Epic Sweater Fail

There was a time when I was invincible in the knitting world.  I had no fear, and I dove in head first for much of what I wanted to do.  These days, I’m not afraid, but I have very little brain power to spare.  I have attempted at least 3 times to knit myself a sweater, and I have failed.  Every.  Time.  This is failure of epic proportions for me. 

Failed Attempt #1

Failed Attempt #2

So, I’m going back to the basics.  I tried to knit the lovely Oatmeal Pullover, and the second time through (or was it the third?), realized the sweater and my body were not compatible.  This happens – you see something lovely in a store and think “I love that shirt/dress/sweater/skirt/whatever” only to go in and try it on and find that a potato sack would fit better.  I have to re-learn things that I thought I knew.  Maybe I still know them, but they are buried deep in the recesses of my mind.  This happens as you get older (so I am told).  So, I am going to embark on a journey.  I invite you to come along with me. 

I am starting on another bulky weight sweater for myself.  This will be a basic raglan sweater, knit from the top down.  I have my tape measure, my pencil (I need a pencil because I have to erase a lot), all the yarn I could possibly need for this sweater, needles, stitch markers, a calculator, and paper.  Hopefully I will re-learn a lot of fitting techniques, and maybe even a few new ones.  I hope to have this one done before the really cold weather sets in (although we’ve been having freakishly cold weather here already, and it’s super early for it!).  Will you come with me on my journey?  I know the next few weeks are filled with cooking, baking, cleaning, holidays, parties, concerts, shopping and all kinds of craziness (since now apparently shops have what my hubby calls “Hallogivingmas”), but I think taking some time out for myself (or ourselves) is important too.  I know that I will be the only one to give myself something handmade. 

Funny side story for handmade items: one place that I worked, we always did a small birthday celebration for those in our group.  We had a cake, bought and signed a card, and usually gathered a little cash for a gift card for the person.  It was a small group, so this wasn’t a big deal financially, but it always was a nice gesture.  I, being the baker in the group, would usually bake a cake for whoever it was – I tried to find out their favorite and make sure we had that.  When it was my birthday, I got a store bought cake.  It was one from a local grocery store, and not even one that had a bakery in it – it was one of the bundt cakes that come on a truck already baked and packaged.  I still loved them, as it was more the gesture of thought than the cake itself, but it was just funny that I got a lowly pre-packaged bundt cake with strawberry gel on top, while everyone else got a lovely homemade fresh baked cake.  I still love those people.  And I'm still baking cakes, including my own.