Craft!

I know I haven't exactly been posting about crafting or cooking lately. I had had high hopes at the genesis of this blog to be fermenting veggies and cooking and crafting as if that was all I did.  The thing is, it really isn't all that I do. It's becoming more frequent that I cut down on the frivolous and cook simple healthful meals instead of coming up with tempting appetizers or delightful desserts. There have been times when I can pull out the stops and make a mess of the kitchen, and they have been wonderful. 

Lately, though, I've been sneaking in a row or two of knitting in between laundry, dishes, and organizing copious notes and resources surrounding stress management or self-regulation in children.

I got some lovely wool from my parents for Christmas. It's grey 1-ply all Canadian sheep wool. Oh! It is wonderful. When I saw it I didn't immediately know what I was going to do with it.  Usually, I buy my own yarn, as it is often hard to come up with something that fits parametres set by a certain amount of yardage. BUT! I recently found a new tool on Ravelry (a knit/crochet pattern treasure trove) - it has search parametres that include yardage, yarn size, and so on. Before, I had just looked for certain items, like socks or blankets....little did I know I was using it in such a juvenile way! Hooray for better searches!

Anyway, I found a lovely simple top-down raglan sweater that is highly customizable. The thing that drew me to this pattern, was the lovely button detail that is actually a functional closure!

As I was surveying the yardage needed for the size I thought I needed, I realized I was about 200yd short. I dug through my stash of leftovers. I had a few balls that I bought on S and my 5th anniversary. They are gorgeous hand dyed alpaca. I didn't want to use them on just anything, what with the emotional significance and all. This sweater was just the perfect place! I added some stripes and we're off to the races!

Here's a picture!

The sweater with my 'are you taking the picture' face.

So, in the picture, I had already taken the sweater off the needles and restarted because the sizing was WAAAAY off for me.  I did it in a much smaller size, and  you can sort of tell in this picture, too, that it's still a little big.  I frogged it back to just under the bust and added quite a few more decreases!

I'm almost back to where it is in this picture.  With the extra yardage from the extra decreases and size decrease I think I might have enough to make it a long sleeve sweater, too!

This is the first adult piece of clothing I've made. I think I might be hooked.

I'll update you later when it's closer to being finished!

knitting one, purling...none,
J

Soli Deo Gloria