I Don't Love It $200 Worth

- - BIG ANNOUNCEMENT - - at the bottom, but first a friend and I were talking the other day about how even though collectively between us, we have almost a century of sewing experience, we still make mistakes. Sigh... yes! And not just with sewing.

I'd never crocheted a cardigan before and it seemed like a wonderful new adventure only by the time I was part way through, I had a feeling this was not going in the right direction. It was getting heavier and bulkier and bigger and bigger. However, I was also at that mid point where going back or going forward becomes a debate. I decided to at least get to where I could try it on, which only confirmed my feelings, but at least I know for sure.

My gauge is correct but it sure doesn't look like this on me although it's one of those patterns were sizes are grouped. I think small, medium, and large were all the same and then plus sizes were in another group. That should have been a clue. Extra anything on my figure type is never a good look. Was I so thrilled with the idea of crocheting a cardigan that I missed the grown on sleeves, fabric under the arms, and too much ease? Apparently!

OR... perhaps I was blind. Perhaps I thought I was knitting - crocheting - this design by Kaitlin Barthold. It looks far more appropriate. In fact, I posted that image a few weeks ago saying I was crocheting this cardigan... which is hilarious... I wasn't but I think I thought I was when really I was crocheting the other one. LOL - granny squares on point, granny squares set square - you think I might have clued in.

Whatever I thought I was making, this is what I actually made and I don't love it $200 worth which is what the yarn ended up costing. I already had six balls in stash that I'd bought as a souvenier on a trip last year and then I ordered four more and I probably would have needed one more still to finish. At $16.97 a ball, plus tax, plus shipping for the extra balls, that's a LOT. I'd never pay that much to buy a cardigan but somehow when it's crossing categories - entertainment, clothing, therapy - it's all okay... IF it fits and flatters! It does not.

Crochet was much harder to take apart than knitting, but it's back in pieces - two quarter square triangles, forty-six full squares, and only twelve half squares. Two were lost to surgery. I'm going to look at that other pattern and see if there's a way to evolve this one to that one before I rip these apart too. It's not quite as bad as it sounds. The method I used to put the squares together was continuous so you're not stopping and starting all the time. You join the squares up and down in rows with one long continuous thread while adding the final round but even so, each initial square has a tail at the beginning and the end. It's somewhat consoling that whether I'd finished this cardigan or I take them apart now to knit into something else, I would still have had to weave those ends in and... ... I like the yarn a lot so I'm willing to do the weaving BUT... if that other pattern can't be morphed, I am quite sure this was my one and only cardigan crocheting experience. I'd rather knit. SO... I looked at the pattern last night before posting this and no. It's very square. I am very curvy. This is never a good match and I need to pay attention to that red flag. I'll be unravelling and knitting into something more flattering. Lesson learned.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT - my shop is open. If you click on the link in the menu above, you can see all the current pieces or choose by category from crossbody bags, tote bags, or pouches. There is a note at the top of each page about the prices. They are the lowest they will ever be for this month of April and then I'll slowly be adjusting them to better reflect reality. I am SO EXCITED to open the shop. Tomorrow, I've been in business one year and this is a major milestone. Thank you for helping me to reach this point, for your subscription, comments, support and encouragement, sharing my links, everything. It is much appreciated. Have a thought to share? You can email me at myrna@myrnagiesbrecht.com. Talk soon -