Pattern: Hitofude Cardigan by Hiroko FukatsuYarn: Madelinetosh Merino Light
Colours: Jade
Needles: 3.5 mm Round Needle
Start of project: April 19, 2015
On Ravelry
Last week I had a lot of time to knit. It was the first week of spring holidays and both kids were at a computer camp in the mountains. I had a few things to do for school and I tried to move my back every day but apart from that it was a relaxed and lazy week which I used for coffee breaks with friends and for knitting. The weather was brilliant the whole week, lots and lots of sunshine, quite cool in the beginning but almost summery warm in the end. I knit on the balcony or on the sofa watching The West Wing and things progressed nicely.
Until I realised that once again I had chosen a size that was going to be at least very tight if not too tight. I don't know why I always do that, I like fitted clothes so there's always a chance that it might end up too small, but still. Also I was too lazy to knit a proper gauge swatch this time.
On Thursday afternoon I tried on my cardigan on which I had already done both arms and the body had started to grow down. It felt too tight, especially around the armpits. I debated forwards and backwards with myself about going back to the arms and make one more pattern and then I just tried. Somehow I wasn't careful enough and I went back too far and in the end I wasn't able to pick up the stitches anymore at all. Which left me with more than half an hour of ribbing and quite a nasty feeling for losing so much effort.
I cast on again (and the second provisional cast on wasn't much more enjoyable than the first one) and then I tried to get back on track. I knit so much that my hand started to hurt intensly but by then I had lost the joy of knitting and I just wanted to get back to the point where I had been before.
Finally yesterday after almost 4 days of knitting I reached that point and now I can start to relax again. I haven't tried on the cardigan yet (the photos are from the tight version), but I can see that it looks wider and I am pretty sure this time it will be ok. How come I always put so much pressure on myself, there is no dead line to this whole knitting business ;-)
I used to ignore the mistakes in knitting/crochet projects, but right now I am at peace with them. I rip back and keep knitting :) It is definitely not a waste of time, you always learn something. But I also put pressure on myself to finish projects, it's just there are so many things that I want to make that the whole life seems not enough!
ReplyDeleteI totally know that feeling of not having enoug time for all the things that I could do ;-)
DeleteYou are so right, it is not a race. When will we learn? Despite all the re-knitting your Hitofude is looking beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that you are working out your back. It can only lead to good things.
It's really starting to grow down now and it's definitely much loser than it was in the first version here on the pictures...
Deletemy first one is snug, not tight though. So my second one is up a needle size and I added two repeats at each end to lengthen the sleeves. Hopefully I will like my alterations. I do have lots of yarn so I'm hopeful! Love the color, that is slightly darker than my first one. I did the crocheted provisional cast on and it worked like a dream :) It's where you crochet around a knitting needle, not the crochet chain.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an interesting way to cast on, probably easier than what I did. At the second try I found it slightly easier to do, but it still took me a long time.
DeleteYour blog entry about your first Hitofude made me queue it, I totally fell in love with it then!