Let's Talk About Sweaters

To be honest, I have a rather spotty record with sweaters. *

My successes include:

• Sean's Cobblestone
• Sean's black turtleneck
• Sean's Galway Guy
• My February Lady
• Several Debbie Bliss basic cardigans
• All BSJ's
• Fair Isle Ballet Sweater
• Robin Hood Cabled Jacket for Princess
• Rustic Pea Pod

Under the 'Meh' category:

• The cabled pullover for the Pixie with the too-wide neck. (To be fair, this was a pattern feature, trying to mimic the folded over top of a traditional infant onsie.)
• A couple of baby gift patterns that turned out to be cute...but were a bit fiddly, like the Matinee Cardi.
• Rosemary...fits beautifully, but is itchy and too old for me.
• Little Star Sweater, which needed to be wool.

And while I can't call them failures, there are a few that just didn't work out for one reason or another:

• My tent like maternity sweater.
• The Tatami Kimono that found a better home with my BKB
• The Botanic Medallion Cardi that's still too small.
• The post-surgery cardi that turned out to fit my 7-year-old. (Although I am still laughing about that one.)
• Forestry Cardigan...which I gave to Mom because it fit her better...and it had weird issues with the collar which I think were the pattern and not me.

There are three very important facts which should strike you as you read this list.

1. All but one of my happy projects were made for someone else.
2. The projects in the middle by and large were not favorites because of pattern issues and/or my yarn selections.
3. The disaster sweaters are all disasters because of fit...and they were all made for me.

Clearly, I have some issues.

Truth time....the biggest problem that I have is one of fit, and I don't think I'm alone in that. While once in a while it's a case of my gauge swatches having lied to me, usually I just have chosen the wrong size to make. No, I'm not clueless as to my actual measurements...I just have some weird hangups about them and have often thought that I should make a size smaller to encourage myself to lose weight. Well we all know where I'm at right now with THAT can of worms. Enough is enough, it's time to start knitting for me in a realistic way. There's absolutely no sense in continuing to put off spending my precious craft time on me. Besides, there's only so many shawls a girl can wear!

The second issue...I do spend a lot of time knitting for other people, and - while I'm not about to stop doing so - I do need to find some balance. It's just hard sometimes when your husband and daughters love and appreciate their handknits so much!

Finally, there is a question of personal style, which is something I've been more than a bit vague about for years. Fashion has never been at the top of my list, and because of all of my weird issues I've spent a lot of time trying to just blend in to the background. I'm quite pleased to say that that particular phase is now over. I'm looking around now with an eye towards what I truly like...what types of clothes scream my name....what works with my lifestyle....and what would make me feel special to wear.

Which leads me to something we'll discuss next week....sweaters I want to make for me!

*I'm far too lazy to stop and link all of the items on the list today, so if you want to look up these sweaters, please visit my Ravelry project page.