Fit

Last Thursday I spent the day in an Anne Hansen workshop. The topic was knitting well fitting sweaters.

It was my third workshop on this general topic in recent months. It reinforced learning from those earlier sessions and provided important "aha" moments of understanding. (These things are so obvious they are probably better described as "Duh" moments but honestly I hadn't really considered them like this before) For example...

• Aha! I need to invest money to buy patterns with thoroughly detailed schematics or to invest time and effort developing one myself from a bare bones pattern.

Duh! I expect detail in sewing patterns and understand the necessity of altering them for fit. I would never cut fabric for a garment based on unaltered pattern pieces or choose a pattern without considering my measurements but I create knit fabric all the time with little idea of how the pieces will come together to fit me.

• Aha! Do three swatches* on three different needle sizes to be sure of stitch and row gauge.

Duh! . Row gauge is critical, among other things, to spacing increases and decreases for shaping. Since I do prefer, for example, the waist shaping of my sweaters to fall at the waist of my body, why not try to achieve both stitch and row gauge.

• Aha! Wash and dry swatches.

Duh! Why use unwashed swatches to give me information about fabric for a garment that will be washed?

• Aha! I have been a lazy knitter!
• Aha! Rather than admit to my laziness I've blamed...patterns, my figure, my knitting skills, the math (really the simplest of elementary school arithmetic is all that's required - what have I been so afraid of?). 

Duh! The magic of new yarn and casting on has grabbed me and I've indulged in it without a plan as to what to do after that yarn crazed moment has passed.

Duh! I try to "fix" things the next time with more of the same clueless casting on.

• Aha! This knitter needs to drop the excuses, do a little math. knit a few swatches, wash and dry them and then get on with actually enjoying the process of knitting sweaters again.
• Aha! My fond memories of sweater knitting in the 80's was on the then fashionable shapeless sweaters with drop sleeves - no fitting required so my laziness didn't show ! The fabulous yarns and patterns available today necessitate that I bring my best game in order to fully enjoy knitting and wearing them!

Duh! When I just can't be bothered, I can always indulge in socks, scarves, bags, mitts, afghans, even top down, try as you go sweaters with yoke construction forgiving of knitting without much consideration of details until you're into the thick of things.

(BTW) A top down try as you go yoke sweater is just what I'll post about tomorrow with my long overdue simple Swingy Garter Sweater FO!

'Hope to "see" you then! Thanks for dropping by today!

*What's my problem with swatching anyway?  It is just knitting, after all and isn't that supposed to be something I enjoy?

Treasures

The absence of my computer over the past couple of weeks has also meant the absence in my life of all of you on line. I look forward to our regular "connections" both "here" at my place and also at so many of your blogs so I'll be glad to get back into the swing of things next week and catch everything up.

I've been busy knitting (FO posts on the way!), I've had lots of activity and time with many fantastic people.

Some of these people I'm related to, some I knew and worked with for years, some are relatively new in my life and some I encountered more or less in passing. Whatever the case, the collective engagement, intellect and creative energy to which I was exposed in their company has left me inspired and energized. 

We're headed north to the cottage tonight - a quick 24 hour turnaround. (My Beloved flies out Saturday evening :(  )Despite the rainy forecast on top of our trip's brevity I'm looking forward to it as(among other things) an opportunity to process all the "treasures" these remarkable people have left me to mentally toss around and consider. 

Fantastic people are the stuff of a fantastic life - I feel fantastically fortunate today!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Thanks for dropping by!

We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties

'Just about to unplug and take this "beast of a newly renovated, but apparently, about to have a hard drive melt down", computer in...I have knitting, in fact I have posts to put up about my knitting but Blogger won't accept my photos.

Sigh.

I have spent all the time (and honestly a bit more) than I usually "budget" for computer time each day on trying to sort out these various problems...I'm sure you can imagine the rest.

Knitting with cotton and cotton/linen in the cool of the evenings is so lovely and its driving me mad that I cannot share the details.

I feel confident this last repair to my computer will sort out the issues at home but the one with blogger...well I'll tackle that again as the "Geek" I called in yesterday suggested...fingers crossed!

Have a great day!