NaKniSweMo Stats:
November stitch count: 66,604 stitches.
27 days of knitting. 3 days of 'rest'.
Average stitches made on knitting days: 2,715.81 sts
Average stitch time on knitting days: ~40 minutes.
Most stitches made in a single day: 3,876 stitches.
Least stitches made in a single day: 714 stitches done on Day 4. Hey, I was warming up!
Sleeve #1 used almost a full skein of yarn.
The body took almost 3 full skeins of yarn.
Calligraphy Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. Knit with Madelinetosh DK.
The Pattern:
Calligraphy Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
Excellent first-time sweater. This is my 3rd sweater - I have 2 currently on the needles that need finishing - but I don't consider myself a beginning knitter.
This sweater is simple. The pattern is only 3 pages long and it's easy to follow. The sweater has a classic silhouette, the pattern can be easily modified - shortened, lengthened, waist-shaping can be easily modified - and creates a perfect 'base' pattern for those interested in adding texture to the sweater. Great, great pattern.
My only critiques would be for information and a visual on closing up the bottom of the raglan armhole and to name the buttonhole being used so that it's easier to look it up on YouTube for those of us visual learners. That's it. It's a great pattern. It's straight forward and honestly, if you can knit consistent fabric, it's an easy win.
Takeaways and Future Strategies:
Love what you are knitting.
Obvious, but hear me out. If you love what the finished sweater is going to look like and you've taken the time to analyze the pattern and visualize how it's going to fit into your wardrobe and how it's going to fit your body type, you will be more apt to finish the entire sweater in a month. The entire time I was knitting, I was dreaming about curling up in this sweater. It's such a classic silhouette and it's like all of my favorite, longer length sweaters except squishier due to being knit with bigger yarn. This sweater filled a gap in my handknit wardrobe and because of this, I actually looked forward to knitting on this sweater every day. Each evening knitting session meant I was one step closer to my new sweater.
Calculate how many stitches you need to knit each day to hit 50,000 stitches. Knit twice as many.
My estimate was 1,724 which I rounded up to 1,800 stitches a day, which I should have doubled as that would've put me closer to the halfway point on my sweater halfway through the month which then would've given me more wiggle room, time for modifications, rest days, and recovery time from holiday burnout accompanied by Thanksgiving festivities.
Make modifications even if they add more time to the process.
I lengthened the body of my cardigan. I also lengthened the sleeves. Sure the additional rows added extra time and used up a bit more yarn (always buy an extra skein!), but the modifications make my sweater that much more wearable. Why waste time on a quick finish when you aren't going to be happy with the finished product? Who intentionally wants to rip anything out?! Not me!
Know when to concede in lieu of finishing just for the sake of finishing.
At 9 pm on November 30th I conceded. Why the hell would I stay up till midnight knowing that my productivity is directly proportionate to how many cocktails I've got in my system, the time of the evening, pent up exhaustion from the week/weekend, and the total amount of time I've been knitting in a given sitting. It drops exponentially the later it gets in the day. Shutting off at 9 pm was a great decision on my part, and today, I'm much happier that I didn't rush to finish - I would NOT have finished anyway - and now I have time to properly research a buttonhole technique that I think will produce a more polished look and can withstand heavy-usage.
I was slightly disappointed because I really wanted to finish... I was soooo close! I instantly started in with the negative self talk - why didn't you knit a few rows once you got in after Thanksgiving dinner...? Why didn't you knit more at the beginning of the month when you had more energy...? Why did you pick up the buttonhole side of the buttonband first instead of the plain side...? Why didn't you tackle the sleeves sooner?! And so on. And then reality sunk in - it's ONLY knitting. This is what I do to relax. It's what I do to keep my brain stimulated. It's a creative outlet for me who likes to make things. It's not work. Don't treat it like work. I can be a very critical and judgmental person and I'm incredibly hard on myself. I had to take a step back and put things back into perspective. This is supposed to be enjoyable. Keep it fun and light!
Anyway, those are just a few things that jumped into my head after wrapping up my first NaKniSweMo. (Which by the way, I'm totally going to try again next year! I work well under tight deadlines. I blame that on my design background.) There were a million more things running through my head as I was knitting, but I'll save that for another post.
I'm so happy with the amount of progress I made on my sweater and even more impressed at my monogamy. Sure I was climbing up the walls by day 15, but I stuck with it. I enjoyed knowing what was going on in the pattern every time I sat down to knit, I loved the consistency of my fabric which probably would've changed if I were knitting on multiple items, and most of all, I loved seeing how quickly such a large project grew with just a little knitting time each day. Maybe this monogamy thing is worth looking into again... (maybe).
Now that I have an almost finished sweater, it's definitely given me my second and third wind in regards to finishing my other 2 sweaters. I'm also already drafting my plan of attack for my next sweaters. I'm officially a newly-minted sweater knitter!
I hope each and every one of you reading this is enjoying your holiday season. I also hope that those of you who may have been on the fence about sweater knitting considers tackling a sweater next year. The Calligraphy Cardigan has been knit by 546 knitters on Raverly as of today which is a decent sample size. There are women of all shapes and sizes who have knit this sweater and yarns of all persuasions have been used. It's a great simple knit!
Until next time...
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