Firstly, apologies if you read this blog on Google Reader, or some other reader feed. I was reorganizing my blog posts the other day, giving them categories, and titles to some that imported from waaaaaaaaaaay back when I used Blogger. I noticed in my Reader feed (yes, I subscribe to myself to make sure I know about weird things like this) and it showed that I had 32 new posts or something crazy. They’re not new posts, by any measure. They’re just really old ones that I titled.  They retained their old dates when I updated them, so I didn’t think anything weird was going on, but since I gave them titles I guess it categorized them as new.

I’d like to say that I will only knit from my newly reorganized and categorized stash this year, but chances are I will probably not stick to that completely. I’ll try to knit more out than I put in though.  I am putting some of the 3.3 miles of yarn to good use already. As soon as I cast off Delancey and slapped her on the blocking board last weekend I knew I wanted to make another sweater right away. We’ve been having some cold, snowy weather, and I should take advantage of my willingness to work with heavy wool while the weather inspires me to.

I’ve been wanting to make a sweater for Matt. I looked around Ravelry at men’s cardigans and I didn’t find any that came close enough to what I wanted. I do like this one, and I used it’s yardage requirements when I purchased yarn to estimate what I would need. I think the cables are a little boring though. I decided to play around with some different ideas. Here is what I came up with:

On Sunday I did a whole bunch of math, using Knitwear Design Workshop as  guide. I feel pretty confident about my math. The book guides you through each piece fairly easily as long as you have all of the necessary measurements as well as your stitch and row gauge. There will be a little element of winging it when I get to the collar, because the book doesn’t have anything just like I want.

I was a good girl and wet-blocked my swatch. I decided I would be knitting in pieces so I could make some lovely set-in sleeves. I felt confident, and I casted on. I knitted faithfully on this Sunday night and Monday night, even though Delancey was dry by Monday and I could be weaving in her ends. I was like a woman possessed.

All day long on Tuesday I had a nagging feeling that I just hadn’t cast on enough stitches for my fronts. I’m making this sweater with just an inch or so of ease, per Matt’s request, but I think I overstretched my swatched when I blocked it and that thought kept bugging me. It might have been ok, but I just wasn’t content, so:

Froggy, froggy, froggy.

Meh. Though I love to do things two at a time, it’s a pain when both have to be frogged. I ripped them Tuesday night, cast on a higher number and I’m at it again. I’d rather provide a little more wiggle room and not worry about having to stretch this thing out like crazy when blocking to make it fit.

I think I will write up the pattern as I go. I don’t know if I will put it up immediately when it’s done. I’ve never tried to make multiple sizes of a sweater (or even designed my own sweater), so we’ll see what happens. I have comprehensive exams coming up in my doctoral program, and that seems a bit more pressing right now. Yet, I’ve never craved the soothing stress relief of the stitches more.