Making mistakes

In my knitting life I like to knit smaller(but not necessarily less complicated) projects like socks and hats, as opposed to sweaters. There are several reasons for this, but I have realized recently that the number one most salient reason is that there's much less of a chance that I will absolutely hate the way the finished project looks on me. When this happens, I tend to fall into a momentary depression brought on by how long I spent making something that just doesn't work.

This happened with my first cardigan, Mrs. Darcy. The pattern is great. The yarn is one of my favorites to work with. But in the end, it just wasn't meant to be. I think I wore the cardigan ONCE, and while I got many compliments on my work, I was dying to take it off!

The fit was all wrong on me. It wouldn't stay on my shoulders at all. I had no idea what I could do to save it short of ripping back the entire front and redoing both pieces somehow.

I relegated the failed cardigan to the depths of my universe and refused to think about it for about two years. Then finally, I decided to frog the whole thing. At this point, it would bring a sort of catharsis I desperately needed. Aided by the amazing ball winder my husband bought me, I set to work unravelling my hours and hours of hard work.

Soon after I started on a new sweater, loosely based on this wonderful pattern. I love top-down raglan sweaters so much. Being able to make something sized just for me was one of the reasons I got into knitting in the first place!

Sorry the picture isn't great. I will take one with my digital camera once I finish. At this point I have about 3/4ths of the second sleeve to finish.

It feels so great to admit that I didn't like this thing, regardless of how hard I had worked. It feels liberating to have the option to start all over again on something new that I will really love and enjoy!

Hopefully soon I will get up the nerve to do the same thing with my Yosemite. Though it looks great in those pictures, it looks awful on me, I think due to using a totally different yarn and gauge than recommended. I have never worn something so unflattering and uncomfortable. After we move I'll try to get some pictures of the way it turns my torso into a lumpy rippled mess.

I definitely want to frog the project and re-purpose the yarn, but first I want to have photographic evidence for next time I decide it will be a great idea to knit a worsted pattern for size 6 needles in sport weight yarn on size 0 needles... NEVER AGAIN!

The more I learn about knitting, the more there is to learn! How wonderful, and how frustrating!