Sweater woes and how to mentally be okay with your own futility

Dee asked where Yoshi will be wearing the sweater. Ha ha, funny story there.

I originally cast on the sweater in my early knitting days (about two and a half years ago), as a practice. I just wanted to make something bigger than a hat and more complicated than a baby blanket. Since Yoshi is the kindest and most patient person I know, he is a very good guinea pig for knits. However, he is not at all of the sweater wearing persuasion. So, Dee, the answer to your question is "never and nowhere".

I am okay with this. No, really, this thing will be tried on once, then worn once on the absolute coldest day of the year, then rejected outright due to its mammoth inability to be at all useful. It is way too hot for Florida (even in winter, when we may drop down to a solid 40 degrees Fahrenheit), it is bulky, it is going to be oddly shaped at the neckline unless I go do some ripping right now, and we never travel to colder climates together. And I am fine with it.

What I really wanted from the sweater was to challenge my ability to commit. Having realized that I don't like the way the pattern is written at all, as well as the uselessness of the sweater, I fear it may be going back to UFO status soon, thus proving that I can't stick with it, but for the right reasons. I mean, come on, when I read the pattern I thought "Oh, interesting, the back and front neckline will be shaped exactly the same. Wonder what that will look like?" Well, my friends, it looks like crap on a plate. Lesson learned. Also, using a bind off for a shaping method results in stair step-like shaping, especially at a bulky gauge, and it does not block out. In fact, it just gets worse when one tries to pick up the stitches (shaped like stairs) to work the knitted on neck border (as per pattern instructions) because there is so much bulk on the wrong side that the neck bumps up and looks really uncomfortable. Especially in the back, where no man should have a scooping neckline.

Why did I go ahead with knitting this sweater when we all know I probably realized these things while reading through the pattern for the first time? Because I like to knit, and knitting horrible mistakes is still knitting. It is just learning, as well.

The things I have learned about shaping methods and why not to use certain ones are numerous in this project. Also, I have learned that when the author's own blurb states that this is her first sweater and that she made it up as she went along should probably tell me something. Sure, I have made up a few sweaters as I went along, but I think I studies first, and quite a bit. My knitting library rivals that of the Barnes and Noble down the street, I frequently use the chat forums available online, and I reference many different experts before I go and knit and give an item to a person. I think this is just not a well-thought-out pattern with odd shaping, but the pictures I see of finished products look okay, so I will probably persevere.

Wow, having re-read this post, I am really on the fence about this sweater. I think I will stick with it. And I think I will not rip out the neckline. I checked out some pictures and did a little research between the first draft of this post (three hours ago) and the edit (now) and I think I will give the design the benefit of the doubt for now. But if I have to set it on fire, we all understand why, don't we?