fo: procrastination sweater

What do you do when you give up wasteful internet for Lent? You knit a sweater, obviously.

Traditional Lisa looking-at-the-floor pose.

True story.
Knitting this sweater was my choice method of procrastinating, seeing as reading blogs and looking at recipes online were off-limits. Then I had a whole month of tech week after tech week during which I would do tech and dress rehearsals for a show, perform the show, and then immediately start tech rehearsal for the next show, which gave me plenty of backstage down time. So I had even more time to knit.(Read: I spent every single day for an entire month at the theatre, often from 5pm to almost midnight. I. Did. Not. Sleep.) Joys of being a dance major!

Serious face. Not sure why it sounded like a good idea.

The pattern was Julie Crawford’s Velvet Morning, which during the knitting process, I constantly called either Winter Night or Velvet Night. I used KnitPicks Wool of the Andes, and though I can’t say for sure (not having washed it several times) I’m quite impressed with KnitPicks quality. On the other sweater I knit with wool (a pre-blog letter sweater), I had pills the day I blocked it. KnitPicks, like with my previous poor felted sweater, is proving to be something I really, really like.

My only complaint is that with my apparently quite dramatic pear-shape, this sweater will never come close to closing over my hips (you can see how it kinda hopelessly hangs at my sides once it gets a little past my waist). True, it’s meant to be worn casually (but intentionally and therefore fashionably) open, but I wish the two edges had the capability of meeting, so that they didn’t feel left out or something. There’s nothing worse than left out hems, ya know?



However, the best part is how beautiful and truly well designed that colorwork is. It’s my first colorwork project, so there might be some extra tightness in my floats to blame for that snug fit over my derrière, but overall the pattern is so gorgeous, I never would care. I love it to bits, and I know I’ll be snuggling in this sweater when it’s finally winter again because I never actually produce garments that are appropriate for the season or my life.

Okay, I kinda lied earlier. My second (and rather minor) complaint is the collar. I wore it like a shawl collar here, but it really kinda attacks my neck when worn naturally. I’d even added V-neck shaping to make it fit a little better. Ah, c’est la vie. You win some, you lose some. 



I ravelled it here, if you're looking for more pictures or just want to look at a more exact details about how much yarn I used (oh, the joy of extra yarn/the pain of over-ordering and spending more money).

Happy Friday! Have a good weekend!

learning to fly

What with my birthday and the end of my sophomore year in the past month, I've had several moments when I realized that I am, in fact, halfway through college and halfway to being on the other side of the classroom and becoming something of an adult. But I think it was in reading Grace's beautiful post about finishing up her second year of college that really made me think about what this halfway point means to me. There's been joy and pain, laughter and tears, learning and many, many late nights (and therefore a few wake-me-up lattes), love and loss, faith and independence, and so much growth. I feel sometimes like a kindergartener who woke up and suddenly had an apartment and a degree plan and responsibility, like a fledgling who doesn't yet know how to fly, but has to. I'm not who I was in high school anymore--I've learned too much to be completely that girl again--but I haven't magically gained knowledge of adulthood and maturity and paying bills and taxes and social skills. But it feels a little like all this growth happened when I wasn't looking and now I don't quite know what to do with all of it. 

This next year, I want to grow into my wings and to feel more at ease with the idea of gaining maturity, even if I don't feel very mature. After years of running on a ballet studio schedule, with our final recital as the school year ended, June feels like the time for a new beginning. I know she's in me, a more confident Lisa, happy in her adulthood, instead of feeling surprised by it, the Lisa I'll become. My goals are like me: a little silly, a little practical, but mostly curious and yearning to be more comfortable in the person I'm growing to be. I want to explore a little and stretch my wings and find her.