What a Life!

A couple years ago, during the olympics, the Yarn Harlot got this thing going where you chose a really big project – one that really intimidated you and pushed your limits as a knitter. You started it at the beginning of the olympics and had to finish it by the end. So the knitters had their own olympics. Or something like that.

Now this year we’re having the olympics again. The 2008 Summer Olympics. I don’t know if there will be knitting olympics again or not. But there’s training going on right now for the olympics. And if I were to do a knitting project for the knitter’s olympics, this might just be something like what I would do.

Yes, my yarn arrived yesterday. I swatched yesterday afternoon. I had to figure out what size needles to use to get the suggested gauge for the design I’m making.

Then I had to go through the seemingly inevitable stage of questioning and self-doubt. Seriously.

Would I like this sweater? I love the yarn. The color. How it feels in my hands as I knit it. It couldn’t be more perfect. Is this the sweater I should be making with it? Maybe a cardigan would be more practical. If I got warm, I could open it up in front but still keep it on. A pullover is either on or off, you know. And should I do shaping? I like things with shaping better, but this sweater is supposed to be comfortable. It’s supposed to be the piece of clothing that makes me relax when I put it on. If I add too much shaping, I won’t be able to pull it up if I need to nurse. Yes, I’m perpetually on call as a mother. Does that mean I am never able to just let my hair down and relax? How much shaping could I do if I did shaping? If I did a cardigan, how would I knit it? I love the stitch pattern I’m using – how could I use that in a pattern?

And on and on and on. What sweater did I order the yarn to make, by the way? Notre Dame de Grace. Seriously. I fretted and fumed over it all afternoon. I wound the yarn, then I swatched, and then I became addicted to Ravelry – doing research, of course. All afternoon.

In the end, I am doing Notre Dame de Grace. As written.

[At least, at the moment. I may shorten the sleeves a little. To my liking. That’s one thing a lot of people on Ravelry complained about, and I know better anyway. You have to know your own measurements and make the sweater to fit you, not just follow some pattern arbitrarly.]

But you know what I think it really boils down to?

Someone came up with this thing somewhere that your challenge for 2008 is to knit 12 things. You decide what they are. They could be twelve things in your stash that you either knit up or get rid of. They may be twelve socks. Whatever. You decide. I decided to join in, and I am finishing twelve things for myself this year.

Yes, let me say that again. My goal is to finish twelve things for myself this year. I say “finish” because it’s okay if they were already in progress at the beginning of the year. It’s finishing them that matters.

Because I’m always knitting for other people and I never make anything for myself (except socks, which I cannot seem to let go of even though my dear mother would love to own a pair of handknit socks). The few things I do make for myself are such treasures that I cannot bring myself to wear them at home. I can only wear them when I leave the house because they are part of the “nice” portion of my wardrobe and must be saved for when I’m out and about.

Yes, I’m the idiot who sits on the couch in the evening and shivers even though I have sweaters that might keep me warm if I put them on but alas! I cannot because they are too “nice” to wear at home and I wouldn’t be able to let my hair down and relax if I put them on even if I’m freezing cold and they would make me warm. Yup, that’s me.

The thing is, when one has a limited wardrobe, one cannot wear the nice things in that wardrobe with reckless abandon. They might get worn out. And not just that. When you only have a few handknit sweaters, each sweater has to be “the ultimate sweater.” If I had more sweaters, then I could choose the one that was most appropriate for the moment and enjoy it for what it is. I wouldn’t have to worry about wearing it out because I would have ample selection and none would get worn so often as to wear out prematurely (though there is certainly nothing wrong with loving a single sweater that much). I could enjoy each of them in their glory with reckless abandon. Yes, reckless abandon.

So I decided that this may not be the ultimate sweater. ‘Tis true that a cardigan might be more practical. More flattering. More…whatever. But there are times when I will very much enjoy wearing a simple pullover with no shaping. When I can just let my hair down and relax and be warm. This sweater is not going to be the ultimate sweater, but it is one I will enjoy having as a part of my wardrobe.

Now may the Olympic Trials commence. I cast on last night after the boys went to bed, and I worked about four inches of the back. I don’t know how far I’ll get today. Or tomorrow. But I am going to be doing a lot of knitting this weekend.

The first sweater I knit – Galway Guy for Steve – took me a month for the front, a month for the back, and two months to do the sleeves, block it and assemble it. Salt Peanuts took about three weeks. Totally surprised me.

I’m thinkin’ this one could be done by Valentines Day. Or sooner. And then I would be warm. Because God knows, by the time I get it finished, the cold weather will be over and I won’t get to enjoy it until next January.

Seriously. It’s the perfect project for the Olympic Trials.