Damariscotta

January 31^st: If only the rest of my knitwear came out like this one. Followed the same formula as the ballerina top (see January 28^th posting), and it’s very flattering. Plus, it’s my first top with short sleeves! I really like it, though the endless kitchener was painful to do on the hems. Still, very successful knit. A good way to end the knitwear month!

Lacey Dress

January 30^th: When I finished this dress, I considered it my opus. The double-layer bottom hem alone took forever (FOREVER), and I love the girliness of the lace and the picot edges on the top. And it fits. I will admit that it’s hard to wear it such that it looks flattering, always a problem with knitted dresses. It is certainly not flattering in the tummy or hip area, though when I fasten a cardigan over it it’s OK. It’s also just difficult to find the right occasion to wear a knit mohair dress that looks kind of like lingerie, but I do manage it. I still love it, though it’s more because I’m proud of the work and the style, rather than it being something that I wear often.

Go Everywhere Cardigan

January 29^th: This was the first sweater I knitted after I took up knitting again in my 20’s. Sigh. This was before I understood a thing about knitting sizes, and just made the medium without checking the measurements of the finished garment against my own, because, heck, in stores I almost always wear the medium, right? It came out far too big for me, the bottom hits in an unflattering place, and somehow (how did this happen?) the buttons aren’t evenly spaced. Also, I just don’t ever see myself making something without shaping ever again. It’s cozy enough to wear on the weekends, especially with a dress, but my slouchy cardigan works so much better in this regard that this one rarely gets worn. Oh well.

Ballerina Top

January 28^th: Love my ballerina top. Easy to wear and flattering. I need more knitted tops like this one. The key appears to be knitting worsted weight cotton a size down on small needles: keeps it opaque (always important), keeps it cool, and keeps it from losing its shape. A good, easy layering piece.

Lace Ribbon Scarf

January 27^th: I wear my Lace Ribbon scarf quite often because it goes so darn well with this sweater I got from Free People years ago. That’s another lesson the project has taught me: often, you have to make sure you have something to wear the garment with, or else it just may not get worn. I think maybe I should block the scarf again, as it’s often to curled to see the beautiful lace, but it’s the perfect weight and thickness for indoor wear. Regardless, it’s lovely.

Ultra Femme

January 26^th: I’m at a point with this experiment where I want to slap the knitter I was 5 years ago, because I’m realizing that a mistake or two on a project makes the difference between its wearability and it staying unworn. So it is with my Ultra Femme. I didn’t like the giant bow on her tummy in the picture, so I left off the bow and the belt loops entirely. Mistake, because it doesn’t fit right without a tie under the bust, so now I wear it with a ribbon tied in the back, but it really should be attached. Maybe I’ll add the belt loops now. The bigger problem, that makes me want to KICK myself, is that I didn’t understand when I made this that weaving in ends must be done on the sides of a garment. Somehow, I ended the skeins right in the middle of the garment, so the ugly ends are right on the belly either way I wear this. I’m going to try to reweave them, but it makes me want to rip out the cotton and redo the bottom. The top part, I should say, is quite lovely and delicate, which makes me so irritated about the rest of it!

Lucky Sweater

January 25^th: Oh, my Lucky Sweater. Taught me one, very, very valuable lesson: be very, very careful when substituting one kind of fiber for another in a pattern. This was supposed to be made in cotton, and I made it in mohair. Smallest size, perfect gauge, and it’s HUGE. Why? Because mohair is lighter, and without that weight it acts like it’s two sizes bigger. So, the back collar is so big it flops down, and I’m constantly having to cover up the straps of the tank I wear underneath this. If I pull it down it’s OK for a time, but what a pity, a lace project on TWOs that doesn’t fit right.