"You don't make things easy for yourself, do you?", commented my boyfriend as he walked in on me knitting the other night.
And he makes a perfectly valid point. We recently bought our first house which we're in the process of decorating, I'm doing longer hours at work due to the awkward train times into the city, I'm co-hosting the Dakota Sewalong, I have a sewing wishlist as long as my arm, and at the same time, I'm trying to remain social. The point being, I don't really have time for knitting right now! But along came Knit for Victory and got me all inspired!
You see, I took some knitting lessons at the end of 2011 and absolutely loved it! I made a few small things and then ambitiously started a gorgeous 1940s jumper in March 2012. By that June I had made some excellent progress. But that was the end of the road - summer set in and my thoughts turned away from knitting.
The pattern and my yarn are so beautiful though and it would be a shame never to finish this. Plus, I want to regain that passion for knitting again...even if the timing is bad. Knit for Victory states that you can complete an existing project as long as you're only half way through it - check. However, I'm going one step further and proving my boyfriend 100% right. I'm starting this baby from scratch! I know that sounds crazy, but I don't have the skills to fix what I don't like (I can barely pick up dropped stitches), so starting again is my only option.
With sewing, I always know I need to shorten stuff, but this never occurred to me when I started this jumper. So I put my questionable maths skills to the test and figured out I need to reduce the sleeve and bodice length by about four pattern repeats. The sleeves are too long as they are and the bodice hits me at my widest part - most unflattering! If I could make it a bit 'cropped' then I'm more likely to wear it with high-waisted jeans and skirts a la the stylish Sarai.
I highly doubt I'll finish this in time for Knit for Victory's deadline - 31 January 2014 - but I'm just happy to get back into the knitting swing.
Are you joining Tasha at By Gum, By Golly?
![Pin It](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.astitchingodyssey.com/2013/11/you-dont-make-things-easy-for-yourself.html&media=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8YXchC_NCJ7xi0lwsrJcnpOYqdHjFghZ94NpQHmUwKWfjNTFr8DpTaK3WZF2FzQaDVsDCwkV45HomqS75kCeuehO_5bEYVC14Lvf1z02c8qB-1YSvAluwaWBXzd4KySemARIBNYrhces/s72-c/P1060934.JPG&description= "You don't make things easy for yourself, do you?" , commented my boyfriend as he walked in on me knitting the other night. ...){kind=link}
That will be beautiful when you finish it. I was actually a knitter before I started sewing, but it's very hard to go back - knitting is sooo slow compared to sewing. I guess it's the season for it though so I'm keeping my eye out for some inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI agree Katie, it's so slow it's almost painful! But I love the look of the finished product so much...I wish I was faster at knitting!
DeleteI'm so joining in the KAL! I too have a 40's jumper that I started knitting a few months back and I'm almost half way through. I can't wait to finish it and I really really hope it looks good on me, because I'm also a beginner knitter and so I'm not too savy on how to make adjustments.
ReplyDeleteThe yarn and pattern you have are gorgeous! I can't wait to see the finished project. It'll look really sweet on you with a shorter length and the colour looks beautiful with your complexion!
All the best with the overload of work :)
Oooh, excellent that you're on board too...can't wait to see your jumper fellow newbie knitter ;o)
DeleteIt's a good idea to start over again because you have a better idea of how you want the end result to be now. Cropped sounds good, I think it's going to be fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the vote of confidence!
DeleteThat's such a lovey pattern and a gorgeous colour. I know exactly what you mean about finding time for all the crafts, but nowadays I tend to turn to knitting when I'm in a lolling on the sofa kind of mood. Normally accompanied by a good DVD box set. Then I get my Mad Men fix without feeling like I'm not doing something productive! Knitting is much more relaxing for me than sewing, but it does require a certain amount if teeth gritting in the middle bit when you feel it will never be finished.
ReplyDeleteYou've summed up exactly how I feel on all fronts! Haha!
DeleteThat's a brave decision! But a good one, I think - if you are all fired up and desperate to see the finished item and love love love it, you will get it done - yay! For a "new" knitter you have certainly not made it too easy for yourself - that looks tricky!
ReplyDeleteAaaw, thanks Roo! Good to know you think I'm doing the right thing, as it was a hard decision!
DeleteDoubt I'll be done by the deadline but I'll be picking my needles up and knitting for victory! Looking forward to seeing how your interpretation turns out - good luck!
ReplyDeleteDitto! I'm not pressurising myself to meet the deadline, but I'm glad to be knitting again!
DeleteOmg I literally read your opening paragraphs out loud to my boyfriend - we can soo relate! All I can say is make sure you get enough sleep and don't feel too overwhelmed or you'll end up with a 3 week long cold like I did. Love how the sweater's coming along :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Meg, wise words indeed! Once the Dakota sewalong is over, I definitely need to take a breather!
DeleteYour yarn and pattern are great - I'm sure your pattern maths was right and that the finished version will be lovely! I'm tempted to join in Knit for Victory but I'm in the middle of a non-1940s cardigan at the moment which I want to get finished and, being a slow and not very good knitter, I'm not sure I'll get something else finished by the deadline. Maybe I should be ambitious though!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ruth! If you're only half way through your 1940s cardigan, you can totally enter that into Knit for Victory...Tasha's allowing people to 'submit' half started items. Woohooo!
DeleteI really want to knit for victory even though I have about 3 knitted projects to finish. Room for one more?? I think you would be able to rescue the sleeve without redoing the whole thing maybe, if there is no shaping for the arm you could just rip out the cap and some length? But good on you, hope your knitting goes well! :)
ReplyDeleteOooh, I'll have a look at the sleeve again and see what the shaping was like...you may have saved my a whole load of work...thanks!
DeleteHmmm, you know reading your post has made me think that I should join in! I have an idea for a small project which ticks all the boxes. You've persuaded me - good luck with your project!
ReplyDeleteYay! Welcome aboard ;o)
DeleteLove the sweater and love the yarn. And sometimes I become infatuated with knitting and sometimes sewing. It's nice to have a couple of different options.
ReplyDeleteYes true, it's great to be able to chose ;o)
DeleteGood lucky, I know it will be beautiful
ReplyDeleteThanks lovely!
DeleteOh, I perfectly know what you mean. I've just finished some elvish costumes for my boyfriend and me, I'm testing a sewing pattern, testing a knit pattern, knitting two cardigans for two babies, sewing a hoodie for a toddler and thinking about my next sewing project. I didn't want my boyfriend to know about the last 2 tests I'm involved with but he caught me! And he told me exactly the same your told you. But I guess we can't help who we are! Good luck with that sweater, it looks really nice :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, I love that you try to hide projects from your boyfriend too...I try to get away with that all the time ;o) Good luck with all of yours too!
DeleteI'm so excited you'll be joining in! Though it's sad to have to start that beautiful sweater over, I totally understand why. It's going to be great when you do finish it! I have so much going on myself that I definitely am in the "you don't make things easy for yourself" category right there with you. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting on such a great knitalong Tasha and try to take it easy...though I get the feeling us crafty lot aren't great at putting our feet up and doing nothing!
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