Second Try

The grey and white sweater from yesterday is so hysterically funny that I just have to keep trying to post the last couple of pictures!

I see it! Do you see it too?
Remember, I had major puckering because I hadn't woven my floats and the floats were too short. So I carefully threaded the white yarn through each of it's stitches on the one bad row (actually, most rows were bad, but I think I just tried to fix one row). Of course, there isn't enough white yarn already knitted in to loosen it up enough. So what do I do? Add more. How do I join it? HOT GLUE. I am admitting here that I have used hot glue on a sweater. It appears I only added about two inches at this spot (I think there are more spots). Love those short ends, too. Hot glue. Hot damn.
Let's try for the next picture:
It's there! This picture is the sleeve cuff. Obviously, after knitting the front and back, I clued into 'weave in ends' LOL! This sweater has never been worn with the cuffs folded back!
Which leads to the final question about this sweater. If it were for a now ex-boyfriend....why do I still have it? Well, when we broke up a year later, I knew that knitting was 'my thing'. I was furious that I had spent all that time on my second project, and I knew he didn't really care for it, or would ever wear it again. So I demanded it back. Have you heard the country song "Take your cat and leave my sweater..." (that's not the title, just a line). I think it would have been better if he had taken his stupid cat, and kept his sweater, LOL.
I totally forgot! When I got the sweater back, it sat unloved for awhile. That sweater represented more than just cheap acrylic yarn. When I learned more about finishing, I took the seams out, shortened the front and back and sleeves, and sewed it back up, taking the sides in a bit. And I did wear it. Out in public. Like one big nose thumbing.
Ten Knitterly Things You Didn't Know About Me:
1) I learned to knit around 8-10 years old, by my maternal grandmother. Apparently we ran out of yarn on my first swatch....4 stitches from the end of the cast off we switched to a different shade of green. Years later, I find the swatch, and a ball of the main yarn....ends held in by electrical tape. I also find a picture of my grandmother and me. She is holding some knitting that appears to be small and green.
2) I don't think I earned my Girl Guides knitting badge. In true Tracy style, I was taught to knit, but I had to learn everything else on my own. I had a British book, an American book, metric needles, American needles, and probably some old Canadian needles. I tried making the baby bootie from the British book. It was huge. There are lots of notes in those books--I had great plans to make things...but they were children's craft books, and one project was a vest--not my size....but I never did make any of the patterns. I did though use one of the books to make a Granny square. It's not exactly square, LOL.
3) The oldest unfinished project I have is a textured star cotton tunic, from Rowan #15. I started it in either 94 or 95. I used Handicrafter Cotton. The pattern calls for 22st/4" in the textured stitch on 3 3/4mm needles. I did get that. Cause you know....getting gauge is so important, LOL. This will remain forever an unfinished project as I gave away all the rest of the yarn. And by the way, the armholes are 5 3/4" deep. Uh huh.
4) I'm not a fiber snob. I do try, however, to be fiber appropriate. I won't make mitts out of acrylic, I won't make a baby sweater in mohair. I don't have a big budget, but I do try to get great deals on nice yarns, and use yarns that enhance a project. I've learned a lot!
5) I have knitting envy. I wish I had more time/money/space/talent. I am a bit of an over achiever. I picked up knitting again in the fall of 93, as mentioned last Tuesday--because I thought, for once, I could do something better than my housemate.
6) I am anti-trends. With most of my life. No minivan for me. I may have knit some Kaffe Fassett way back when...but I didn't know he was trendy then--that's just what the library had, LOL. I have never knit a Clapotis, a Flower Basket, or Fibertrend Clogs (although I think I did finally buy the pattern). I do want to knit an Odessa and a Picovoli, but I figure they're pretty generic so it's okay.
7) I am afraid of buying buttons.
8) I hate duplicate stitching anything afterwards, or embroidery. It's knitting that I love.
9) The longest I went without knitting was 4 weeks. It was Feb 95. We had just broken up and I was working on a sweater (next Timeless Tuesday) from his mother. The entire time I was at home doing a practice teaching session, I did not knit.
10) I don't mind finishing work. It might take me a long time to get around to it, but once I finally learned good finishing techniques, it made life so much easier.
11) I have taken workshops with Lucy Neatby, Fiona Ellis, Debbie New (well, not a workshop, but a presentation), Elaine Bryant (?)--the Tunisian Crochet lady, and maybe others I have forgotten. I belong to one guild and one group (I also started one group, now defunct), and I really want to get my Master Knitter's certificate.
12) I have made, and worn--in public-- a Mary Maxim picture sweater.
Not bad, twelve things. I have to go wake Megan to get to school to observe Lucy in JK. Whew!