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.

Clapotis

January 24^th: Ever since I finished my Clapotis I have regretted not making it wider (I worried that I was going to run out of yarn, turned out not to be a problem), so I often find myself pulling it down so it covers my boobs, but I always get compliments on it, and when it’s lying properly it really does look nice.

Lacey Skirt with Bows

January 23^rd: My 5-year-old self would, I believe, be quite pleased to know that 30-year-old Sara has not given up on her love of pink and lace and bows. This skirt may be the girliest thing I have ever made, but I still really like it. It’s true that the slip that I have to wear under it has a mind of its own, leading sometimes to the unflattering situation in which the slip is at my waist and the skirt is at my hips (looks like granny underwear, yik), and I wonder how I could just sew it in so it won’t be a problem. Still, for the most part it’s not hard to wear, and I like the way it looks, girly and summery.

Lelah

January 22^nd: Still love my Lelah, and so glad I put in industrial strength elastic on the top of it. I do periodically have to pull it up, but not often, and I think it is quite flattering on me. Has stood the test of time.

Neckwarmer

January 21^st: Peggy gave me this beautiful cashmere out of her stash, and I made this Neckwarmer out of it. I love it, and it’s an accessory I go to when I want to feel a little dressed up. Love the buttons, love how soft it is. Successful project.

Twist Cable Socks

January 20^th: I raced to finish these socks (on zeros!) before today so that I could wear them to an event where I needed to be dressed in more professional formal attire (thus, no strange knitwear), and I’m happy to say both that I finished last night, and that they’ve stayed up in my boots all day. They weren’t much fun to make (holding those needles made my hands hurt), but they look great and they’ve held up in the real world, so I’m happy.

Tubey

January 19^th: I think this Tubey was the first time that I used the exact yarn the pattern called for. Despite that, and despite getting gauge and knitting it in the smallest possible size, the darn thing has still stretched out a lot. It’s not terrible, but it would be a whole lot more flattering if it had kept its shape. The ‘unique’ construction on this is not standard for a reason: it can’t maintain its shape at the neck. Also, I’ve decided that 3x1 knitting does not provide enough stretchiness over the long term. Overall: sloppy, and I didn’t help things with the bands on the elbows. Oh well.

Bella Paquita

January 18^th: I hate to admit this, because it took me so, so long to make but my Bella Paquita is sloppy and hard to wear. It’s still pretty, but I’m constantly pulling it down and the neckline is never symmetrical. Also, I think I should have used smaller needles, or maybe shouldn’t have used any ribbing; it’s the ribbing that looks sloppy. And the shoulders are always falling off, and it’s not pilling exactly, but it is getting fuzzy, which doesn’t help. Sigh. And, the yarn is oddly shiny. Pretty, but several things make this hard to wear.

Silk Camisole

January 17^th: I don’t wear my Silk Camisole (it’s knitted in alpaca) nearly enough. The neck has stretched out enough that it’s inappropriate to wear to work on its own, but I added a matching silk scarf and buttoned a cardigan over it so the neck was fine. Plus, I LOVED seeing the lace edging below the cardigan. And it’s so soft! I’ve found a new favorite work outfit.

Stripey Scarf

January 16^th: This crochet cotton scarf is a nice accessory on a warm day, and I didn’t mind wearing it for the full 8 hours. I’m not a great crochet-er, so it curls like bacon because the cast-on row is too tight, which makes the scarf less pretty, but it’s colorful and cool so I still quite like it.

Button Obi

January 15^th: The design for this Button Obi is flawed, and my execution amplified those problems. I’m not sure why the designer thought it should be wider in the middle than on the sides, and the double and triple crochets means that it bunches in a really unflattering way, such that I can’t wear it as it was meant to be worn: tied in the back. I have to tie the bows right on my tummy. In an outfit where it doesn’t take center stage, it’s fine, and an obi is a pretty cool accessory idea, but this one has issues.

