attack...yeah, I'm here all week ;)