Reflection 17

Well it looks like this is it. I honestly didn't think I was going to make it this far, but I did. I worked hard on my sweater, and although it isn't entirely finished I'm pretty proud of what I did. It doesn't exactly look the way it was supposed to. And well, I guess I have to admit that somewhere along the way I stopped following the instructions on the pattern and just did my own thing. I'm kind of excited to share what I got done. But to be honest, I'm more excited about the fact that I'm graduating in a week. This year went by so fast its crazy, but I feel like I learned a lot. I don't think I would have taken on knitting if it wasn't for this class.

Reflection 16

I feel pretty accomplished. So I finished the whole back part of my sweater. I was really ready to give up on it because I thought knitting the part at the neck would be hard but my mom helped me out and showed me how to do it and I finally got to finish that part. Now I'm still working on the front, like I was before. I'm almost done with that, and then I'm gonna have to put them together, but I think I can do it before presentations. I realized that I was doing a completely different stitch than the one on the instructions, my mom actually pointed it out. Honestly at this point, I could not care less. It doesn't matter, it still looks pretty decent. Not nice enough to wear, but decent.

Reflection 15

I had a really busy week and weekend so I'm kind of okay with the fact that I did not knit at all. I've come to realize that this sweater is not really going to be a sweater anymore. I'm hoping to at least get it to look like a vest or something. Anyway, I'm going to try to focus next week especially since its gonna be due soon and I have a ton of other stuff to do. Ugh, I need some motivation or something.

Reflection 14

I worked on my sweater a little bit this week. Basically what I have right now is about 3/4 of the back of the body done and then a little bit of the front. Last week, I moved whatever I had done of the back onto another knitting needle just to hold my place so I could get started on the front of the body. It's basically doing the same thing I did in the back. It's very very similar to what I did last semester when I was working on my scarf. I'm hoping to find some time next week to finish that and start at least one sleeve. My goal used to be to get a whole sweater done but I feel like that's a little bit unrealistic at this point. I'm going to try to at least get most of the parts done and to do a little bit of seaming on at least one part of sweater (probably like a sleeve or something).

Reflection 13

I'm surprised I actually knit this week. Anyway I got a lot of rows done on the back, which I've been working on this whole time but I started getting a little nervous because I was getting close to the neck and sleeves so I sort of just left that alone and put it off to the side. I started on the front of the body, and right now I don't really have too much done, only the first four rows. I'm kind of skipping around and going out of order but whatever who cares. I'm sure it'll turn out fine.

Reflection 12

Ok I'm gonna be honest, I did not work on knitting my scarf this week. It just kind of became the last thing on my list of priorities. In class, I looked at some youtube videos about attaching the sleeves to the body and about knitting the neck of the scarf. I know I'm not that far along yet, but I figured it'd be good to get an idea of what I'm going to have to do soon. It looks really hard but I'm sure my mom will help me when it's time.

Reflection 11

This week I actually found some time to work on my sweater, but I'm still only working on the body. I didn't think knitting a sweater would take this long. I realized that I never posted a picture of what it's supposed to look like in the end, so I'll post one now. It's supposed to look like this, only instead of two colors I'm only using one and instead of blue or gray, I'm using an oatmeal colored yarn. I'd say right now I'm about at the halfway point of the body. It really is a lot of work.

Reflection 10

Why did I decide to knit a sweater. I've literally been asking myself this question all week. It's been so warm outside lately and here I am, knitting a wool sweater. What's wrong with me. Anyway, this week felt like every other week. I was extremely busy, but then I felt guilty about not knitting so I knit a little bit. It's not like it used to be though, when I'd sit down and knit for hours. I don't have time for that anymore. Now, I only knit a few rows at a time. But I guess, its okay because I'm making progress. I have to post a picture soon.

Reflection 9

I think this week went pretty well. I knit a little bit more, but I'm still sort of doing the same old thing. I was losing motivation and wanted to get re-inspired so I googled some knitting blogs that were really interesting. (here are a few: My Sister's Knitter, Tin Can Knits, Never Not Knitting) This actually helped a lot. The people who run these blogs are so dedicated to what they do, and some of the things they've made are crazy. It made me want to push myself a little bit more. I'm more excited about finishing my sweater now than I was before.

