perseverance

More than once I wanted to give up on this sweater - which means, of course, that it is bound to be my favourite sweater now that it is finished.

The details are here on Ravelry, but basically I followed recommendations for worsted weight wool and then added sleeves using some absolutely questionable math. The true lesson (besides being patient and resisting unravelling) has to do with blocking. I have only steam blocked small sections of my knitting before, so this was my very first full blocking project. The button band was tight and the whole time I was knitting I told myself that blocking would fix it. Taking a deep breath I plunged the sweater into a bath of water, rolled out the excess after soaking and shaped the sweater on a dreary table in the basement. Two days later, the sweater was dry and - gasp - perfect. Like finally basting my chair pads properly, I now understand why blocking is so important: it works. It's the final step that turns your knitting into a real garment. This is the type of sweater I will wear until it's threadbare. A great pattern plus paying attention to the necessary details equals sweater love for me.

(P.S. Jay had to agree to taking photos for me as payback for the full day of sports on TV. Yay Team Canada! And I'm bending over because Milo was crawling up my leg.  If it's not a cat, it's a curious little baby trying to get into the shot.)