Saturday, December 1, 2012

Teaser

I do intend to post some pics of me in the excellently flattering (dare I say it myself) Bettie's Pullover. Alas, it may be a while, so I didn't want to leave you hanging:



At this point, it would be more prudent (and time saving) to buy a new dress form than to keep reminding you that the dress form shape is not mine. Alas, who has 2 thousand bucks to throw at a custom form?
While I'm disinclined to mention this, because the overall impact of the garment is rather impressive, I really fucked up on about 8 of the Japanese short row wrap pick ups. Given that there were approximately 100 and I had no idea of what I was doing, until the end really, I think I did alright. I know that, were I to make this garment again, it would go quite a bit faster and definitely it would be easier - not to mention that it would have a fighting chance at being visible-error-free. Nonetheless, that isn't going to happen. Once is enough.

Ordinarily I would not accept any errors, but I really didn't have a choice. What I've come to realize is that, on a very steep learning curve, you can only process so much, rip back so much, accomplish so much before you become utterly overwhelmed and throw the thing in the "finish someday, maybe" pile. My primary goal is to learn, so sometimes I sacrifice perfectionism for a completed object. I learned far more in finishing this sweater than I ever would have if I'd tried to perfect it too. As it is, the knitting took well over 100 hours, probably close to 200. To perfect (and I really didn't get it till I'd done it, keep in mind), I'd have to rip it back now and start half way back. I'd rather apply my hard-won expertise to a new item.

I'm going to figure out how to minimize the look of the errors, by adjusting them on the wrong side. Having said this, when I've worn it, twice this week already, people have been nothing but complimentary - and not in a "good job for a home crafter" way. That's the power of good fit, peeps.

A word on the yarn: The colour is awesome and the wool incredibly soft and adequately halo free. This is Debbie Bliss DK, which I've used before to good effect. I should say, now that I've lived the Debbie Bliss sweat(er) shop, I only intend to knit with the Rialto Chunky, DK and Baby Cashmerino in the future. And I'm likely to give the brand a rest for a good while, because it's nice yarn but - in the crazy, treated, superwash category - I'm loving Zara more.

Thoughts?

22 comments:

  1. That pullover looks amazing! believe the compliments before you believe the evil little devil on your shoulder that tells you that the mistakes matter more than the garment itself. a faultless garment is not the same thing as a great garment, nor vice versa. Hope you are still on the mend!

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    1. Thank you! I'm trying to take that attitude. And I love your clarification. A faultless garment and a great garment are not necessarily one and the same. Trying to mend.xo

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  2. I second Rosesred. This is a gorgeous sweater, and you are likely to be the only one to see any little imperfections. Keep getting better! And maybe try to knit something a little less stressful! ;-)

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    1. I know - sometimes I really wonder about my motivations. Don't worry, I've knitted only easier things since this. Maybe this will be the hardest thing I ever knit :-) (Or maybe not, I suppose.)

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    1. C: Believe it or not, it's actually bright orange. I know it seems red on the monitor... And thank you!

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  4. Wow! It look gorgeous! And I echo your other commenters who encourage you to learn to ignore those small mistakes, probably not noticeable to anyone but you. Glad you're giving yourself respite with a few simpler projects for now.

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    1. Thanks F! I too am happy to give myself respite. Even though every new project comes with some required new skill development, nothing has neared that level of intensity.

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  5. Well done! You did make me curious about the errors.. I've made some short row errors on my knitting too that I'm just leaving lol. I agree, perfectionism just isn't good for the soul!

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    1. You know, short rows are the kind of thing you have to work a lot to really understand in all the different contexts. I was doing Japanese short rows in this project, a version of the regular wrap and turn. As I hadn't done them before, I was on an additional learning curve.

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  6. Stunning. My perfect sweater! x

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    1. Well, get out your needles! (And your Advil.) :-)

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    2. Sadly I can't knit, but if I could, this would be top of my list. I LOVE it! x

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    3. Jane - you've got to learn! You'll be fantastic at it.

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  7. A....oh....er.....sigh...lost for words! ;-)

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    1. Hopefully in a good way! Seriously, just start making it. You're more than up to the challenge with all of your knitting skill.

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  8. It looks great. And I love your thoughts on how striving for perfection can sometimes be an obstacle to learning - I never thought of that and need to keep it in mind. Now if I could just keep my brain from transposing Done is better than perfect.

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    1. Thanks! You know, I don't think I'd have gotten half this far with my crafting if I didn't just accept the imperfections sometimes (in the learning stage). Done IS better than perfect because it leads to a better next end result.

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  9. Ooh, it looks amazing! And, you know, as much as I strive for perfection myself, the ladies in my knitting group love to remind me that it's not truly a "handmade" piece if there isn't at least one mistake lurking in there somewhere :)

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    1. OK, I can get with that philosophy. As long as it's small and under the arm :-)

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