Once Upon a Yarn

Vogue Eyelet Pullover
Originally uploaded by k_purls2

I was an adventurous newbie. No scarves for me. No sir! I jumped in with both feet first because I was head-over-heels in love with knitting. I dragged my mother to pretty much every yarn shop in Chicago one afternoon. We found a store up North who had monthly project classes. Eureka! I poured over the Spring/Summer 2005 Vogue Knitting and found this pattern for the Eyelet Sweater. Well, hindsight 20/20...I didn't know anything about gauge, yarn substitutions or the sheer cost of natural fibers! Knitting is not necessarily for the wallet-challenged. Now when I used to crochet as a teen and college student...1.99 ball of acrylic from Woolworths or Kmart baby! But now I was big-time and I was not about to spend hours knitting in a material that would not last. My mother calls me a yarn snob, but I don't care! Anyway, I digress. The pattern called for a cotton/microfiber. The sales person pointed me to the Lambs Pride Wool and Mohair as a substitute. What was she thinking?! The drapes are totally different and I didn't know how to make the adjustments. Plus there is something fishy about my front and back pieces, which I'll show you later. But, the detail is beautiful, don't you think? All of the pieces are finished, but I'm delaying unraveling the front to fix the obvious error. I also don't remember where I left off in terms of finishing the neckline (I threw it in a big in a fit of frustration without taking notes). And, I'm embarassed to haul this nightmare to my local shop for help. But, now that I am in talk therapy via this blog, it's time to get it finished! Don't let me talk myself out of it!

Alas, it was beautiful experience to knit. I enjoyed it, but because I never finished this ubiquitous first project, it set-in motion my delay in finishing an adult-sized sweater as well as my dear husband's smug comments regarding my sincerity for the craft "so where's that sweater anyway?" The other bonus were the knit friendships I forged with some really nice people in my Tuesday evening project class, Susan, Lee and another lady whose name now escapes me. Eek!