I'm thinking about how really trying to tackle the necessary repairs to the Aran has been a good task for my January. It has required me to focus. I often have worked on it in total silence, no music, no reading while knitting, no watching of the blessed Netflix. Figuring things out by gut feeling rather than by any absolute surety of approach. This type of thinking naturally then led to the need to rip the neckline out three times completely, and to rip other amounts at times. A useful reminder for me who pretends to prefer to do a thing once and get it over with that circling around is actually more how I accomplish most things. And that going backward is as useful as moving forward.
I am surprised that once I really started in on this repair -- once I asked for help here and on Ravelry -- I didn't really want to give up very often. Sometimes I realized it was too hard to do when I was tired or my fingers hurt from those tiny sharp needles (my cuticles need to be layered in moisturizer). I just laughed when I also discovered that over the ten years since I last touched this sweater, small holes had appeared. I think a creature made some, but this is also lovely hand-spun wool and so some of the joins are weak. I probably knit through some of those areas and over time the yarn just broke. I duplicate stitched over those places and it looks just fine. And now I realize that I made the sleeves and body too short for me -- and this sweater is going be for me you can believe. So even though the challenge kept changing, I haven't given up. I plan to crochet some plain edging on the sleeves which I think will go fine. If not, I'll try something else.
All of this learning is good for me. Last year was learning by foolishness mostly. Adventures at times, but rarely very deliberate and many, somewhat sad. I'd like to take this Aran approach a bit more into my life -- experimental, but devoted; mistaken, but forgiven. I'll see.
In the meantime, there is a happier me in the sweater:
And there are still ends to sew in:
But there is also Curtis still licking his Christmas Frog who has now lost both eyes and one leg but still makes its odd croaking sound:
7 comments:
It's beautiful, but (hopefully) you know that already. Congratulations on your bravery!
So very gorgeous. You inspire me, not just with the knitting of something so very complex, but also with the guts to go in and make it work for you. Curtis looks so clean and shiny in that pic.
Your sweater is beautiful, and I admire you for your extra-extra-hard work making things work! So driven!
the circular motif in the new neck -- a genius solution. much more integrated into the overall design than ribbing. well done, disknit!
I'm feeling the love and the ends are all sewn in and I started the single crochet on the arms and it looks fine. And I'm up for the alphabet game that KBrow joined even if I didn't know the blog was doing it. I'll edit the C title. But I think we should alternate the letters and I am not crafty enough to know if that gives me hard or easy letters. That would mean I knew the numerical value of each letter and . . . I don't. Well, maybe in scrabble, vaguely.
I'm doing it thru Ravelry's Alphabet-along; you should join the group and we can do it together. No high standards, here, I just thought it would inspire me to post. A different letter every 2 weeks. They're only on B, and we're ahead of the game!! But no worries.
I just love that sweater!
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