Truth and Consequences

Do you recall that I mentioned that I went to Colorful Stitches with certain projects in mind?  And that I did not find what I was looking for?  Granted I found something pretty wonderful, but what, pray tell, was I seeking?

Well I was seeking a fall project inspired by the new  fall Interweave Knits, which had just arrived in mail box that very morning.  I had just come to the conclusion that I was not really going to start a new summer project, in the hopes that summer will be done before I wear it much anyway, and I needed a fairly simple project that could be knitted at knitting group without major pattern mishaps, so I was looking for something simple.

The first thing that came to mind was the cover sweater on the new Interweave Knits even though it is knit in alpaca which means I won’t be wearing it for some time, and quite frankly alpaca sounds terrible to knit with in the current 100 degree heat.

I love the sweater and its wide neckline.  I really just has to hang well off the shoulders and then hang gracefully.  In this instance it is good that it is not particularly fitted because it means I will probably knit it and still be able to wear it, another important consideration because I have finally made a commitment to some lifestyle changes over here.

More exactly I have admitted to myself that I am much too heavy and need to lose weight.  Now anyone who has looked at photos on my blog will probably say to themselves “of course.” But I managed to deny that fact for a long time as I let the weight build up.  You see, for most of my early adult life, certainly through my 20's and 30's, I was a thin person and putting on weight was not really issue because it just came off again.  I had more trouble keeping weight on than taking it off, and I had no trouble maintaining that size 6 average on my 5'9" frame.  The problem is that I have continued to think of myself as a thin person despite all evidence to the contrary, and so it finally came as a surprise when I noticed that I was not just a little heavier, but was in fact, chubby.

Now I don’t really think I will ever become that size 6 person again, and I am not sure I really want to be that person, but I still need to loose 50 pounds.  Well, more exactly since I have now lost 13 pounds, I need to lose 40 more.  I will accept another 30, but 40 is the goal.  And I am determined to stick with it, despite occasional lapses and over-indulgences. 

And herein lies the problem.  Knitting takes time and a lot of effort goes into each project. I don’t want to knit something that is not going to fit when I am done with it.  At the same time it seems somewhat arrogant to knit something too small, I don’t want to tempt fate that much (or does this really just mean I am afraid of failing).  So I decided not to knit another summer sweater even though there are several I wanted to knit, including this one:

MAGGIE from RYC Classic Beach

which had been scheduled to be the next project on the needles upon the completion of Otto.  But it is unlikely that I will wear this sweater much this year and I do not intend to be the same size next summer.

Enter the fall Interweave and my hopes of knitting Equinox.  I have yarns in the right gauge, but not with the right fuzziness that the Inca Alpaca has, and part of what I like about this sweater is that bit of soft blurring caused by the fuzz factor in the yarn.

There are, of course, several other sweaters in this issue I want to knit.  In fact, to my mind this is a rather promising issue.

I love both Coral Crossing and Gatsby Girl and don’t see them as being so similar that I wouldn’t want both. 

Now although my waist has returned, it is not quite where I would like it to be in those sweaters.  They will have to joint the ever expanding list.

I also love Weekend by Veronik Avery; it is precisely the kind of classic pullover that I love to wear, but once again it is fitted.  And I want it to fit me the other me, the one that has been hiding, but is determined to get out.  I knitted one of Veronik Avery’s sweaters years ago, and people have told me they are difficult or something, but I don’t remember that.  It may have been but I tend to just get going and work my way through any problems or errors I find and then forget about them, lost in my own little knitting world.  I am not one to get easily frustrated with a sweater unless I just don’t like the knitted fabric itself.

The Wanderlust Hoodie is also high on my list, but then I have long been partial to Shirley Paden’s patterns even they are almost always too short and need pattern revision.  I have always just assumed that the designer is a much shorter person than I, and that she designs her sweaters accordingly.  This sweater particularly seems like the kind of thing to wear walking around the Vanderbilt Estate on a crisp cool day, or perhaps up at Mohonk Mountain house.  It seems like the perfect Hudson Valley kind of sweater, but again it is a little more fitted, and it is in a bulky yarn.  Even though Aurora Bulky is a squishy yarn, I would rather squish it around a smaller me and this sweater is a lot of work to have to do over.

The other two sweaters I like, Sienna and Supernova were possible, but they both need more work for me to wear them.

Supernova reminds me of the sweaters in Knitting Nature, which I love.  And I love the yoke on this sweater too.  I would add a little more shaping to the body and that is really an easy enough thing to do.  But I would want to find a yarn very similar to the stated yarn or I would fear problems with that yoke. 

Sienna has promise as a basic cardigan.  I like that it has just a touch of pattern running up the front along the band.  I dislike the collar.  I really seem to have a thing about small shawl collars  and I would have to devise something different before I would wear this sweater.   At this point I could knit and wear the sweater, but I did not want to do the work involved even in changing the collar.

But then who knows how much work the Mermaid will be.  It is a jacket so although it is shaped, I do not want all too close to the body.  But there are no diagrams, at least none with dimensions noted, so I am going to have to read the instructions and do the math before I get too far along.

But Mermaid, I think, was meant to be.

Comments

[Susan]

I am salivating over that pink yarn you have in the Maggie picture, and over those beautiful patterns.
I encourage you in your efforts to lose weight. I am watching my creep up as the years go by, and try to fight the creep. After all, smaller figures mean less yarn and less time needed for each sweater, right?

[Gina]

Yes, Mermaid was meant to be. She entered your life seemingly by chance, but it was meant to be. The beauty of Mermaid, she will fit you no matter what. I empathize with you about the body image and weight gain. Mardel, this was such a lovely post, as I can imagine those sweaters in various places around Dutchess County, and it makes me long for the crispness of Autumn.