Bad Penny - nearly finished

[kawaiikiki]

This morning started off nicely. Tidied up a bit, started the dishwasher, had a nice cup of coffee and made some stewed apples with custard.

Comments

[tiffanyharvey]

Wow! Even if blocking doesn't fix it, you should be proud that you made a whole sweater! And you even dyed the yarn for it too. Impressive ;)

[kawaiikiki]

I am happy that I finished it. I have a very nasty habit of not finishing craft projects, and so far knitting is the craft I tend to finish. The only project I started and didn't finish was some socks, but I wasn't excited about the pattern and will try again when I find a pattern I prefer.

I didn't get a chance to block the sweater last night, but did some research and found out that blocking probably won't do much. I also started reading some of the Fitted Knits book and realized that the reason Stephanie Japel does top down patterns is so that you can try them on in the process. I did try to put it on but the circular needles weren't big enough. I could have easily stuck some yarn in and took the needles out, but I was lazy. I really should have so that it actually fit me. I would definitely attempt this top again. But for now I'm uncertain what I should do with it. I could try to wash/dry it and see if felting shrinks it, but I don't really care for a felted top. But it really is too big.

[tiffanyharvey]

So it is yarn that will felt? I'm sure that will help. I bet there is a tutorial online about felting things to fit better. I was going to suggest a sash under the bust, to make it a little more fitting, but if it is too big overall, that won't help much.

[kawaiikiki]

I may ask on the knitting community as the "blocking" tags were unhelpful and there was no "shrinking" tag. But yeah, it is pretty big. I wish I could just put it through the sewing machine to seam the sides better. Anyhow, I've learned a valuable knitting lesson and I'm not giving up on sweaters/tops.

[carolinarico]

I`ll have to see what Warm up America is all about. I tried to crochet, but I found it more difficult than knitting! You`ll have to let me know how the kids do with it.

[kawaiikiki]

I think crochet will be a lot easier because there is only 1 hook, as opposed to 2 needles, and therefore easier to keep track of the working yarn. I think it is harder to drop stitches and end up with holes. It's also easier to rip out stitches without losing any. Another plus is that it goes much faster than knitting. I just find that it doesn't have as fine a feel/look as knitting, and it hurts my fingers more.

[kawaiikiki]

And I meant to say, that you can pick up a flyer about Warm Up America from Michaels, and you can knit squares as well.