5/5/13 - I picked out this yarn at Knitted Peace but they only had 10 skeins in the blue. The pattern called for 11 so I am using one size larger needles to cut down on the yardage.

5/11 - This is going really well! There are a few little hiccups I made in the mesh pattern but was able to fix them enough without ripping back 4” of knitting. I am about half way through the back.

5/18 - I finished the back. I don’t want the sleeves to go all the way to my cuff so I stopped doing cast on stitches about half way through where the pattern called for. After measuring the piece to myself, it hits about elbow length. Add a few inches of ribbing & it’s the perfect length! I added a few inches in length & now it looks REALLY long but I think it will shrink up once I seam it. Pulling out the sleeves will decrease the length on the finished garment.

5/19 - Cast on for the front. The faux cable pattern is a little weird. I wasn’t able to make the stitch count come out & it didnt’ seem completely symmetrical to me so I made some minor adjustments. I only did one knit stitch after the yarn overs on either side of the p1, p3tog, p1 sections & just did k8 across on the alternating rows.

5/27 - So Devon was sick all weekend. :( Sad cause we couldn’t do anything & it was Memorial Day weekend but ok because I had lots of time to knit! This thing is deceiving, it seems like it shouldn’t take much time but it really does. I finally got the front finished & seamed the shoulders together. I did the 3-needle bind off as loosely as I could so the sleeves wouldn’t be too short. If they need to be tightened up I can always go back & crochet up the seam. I also got the neck done. I don’t know how many stitches I used but I picked up one for each mesh row & one in between each row, then did the total in a multiple of four because it was k2p2 ribbing. I did the 5 rows around the collar then did a sewn bind off to keep it stretchy. I don’t think I need to worry about the neck stretching out since it has the ribbing collar. I tried it on with the shoulders seamed & the collar done. It does look crazy long but it’s just because it’s hanging down. When I pulled the sides together it looked about right. Just need to knit the cuffs then seam up the sides & I’m DONE! It’s been a fun one, not mind numbingly boring but easy & fast enough to fall into the “never getting done” pile. Can’t wait to wear it! Also a note on yardage, I still have the cuffs to do but I have two small balls left & should be able to finish with only using 8 skeins. I’ll take the extra 2 back to exchange for something else (I’d rather get more yarn than get my money back :)!

5/28 - I was trying to get this done today but I was just too busy! I did have enough time to seam up the first sleeve. Success, the cuffs are the right size & the fit is good. It’s a touch long but I cinched up the side seam so it will bunch over a little above the ribbing, like any decent oversized comfy sweater should! I am really trying to get this done tomorrow, just need to do the one cuff ribbing & the giganto side seam. Yay!

5/30 - Knitted the second cuff & got just past the ribbing on the side seam before falling asleep on the couch. Darn it! I WANT this to be DONE. Arg, stupid busy life.

5/31 - Finally finished the seam! I love it.

6/2 - Follow up: I need to shorten it. I wore it over the weekend & by the time I got home it was half way down my thigh. I kind of knew this would happen, but it’s been so long since I knit with non-wool yarn. I should have known better. It’s ok though, because I’m going to reshape the bottom too. I marked where I want to crop it & I’m going to make the ribbing about twice as long as before. Poop.

6/28 - I’ve decided to redo the ribbing to start just underneath where the first increases begin. I’m also going to double the length of the ribbing so time to start undoing!

7/1 - Ripped out half way. This is a lot more difficult than I expected. I think it’s because of the stitch pattern, it’s really tricky to know which row is which & what stitches I’m supposed to pick up. Ack! Plus then I had trouble when I got to the side seam, I had to undo that as well. By the time I was done with the front half I had to call it quits. I do need to keep going though because I really want to start wearing this again.

3/9/14 - Finally got the stitches picked up & ready to redo the ribbing. Man that WAS a pain in the butt!!! It took me the entire movie of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters to get the second side undone, unraveled & the stitches picked up. I feel like I had to do it 3 or 4 times! The first time I picked up the wrong row. The second time I got it right but had to pick up the row beneath where I wanted to allow space for cutting & unraveling. I used my NEW ball winder to wind up the leftovers (I love that thing) then picked up the row above where I cut. I messed that up the first time then redid & I got it right but there were still some weird yarn overs & spare yarns hanging down. But I FINALLY got it done & now I just need to spend an hour knitting a good 3”-4” of ribbing. That way any extra length or drape will just hang over the top of the ribbing & it will stay in place around my hips. Plus I think it will look cuter with a thicker band of ribbing at the bottom.

4/21 - Finally got around to working on the ribbing! Just in time too, the weather is warming up. I was about 2” in when the bus dropped me off at work this morning & I’m hoping to finish the rest during LAX practice tonight!

4/23 - Devon got hit in the face TWICE monday at school during PE SO… no LAX practice = no knitting time. It’s ok, I had a meeting this morning that resulted in 1 hour of bus riding time. I got 27 rows of ribbing done. I finished the ball I was working on & joined the last little partial ball of yarn. Seeing how much yarn I have at 27 rows I’m assuming I’ll run out of yarn somewhere around 30 rows, which should be perfect, about 4” of ribbing, so I’m just going to knit until I run out of yarn. I really need to finish this so I can cross it off my WIP list.

P.S. Crazy it took me a YEAR to redo this! Shows you how awful it is for me to make certain mods, nobody likes to do awful knitting no matter how necessary it may be, like this one!!! But I guess it’s worth it to have a wearable garment & not a pile of sadness in the corner of the closet.