Monday, December 23, 2013

A Change Of Plans

 Grrr!  Sweatrrr was giving me griefff.   And so, there has been a change of plans.

Grief was coming at me from many directions while knitting  Sweatrrr.  First there was  is my yarn of a different gauge.  Not a difficult thing to change gauge, but Sweatrrr starts with many, very  short, short-rows.  With my gauge being off by only a slight amount,  when I multiplied the pattern numbers by my gauge factor, I was ending up with many, almost-the-same and/or fractional numbers.  Every new row was a guess as to whether to go big or go home.

Then there was the issue of the sleeve cap seam placement.  I am fussy about that.  To make me happy, that seam must sit precisely on my shoulder bone.  Despite arranging the piece around my neck several times, I couldn't tell for certain where that seam would sit until the work was joined in the round.   Joining didn't happen until the centre-front, neck line was completed. When I tried it on, I didn't like what I saw.
 

There seems to be  a hump behind the shoulder seam.
 
 Would it go away with blocking?  Would it stay away after blocking?  Did I carry on, hoping for, but unsure of,  flat shoulders?   Then too, was the issue of the colour squares.  They run up both centre front and back and are done via intasia - but in the round.  The designer has an ingenious way of doing intarsia in the round - but for me - I thought it looked less than, or my execution was less than, professional/perfect.

All those issues, coupled with knowing  that even if the sweater were to be completed to perfection, I would still have  a sweater with set-in-sleeves (not my favourite)   -   made me realize  'I'm not having that much fun here.'

So rip, rip.

Back to a tried and true.  Top down. Raglan Sleeves.   Cardigan.  Begun with one of the contrast colours.  That makes me feel better.
 
One-Of-A-Kindness  coming from the unique design baubles of Sweatrrr - the coloured squares - just on the front this  time - and the great, contrast-coloured sleeve insert.  Sort of like tarting up your old decor with fresh pillows.  Works for me.

I'm off to a great start.  A change is as good as a rest the old saying goes.  Because most  importantly - I'm having fun now.

3 comments:

Sandra said...

fun is the point. Glad you made the change!

Christy J said...

Know when to abandon ship! I often experience some conflict between process and product. Process usually wins. That's why I have a few shawls and accessories that were fun to knit, but which I hardly ever wear. But that's still better, I think, than the other thing that happens - a project that I know I'd wear if it ever got completed ends up as a UFO because I don't enjoy the knitting. (And because I'm just so easily distracted!) Enjoying the knitting and ending up with something you'll wear is win - win for sure.

Merry Christmas to you and your family! I hope to get back to blogging more in the New Year.

Zieknits Liz said...

Good for you! The tried and true cardi will be great, and you'll have fun, which is the point!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, and to all the Meaford Knitters from Indiana.