Delusions of Grandeur
"Delusions of grandeur make me feel a lot better about myself." - Lily Tomlin
As a college professor, I sometimes run across this type of comment - "Wow, what a great job! You only have a teach a few hours a week and you get summer off!" If I run across anyone who says that this week I may have to kill them. My poor blog and knitting have suffered these past few weeks as I am overwhelmed by prepping two new classes and doing an overhaul on a third, supervising two graduate students and four undergraduates in my lab, attempting to keep up with my writing committments, and actively participating in several job searches for our department.
Unfortunately, this means that you all get some recycled knitting content. I present to you, my first ever finished sweater:
Yarn: Patons Decor in pale taupe (worsted weight, 75% acrylic, 25% wool)
Pattern: Supplied my knitting teacher - "patchwork sweater"
Changes: none
Yardage: almost 8 skeins, so about 1600 yards
Needles: US size 8 for the body of the sweater, size 6 for the ribbing
Notes: I knit this as a learning project in a knitting class, so it was my first real project after a pair of slippers. In my naive state, I skipped the guage swatch and knit a medium in a sweater that has about 20 inches of ease. This sweater definitely has a "sweatshirt" type fit. I really should have knit a small, and I probably would have chosen a more fitted pattern if given a choice. Still, it really was fun to knit and I learned an enormous amount about knitting while plugging my way through this sweater. I think I frogged nearly as much as I knit, but I really began to understand things as I did. My instructor really knew what she was doing. Now I just need to find the time to finish the sweaters that are still on the needles.
Labels: FO 2006
posted by JayJay @ 9:00 AM
8 Comments:
I hate that comment too! It is the worst comment! I also feel you about being overwhelmed with the beginning of the semester. I didn't realize that you also teach 3 courses in a semester. It's exhausting and it also leaves less time for knitting and blogging which makes me quite sad. So, I'm struggling right along with you.
By the way, I'm really impressed that your sweater was the second objects that you knitted!! I bet it's very comfortable!
Your first sweater looks fantastic! Congratulations.
Not bad at all for a second knitting project! Do you ever wear it?
I forgot that you started your blog when you joined the Amazing Lace! I love that not only did Theresa and I help mountains of new lace enter the world, but we begat a few new bloggers with our knitalong, too! (Not that I'm trying to take credit for your blog, even though it came out that way.)
Prof. Knitwit - Isn't 3 classes an awful lot? I hope once I get these classes prepped that it will be at least a little easier.
Rachel - Feel free to take some of the credit/blame! I'm sure I would never have started one without a competition to motivate me!
Thanks for all the wonderful comments about my sweater! I do wear it when it gets colder, and in southern California it passes as outer wear. Also, if I machine dry it, it "shrinks up" a bit and doesn't have as baggy a fit.
A little late, but I wanted to say that the sweater looks great too. Everyone needs a comfy, bundling-up kind of sweater and that looks just perfect!
BTW, either I was really young so they looked really old by comparison, or you pulled a Doogie Howser. Not a single one of my college professors looked as young as you look! (And that's whether I count US college as Canadian CEGEP or university).
Maybe you can sneak in some knitting by making your students do a lab or research related to knitting and psychology!! ha!
As a first sweater, it's very very impressive and you learned tons! Looking forward to seeing you!
The sweater looks awesome! I bow down to you, oh Goddess of knitting! One day I will pluck up my courage and attempt to knit a grown-up sized sweater.....
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