Fall is rapidly approaching and that means one thing (well, other than the start of classes): Sweaters! I am having massive sweater cravings. The exact nature of these cravings will be for another post, though, because right now I am in need of some knitterly counsel.

I am wanting to knit sweaters. Knit! Create! Positive feelings! Why then, am I also contemplating sweater murder?

Behold, the intended victims:

That is, of course, the infamous Rogue, and also the Hourglass Sweater making its blog debut. And I suppose I should clarify that I am not so much interested in committing murder as in facilitating reincarnation.

Through a combination of insufficient attention to gauge, normal stretching, and some weight loss, both sweaters are too big. They were both a bit big to begin with, but now they’re really too big. I have a 34″ bust. The sweaters have 40″ and 39″ busts, respectively. I want to rip them both out and re-knit them to fit.

That’s not crazy, is it? In fact, it’s a continuation of long, knitterly tradition to re-use yarn in this way, right?

The Pros:

• I love both these sweaters, despite the size issues, and fixing them will make me LOVE these sweaters.
• I save money, which is of utmost importance right now. It’s completely ridiculous to spend money that I don’t have just so I can knit the same sweater again, when I love the yarns in the original sweaters and when they will be perfectly usable after a little refreshing.
• I have to wash these sweaters anyways, and it will take a lot less floor space if I can just hang a large hank of yarn to dry.
• I’m a lot better and faster knitter now. I was still having problems keeping a consistent tension when I did Hourglass, and there are mistakes in the Rogue cables and sleeve decreases that I’d like to fix. Given that both sweaters are mostly stockinette, I bet I could finish both in about a month of diligent working—just in time for the onset of true sweater weather.

The Cons:

• The kicking and screaming panic that will undoubtedly ensue when I snip the first thread and start pulling.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Advice? Straitjackets? Valium?

I am a finisher. Few things give me greater satisfaction than crossing something off the list. Work hasn’t given me much of that satisfaction lately, so I needed a little pick-me-up.

I made this:

I guess this doesn’t really qualify as finishing something, unless someone has a one-footed baby who needs a bootie.

Nor was the gratification all that instant. I think I put around 10 hours into it and ripped and re-knit virtually every part of the bootie at least once, some parts as many as five times, just so I could tweak small details. But it was still immensely satisfying to produce a physical object that perfectly realizes the bootie design I had rattling around in my head.

Do you feel that?

It’s like this whooshing thing, and it’s coming in my windows and it feels nice.

OMG, it’s a cool breeze!

Thanks to a crazy scary thunderstorm that flooded parts of campus and knocked the power out to the nearby shopping district last week (I watched the grocery store clear out carts and carts full of meat and dairy after they lost refrigeration), the heat in Pittsburgh finally broke.

Which means…knitting with wool! Not only have I been working on the Curved Shawl*, I also busted out the long-neglected Denmark socks. And much to my surprise, they seem to have been knitting themselves over the summer. I thought I was only halfway done with the leg, but it turns out I’m ready for the heel flap!

—

*KelInCal asked:

Have I not been paying attention around here, or have you not told us what yarn that is?

I couldn’t remember if I mentioned the yarn either, so I had to look it up. A-ha! I did make mention of it when I first started the project way back when. Anyways, it’s Jaggerspun Zephyr in Cinnabar.