Listening to Your Knitting

It took me a while, but I finally decided my Inlet Sweater was just not what I wanted out of the yarn.  

The sweater probably was talking to me the whole time I was knitting it, but I just was not listening.  Right from the beginning, I was torn as to whether to knit it in pieces or go the easy route and knit mostly in one piece.  A plus for the Custom Fit Sweater patterns is that Amy also includes instructions for mostly knitting in one piece if you choose.

But, I decided to knit mine in pieces.  My rationale is that I would like to practice my sewing skills again on sweaters and this would be a perfect learning lesson.  Inlet is a simple cardigan and I had Custom Fit produce a pattern with shaping and 3/4 sleeves, something that is supposed be good for my body type.

I knew that I would be cutting it close on yarn, but was hoping that the 3/4 sleeves would help me save on some yarn.  When I really listened to the knitting, it was obvious I was going to need some more yarn.  My friend Pam, let me use some of hers, but her color of Well Water was lighter than mine.  I used it for some of the body, alternating skeins so it wasn't super obvious that I had two different lots going.  Then I got really lazy and used all of her skein at the back of the neck, where the long hair was sure to cover it.

Then, I got to sewing in the sleeves.   Amy has a great picture tutorial on her website on how she sews in the set in sleeves - a great refresher, but by the time I was ready to do that, I took a good hard look at mine on the floor, and decided there were so many things wrong with my sweater that I just was not loving it.  

I waited a while before I really listened to it, begging to be ripped apart and something else done out of my darker color way.  Finally, I gave in, ripped and balled it all back up.  

And now, I am listening and waiting for it to tell me what it really wants to be.