It’s late on a Friday night and I’m dead tired, but I couldn’t let the weekend kick off without showing you this:

Yoke of sweater in progress

Yay! It’s starting to look like the top of a sweater! I am quite proud of myself. I have been knitting and knitting at spare moments as much as I can–lunchtime at work, riding in the car, TV time, you name it. I’ve been really good and really focused this week.

I have a technical question for those of you that have made this sweater, though. I’ve read, and read, and read about the sizing. And, as educated as I am on the subject by now, I have to admit, I’m pretty confused.

Let me start by stating the obvious. I’m not a skinny girl. To top it off, I’m pretty short. Under 5 feet tall, to be not quite exact. I keep reading that you should not let the garter stitch section go below the bustline. But, given how much I have to add to the sleeve sections yet before they hit that critical “almost” around the arm, I’m pretty sure that the rest of it will fall below my bust. Also, my bust is not the biggest thing on me.That prize goes to my waistline? Wait. What waistline? I haven’t seen that since I was 24. So, when do I stop increasing in the yoke? I honestly think that because of my short but wide self, it’s hard to just apply a set number of rows or stitches. How will I know when the fit is “right” for me?

As always I will appreciate your wisdom.

And on that note, I’m headed to bed. BIG day tomorrow, including a birthday bash for a daughter who is moving squarely into the realm of teenworld. Last year, we were just starting down the road. This year, we’re definitely in the mosh pit that is the middle of teen life, and I’m just hanging on til somebody throws me out at the other end. Wish me luck.

You’ve heard me say it many times. I believe that I am the slowest knitter in the world. So slow in fact that I usually lose interest in a project long before it’s done. But this week, I’m proud of the progress I’ve made on my February Lady Sweater in such a short time:

February Lady Sweater yoke progress

Closeup of one of the buttonholes

I even got to the second buttonhole tonight, which was actually something of a close call. All week as I’ve been knitting I’ve been laying the knitting on my shoulders, to see if I am doing ok with the size. And I’ve been getting this increasingly sinking feeling that the sweater was looking too big, and that maybe I should go down a size. This morning I went into my co-worker’s office and announced my intention to take a trip to the frog pond at lunch time. She’s a knitter–a quite accomplished one–but had never heard the term, “frog pond.” After explaining myself and what the term meant, she suggested that maybe we should go in the bathroom so I could see it in a mirror. (A fabulous suggestion from my co-worker, who happens to be blind.)

She helped me position the yoke on my shoulders just so, and you know what? It’s looking good! The increases are laying right where they should and the neck opening is not too wide. So, she saved me a trip to the frog pond, and I was able to keep right on knitting! Whew! That was definitely time well spent at lunchtime today.

So I will keep knitting, knowing that I have miles of garter stitch to knit before I can get to the lace pattern, and hoping that I can maintain my resolve. I must get over my, “I’ve never knit a sweater” knitter’s block. Because, you see, I’ve got big plans for the next one. But it’s too soon to talk about that. Right now let’s just bask in the glow of my progress this week. This is MY Olympic moment.

If you’re a knitter, you know how it is with garter stitch. You knit and you knit and you knit, and after what seems like forever and miles of knitting? What have you got to show for it? Next to nothing, that’s what. Such was this week for me:

a lousy half inch of progress on my sweater

It’s all I’ve got, after knitting my fingers down to little nubs. A half inch. At this rate, my sweater will be done in about, oh, THREE YEARS! Nah. I swatched. The lace section goes a lot faster. At least I’m telling myself it does. (It does, right?)

Here’s to hoping I don’t lose the mojo. I’ve got a couple of events coming up over the next couple of weeks that should keep me excited about knitting. Next Saturday promises to be a day of knitting with friends, and then in TWO WEEKS, it’s the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I go with Steve every year, and so far we’ve lucked out with decent weather each time. I’ve already made dinner reservations for The Melting Pot for that evening. Should be a great day all the way around.

Here’s to hoping I’ll have more to show next week!

Listen to this article