3.23.2007

My favorite project

Cecily is having a contest for all of her SP10 participants and I thought I would give it a go. She wants us to post an entry all about one of our current projects and why we like that project so much.

For the past couple of months I have been making slow progress on my first sweater. Okay, it's not technically my first sweater, it's my third, but it is going to be the first one that gets worn with any regularity. When I started the sweater, I knew that it wouldn't be finished in time for me to wear this winter which was fine. The yarn for the sweater was not only bought locally, but the fibers were grown and spun within 100 miles of my home. This means that my sweater is socially and envirionmentally responsible (and you though it was just a sweater.)

Before knitting one stitch on the sweater, I sat down and figured out everything I want and everything I don't want in a sweater. My sweater taste is pretty specific. I don't like patterns, textures, or colorwork in my sweaters which makes knitting a sweater for myself a pretty boring task- mile and miles of Stockinette stitch. I decided that if I was going to knit such a boring garment I would add a few techniques to make it more interesting. I sketched out my sweater and added set-in sleeves, something I have never tried, and some short row shaping in the bust since I am a busy girl. After my sketch I spent two nights swatching; I wanted my fabric to have the perfect density. Once I decided on my gauge I started doing the calculations and finally cast on for my sweater. I started working the front and back pieces at the same time, but that quickly grew annoying so I started just working on the front and put the back in a bag with the yarn. This might have been a mistake because when I was ready to work on the back the bag was gone. I looked all over my house and I couldn't find it anywhere. Three weeks ago, when I was packing to go to Norfolk, I found the bag so I am back on track.


The sweater design is based on a favorite sweater that Philip accidentally destroyed last year and I am really hoping that it will be my new favorite sweater that I wear all winter long.

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