Reflection 8

It was a pretty boring week. I knit a few rows, maybe like 5 or 6, but nothing really new. Just the same old stitches over and over again. I kind of lost track of the measurements, but I can tell by just looking at it that its nowhere near done. All it is right now is just a few basic rows of stitching which is supposed to be the bottom part of the back sweater. I wish I had the time to enjoy it more. Last semester I had so much free time, and knitting was fun. But now that I have a job and I'm stressed about college, honestly the last thing I want to do is knit. I'm not gonna be too hard on myself though. I'm happy I've made some progress, and I'm pretty confident that I'll get some more inspiration or motivation soon.

Reflection 7

Okay so I really thought that with a week off from school, I'd have so much time to work on my sweater but I was wrong. I'm not trying to make up excuses, but I just wanted to say that I worked every single day of my spring break because more than half of my coworkers were on vacation. And when I wasn't at work I was running around doing other stuff. In all honesty, I was only home for a little bit in the morning and then I wouldn't get home until like 11 or 12 every night so it was pretty stressful. With all that being said, I managed to find some time to talk to my mom about my sweater. I don't feel great about it so I asked her to help me a little bit when she finds the time. I showed her how far I got and what my plan is and everything, and she just encouraged e to keep going because it was looking okay so far. Once I get higher up towards the neck and sleeves, she'll give me some tips.

Reflection 6

So I guess I completely forgot to post my reflection last week because I was just that excited about spring break so I'm doing it now. Luckily, I didn't make much progress so its not too hard to remember everything I did 2 weeks ago. I knit a couple more rows in the same pattern I was doing before, but honestly I don't really feel to good about it. It feels like I'm knitting a scarf, which is good because that's what I'm comfortable with, but I know I'm gonna have to do the complicated stuff soon and I'm really not looking forward to that. At least the color is nice and it feels soft. Anyway I'll post some pictures later when I'm actually sort of happy with how it looks. Right now only the bottom is done, and to me that's not really all that impressive.

Reflection 5

This week didn't exactly go as planned. I honestly was not home long enough any day this week to sit down and work on my sweater. On the bright side, I used my class time pretty productively. Since I finished watching the knitpicks videos on youtube, I started looking at different knitting channels. I watched a few different videos on knitting sweaters and got to see the different techniques people use. One woman was knitting a very thick, chunky sweater and that video helped a lot because the yarn and needles were really big so it was easy to follow along with what she was doing. People have different ways of doing things. It seems like some like to start from the bottom of the sweater, some start from the top, and others start with the sleeves. Next time, I think I'll bring my sweater to class so I can get some more rows done.

Reflection 4

This week I realized how hard knitting a sweater actually is. When I did my scarf, it was just one long pattern being repeated over and over again. But a scarf is totally different. The pattern I found online is extremely hard to follow along with, or maybe that's just me. I had like 3 tabs open with different knitting dictionaries and abbreviation guides while trying to follow along. I watched basically every single video on knitpicks and I just don't understand how she makes everything look so easy. Anyway, I got the pattern figured out after a long time researching and my mom's help. I knit about 4 rows of the pattern and I'm like 80% sure the part I knit is supposed to be the bottom back of the sweater? or at least I hope. Next, I'm going to have to switch stitches and start working on the body.