Vanilla

January 14^th: My Vanilla sweater was a lesson in what not to do: don’t 1) substitute fiber content (cotton for wool), 2) knit on significantly bigger needles than the yarn wants and 3) trust that cotton will keep its shape. This sweater is a schlubby disaster, where the lacey yarnovers that make up the raglan increases are now large and droopy, and the whole thing is just stretched out and sloppy. I have it folded over on the bottom so it sort of looks a little neater, and it’s OK to wear over a bathing suit, but it’s really not a good office look.

Excuses

January 13^th: The band on my Excuses doesn’t stay where it’s supposed to, so I’m constantly pulling it down, and think that I probably should have put some sort of elastic into it when I was making the piece. But, I like the colors and the fit, and the kimono sleeves. Good project, not perfect.

Snow White

January 12^th: I love my Snow White sweater, which is flattering (wide necks look good on me) and the ribbing and yarn maintain the shape beautifully. Wish I didn’t have to wear a strapless bra with it, but it’s otherwise fantastic

Hourglass Sweater

January 11^th: One of the first sweaters I knitted was the hourglass sweater, and though the neck is certainly too wide, it’s flattering and feminine without being girly, and I like the turned under hems. Still one of my favorites.

Rebecca Skirt

January 10^th: Knitted skirts can be easily unflattering, but I rather like my Rebecca Skirt with its flared hem with a black ribbon sewn on as trim. It’s business-appropriate in the cold months, and the tweed, fuschia color is rich enough not to be glaring. Successful knit. Note update: forgot to take a picture before I’d changed for the evening, so I threw it back on and took a picture just of that. Pity, the outfit was cute.

Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers

January 9^th: I do still like my Hurry Up Spring fingerless gloves/armwarmers, but wearing fingerless gloves for an entire day that isn’t spent, say, hiking is difficult. I did go hiking, which was fine, but normal things like doing dishes, using the bathroom, cooking, etc are not meant to have gloves involved, no matter how cold the house is, and the taking them on and off all day as a result meant that they were rather stretched out by evening (but, being wool, they bounce back fine.) This is the first day my new year’s experiment felt, at least in part, like a chore.

Anthropologie Capelet

January 8^th: My anthropologie capelet is not a particularly practical item: made out of a thick mohair, it’s a very good item if I only want my armpits to be warm. Still wearing it makes me feel like a snobby ice queen from the 50’s, which is fun every so often, and the ladies at my knitting brunch complimented it, so all was well.

Slouchy Cardigan

January 7^th: Perhaps my favorite thing that I’ve ever knitted is my purple slouchy cardigan. The angora is soft, and I wish it wasn’t pilling so much, but Fridays are somewhat more casual at work so I’m wearing it today. Still love it.

Tivoli

January 6^th: I wanted to show off my nifty new Peruvian acai berry necklace that I got (myself, admittedly) for hannukah, so I wore it on top of the blue cotton Tivoli I knitted forever ago (seriously, like at least 5 years.) Tivoli works well as a basic layer under a cardigan, so I’m pleased.

Owl Sweater

January 5^th: I love my owl sweater so, so much. It’s got a 70’s vibe to it because of its electric apple green color and brown buttons, and I realize that being the Director of Sustainability programs wandering around the office wearing a green sweater with owls on it is a bit too on the nose, but so be it.

Best Friend Cardigan

January 4^th: Now that I don’t live in New York anymore, I rarely get a chance to wear my Best Friend Sweater because it’s seldom cold enough to justify it, but it’s still in the mid-fifties in my apartment and my office is none too warm, so spending a day wearing something made of cascade magnum is delightful. The yarn is pilling, but I like the biker jacket vibe of the cardigan.

Grey Gathered Pullover

January 3^rd: my first day back to work of the new year. Given that Monday is our most office formal day, I decided to go with one of my favorites: my grey Gathered Pullover. Looks as good with office slacks as with jeans, so it’s great for work.

Calorimetry

Jan 2: It’s still cold, and still rainy. To keep my ears warm, my Calorimetry head scarf seems to be the perfect thing. This has stretched out somewhat in the years since I first made it, so I now use the second or third- to last buttonhole instead of the last one, but it still works great.

New Year's Day

Given that I am very sleepy and it’s pouring rain outside, and because it is only in the mid-50’s in our apartment, starting off the new year by wearing hand-knit slouchy socks all day seems like a great idea.