Monday, December 08, 2008

Not like horse shit

Neckdown Long Hooded Cardigan
by Diane Soucy for Knitting Pure and Simple
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Organic Cotton in Graphite
Needles: Circular 9 (24"), 9 (16"), DPN 9 & 7, tapestry needle
Raveled here

Remember when I said I'd go to the grave knitting this sweater?

I can be so dramatic.

Well, to update you on my grave knitting status, I'm done. I've finished the sweater that ate a field of cotton. And no one (namely me) had to go to the grave to do it.

Score.

I did, however, have to buy *just one more* skein of yarn to finish it up though. Which I did, totally uncharacteristically, right after I finished this post where I said that I wasn't going to order more yarn because "What if I got to the end and DID end up having enough and then suddenly had EXTRA? What then?!"

I told you, I can be very dramatic which is another word for flaky which is another word for neurotic which is another word for Finny When She Knits Big Ass Sweaters.

It's big. It's cozy. It's not for formal occasions.

Anyway, to sum up my feelings about this sweater, Meh+.

Like, it came out according to the photo and it fits like a big sweater and it's not itchy because I used (a lot of) cotton yarn and it didn't take me the 60-75 years I imagined it would back when I was at my most dramatic. Those are all the +s.

On the Meh side, it's sorta big on me even after I decided to roll the dice and run it through the dryer rather than letting it block on my kitchen counter for the foreseeable future. See, even though I knitted the smallest size AND checked my gauge throughout the knitting process (something else totally uncharacteristic for me), the thing is still just rather large.

When I ran it through the dryer I was hoping that that the dryer would:

A. Allow the soaked sweater to dry in under a decade

and

B. Shrink it so that the armpits didn't hang so low

Basically, I was hoping for a dryer-induced miracle. Which I did not receive.

However, the dryer did do wonders for drying it (imagine that) and so I was able to wear it the next day when I went back to the California Academy of Sciences for the third time since it opened this fall. Basically, I'm stalking the new Planetarium, and now you know something else weird about me.

Now, I will definitely wear this sweater because I do like the length, fabric and especially the hood (as you may have gathered from the photos, I am fond of the hoods on my sweaters), but it's not exactly the casually chic sweater coat I'd imagined it would be, mostly because the armpits hang low which I find annoying and which lends to a less flattering fit.

The good news is that the Ugly Librarian Sweater now has a darker hued and hooded cousin, so when it's in the wash (as it will be more often now that I've seen how dirty I let it get), I'll have another sweater to wear when we have a Spare the Air day and can't use the fireplace.

I'm sure Bubba will also be happy to know that, at no time in the winter cold months, will I be without a full-length fugly sweater hiding my lady shapes.

Now witness the fire power of this fully operational hooded sweater.

Bubba calls me the Emperor when I wear this sweater which I do not take as a compliment due to the Emperor's ugliness.

16 comments:

  1. It looks so cozy and cuddly! ahhhh I love long knit sweaters. I wish I didn't know myself as a knitter well enough to know that if I started one, it would absolutely never be completed. Sad day.

    For now, I can live vicariously through you.

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  2. It looks so warm! It's been so cold here lately.

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  3. Fin! I am so proud of you. You have such incredible dedication to these sorts of projects that I just cannot yet muster.
    Bravo!
    It looks great from here, btw.

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  4. I think it's very cool and looks great on you. (But then, a burlap sack would look great on you. Bitch.) Congratulations on finishing your big project. (And rewarding yourself with yet another trip to the Academy.)

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  5. ah, I love cozy sweaters. Seriously nice during the winter :)

    When you mentioned "the Emperor" I immediately got the Darth Vader theme stuck in my head. oh god.

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  6. I wanna go to the academy...
    I like that sweater. It's nice. Too bad it wasn't really, really big on you, then I could talk you into giving it to me, cause, I need a really, really big sweater, just like that.
    Good job!

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  7. I think it looks great!! Definitely comfy and cozy and it doesn't look unflattering in the pics as well. (But if someone told me I looked like the emperor in it, I might just have to force choke them) I can't quite bring myself to knit a sweater yet - I guess I'm just afraid it'll look like ass.

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  8. Looks lovely on you! I am halfway done with knitting the exact pattern myself. Hope mine turns out okay :).

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  9. I love it! And 'big, cozy and not for formal occasions' is just my style.

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  10. Wow. Good for you.

    One can never have too many big sweaters. I'm wearing my big (ugly, brown) sweater right now, and I have been for the past week. But mine is wool, because while cotton is comfy on the skin, it is not warm enough for Blackrock.

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  11. oh, i think it looks great, and it is comfy, so i bet you will wear it a lot. what is next?

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  12. It looks big and cozy to me. Especially when fireplaces are outlawed!

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  13. Happy College Knitter - Until I finished this one, I thought the same thing about myself. You never know, you could be surprised.

    Lera - Do you guys have snow yet??

    AfricanKelli - Thanks, Donk! It is very cozy. I'm just glad I finished it. I had started to lose hope.

    Decca - You are too kind and perhaps delusional - which is my favorite combination in a friend! So, if I ever need a date to the Academy, you game?

    Steph - Sorry, me too. I had it in there all day.

    Claudia - I'm surprised it's not bigger, given the inaccuracy of the sizing on this pattern vs my gauge. Maybe next time!

    And go to the Academy sometime - you'll love it. AMAZING.

    Rohan - I, too, was afraid of it looking like ass. And then I got over it and just knit and hoped. It's hard to cross your fingers when you knit, but I think it turned out OK.

    At Home - SHARE YOUR PICTURES WHEN YOU'RE DONE!! Good luck!

    Wendy - As it turns out, it's mine, too.

    Kristin - I think you and I both know that I am not cut out for Blackrock Cold. And not just because my wussy skin can't wear wool.

    Philigry - Have you worn yours a lot since you finished it? I think next is something more fitted. Another sweater perhaps. Then there's also those socks I'm knitting now.

    Nell - Seriously. Stupid Spare the Air fireplace haters. We had a fire last night though - awesome. Heated our whole house with two logs. :)

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  14. Meh+??? Finny, you must be careful or the knitting gods will smite thee (or whatever the correct tense is.) I think it looks fabulous and I'm SOOO impressed that you finished it so quickly. It would have taken me at least a year or two.

    Excellent Work!!!

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  15. Wow! Gorge! Very envious, I would love to have a masterpiece like that to wear around and flaunt my skillz.

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  16. Oh wow, this is even cuter than I imagined when you said you knitted a sweater- adorable!

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[2013 update: You can't comment as an anonymous person anymore. Too many douchebags were leaving bullshit SPAM comments and my inbox was getting flooded, but if you're here to comment in a real way like a real person, go to it.]

Look at you commenting, that's fun.

So, here's the thing with commenting, unless you have an email address associated with your own profile, your comment will still post, but I won't have an email address with which to reply to you personally.

Sucks, right?

Anyway, to remedy this, I usually come back to my posts and post replies in the comment field with you.

But, if you ever want to email me directly to talk about pumpkins or shoes or what it's like to spend a good part of your day Swiffering - shoot me an email to finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom.

Cheers.