Reflection 3

This week I finally bought my yarn. I was really hoping to find something really soft and comfortable, but that's really difficult when you're on a budget. I went to ACMoore with my mom and we looked at a bunch of different yarns, and I noticed that they had some sample swatches. After feeling pretty much every single type of yarn, I settled on the brand Caron. I'll put in a picture of it at the end. Anyway I found a really nice knitting pattern that I'm going to try and follow. I'll insert the link to that here (http://www.allfreeknitting.com/Knitted-Sweaters/Favorite-Fashion-Sweater-from-Patons-Yarn) The sweater in the picture uses two different colors, but I'm only planning on using one. I like the way it looks in the picture. So, I did my gauge swatch and I'll put a picture of that at the bottom as well. I got about 24 stitches in 6.5 inches. The pattern calls for 20 stitches in 4 inches, so I'd have to make my stitches a little bit tighter. I asked my mom about this and she said it shouldn't be a big deal if its a little bit off. All that will do is make the sweater a little bit looser, and I don't mind that. Overall, this week was pretty productive. I'm excited to start working on the actual thing.

Reflection 2

This week I planned on working on my gauge swatch. I thought that I could use some yarn I had already, but after doing some more research I realized that the most accurate way to get the gauge is to use the yarn you are planning on knitting with. So, instead of that I did A LOT of research on different types of yarns. When I made my scarf last semester, I didn't really look into the different types and fibers and I ended up with a pretty itchy scarf. There's nothing worse than an itchy sweater so I did a lot of research on the best type of yarn. I thought about using bamboo yarn because its very light and I'd be able to wear it in the warmer weather. But I also found a lot of nice worsted wool yarn that would be nice for the winter. I have so many options to choose from, but my only problem is the cost. The better quality yarn is obviously more expensive. After looking at some of the most recommended brands by yarn blogs, I found ones that cost around $10 a bundle, and it would take around 3 or 4 of those to make a sweater. I might have to settle for something a little less expensive, even though it may not be as high quality.

Reflection 1

Since I already have experience with knitting, I skipped the basics and started researching stitches and patterns for knitting a sweater. One new thing I came across was gauge. Your gauge is the number of stitches and rows per inch. It's really important because you want your sweater to fit the pattern or grid you are following. Basically, you'll have a grid give you some numbers that tell you how many stitches and rows the average knitter would knit in an inch with a specific needle size and you need to make sure that your gauge matches up with that. It's still a little confusing to me, but I found some sites that told me I need to make a swatch, wash it, and measure it to find my gauge. That's what I'm going to work on next week. I also found a really really helpful YouTube channel called knitpicks. The woman who runs it, Nina, has a whole playlist filled with lessons on knitting a sweater. This is probably going to be one of my most used resources.

Proposal

For this semester, I would like to continue knitting. My goal last semester was to become familiar with the basics of knitting and to create a scarf, a fairly simple project. Accomplishing this goal motivated me to take on some harder projects. There is a lot about knitting that I still don't know and by the end of this semester, I would like to be able to knit a sweater. To do this I will have to use skills I already learned, but also put a lot more time into researching and creating this piece of clothing. Each week, I will work on knitting a part of my sweater. I already know how time consuming knitting can be, so I will be able to manage my time a little bit better. I'll also use my time to watch videos, read articles and look at other knitting blogs. Most of the materials I need for this project will be very similar to the things I used before. I'll need yarn, needles, and measuring tape. I'll have to look for good quality yarn and probably need to buy different sized needles as well. I'm looking forward to starting this new project.

Reflection 16

Well I completely forgot I even had to do this, but I guess this is it, my final reflection. I actually really enjoyed these past few months, and I'm really proud of myself for accomplishing my goal. I learned how to knit and I made my own scarf to wear. I'm so glad that I chose knitting as my project because I found something that I actually really like to do. It's something that I'd like to continue with next semester and maybe make something even better. I learned a lot about patience, practice, and time management that I'll definitely use in other parts of my life. It's been real.

Reflection 15

I finally finished my scarf! I'm so happy with how it turned out and I'm actually really excited for presentations next week. I had to learn one last thing to finish it and that was casting off. I really like how it looks, but the only thing is that it's a lot heavier than I thought it was going to be. Oh and it also sheds a little bit, so I'm not really sure about wearing it because its going to end up all over my clothes. Anyway, I started working on my powerpoint presentation and I think it looks pretty good so far. I'm planning on including some of the basics and also a lot of pictures. I'm gonna try to take advantage of this long weekend and finish it up tomorrow. Hopefully everything works out.