Making Sweaters

Work on the sweater has temporarily stalled. I've made it to the sleeves, but as I increased the diameter of the armholes, it also requires a bit of calculation on the sleeves. Not that I mind making the calculations, it just requires a bit more concentration than I've had the past few days and I want the sweater to work out well. I feel that it is very important if you make sweaters for yourself not to blindly follow patterns; if you want sweaters that fit (and if you go to all that trouble to make a sweater, you know you want it to fit), you need to take a bit more time and planning than just reading the pattern. You need to know your measurements (and you need to be realistic about them; just because you were a size ? in college doesn't mean you still are). You also need to know where your body is going to usually differ from patterns for your size. My two problem areas are usually the shoulders/armholes and a long waist. Store-bought shirts can fit me perfectly in every other way, but they are often too tight in the armholes for me and they also are often just too short. Thank goodness longer shirts seem to be back in now. When I make a sweater or top, I often have to add room in the armhole and I nearly always add an inch or two to the waist length. And I'm always willing (however much I may complain about it) to rip the sweater if it's not working and start over. You have to be willing to frog if it's not working out. That's important. Yes, it may be twice the work to start over, but honestly, are you really going to wear a sweater that's two sizes too big (or small)?

Anyway, since I don't have any knitting to show, I'll tell you what I have been up to. I didn't want to start any new knitting, so I decided to repair some of my socks. I had three pairs that I haven't been able to wear because they had rather small holes, so I darned the darn (groan!) socks and can now wear them again. (Now, before you start sending me all your socks that need darning, keep in mind that one pair had been sitting in my repair bag since last winter.) I really don't mind darning, it's just finding the motivation to actually start the process. Boredom seems to work.

As for my weaving, I've been spending the weekend warping the loom for my new scarf (see last post). I'm about halfway done with the warping process and I hope to finish that today and get started on my weaving. I came across some really cool weaving software over the weekend and have been playing with twill patterns for the scarf. I hope it turns out as nicely as I think it will.