A Design Element?

For the most part, I am a shawl knitter. Scarves and hats...an accessories knitter. I had been, and still am, terrified of knitting garments. I do extravagant and complicated lace pieces but I wont knit a sweater. People tell me that I'm crazy for this but let me explain. The money that it costs to create a sweater...well, its a lot. Non knitters and non fiber people don't really understand this. Just the cost of the materials can be whopping especially if you're going to use good yarn. Which I would want to do. Its hard for me to grasp this; you spend all this money, follow the pattern and you end up with something you do not like or doesn't fit. That's a lot of time and money invested in something without any guarantees in the end. I prefer a little more assurance in my knitting. Shawls. Shawls fit everyone. You can make them either small or larger to fit your tastes but by and large, shawls are shawls. I LOVE SHAWLS! But I digress.

A few months ago, this past summer, someone I dearly love who has been an important influence in my knitter ventures told me I had to knit a sweater. She said I needed to make a sweater to truly expand my knitting experience. I got it. I understood it. But boy I still felt unsure about it. I left that afternoon, there were others there to help encourage me, with a plan. To overcome my fear of making something I was afraid would not fit or that I would not personally like, the plan was to start off knitting a child's sweater. I knew just the kid I could knit for! Savannah! Savannah is the 6 yr old daughter of friends of mine, Robert and Ariane. I consulted Ariane and asked if she mind if I knit a sweater for Savannah. Of course she didn't mind. She was more than happy to supply the kid for this project. I gradually got more and more excited about this. By the time I got home I had hit up  Ravelry and started searching and looking at all sorts of different patterns for kids. I knew right away the pattern couldn't be too frilly. Savannah is not a frilly kind of girl. She is an energetic, playful, sweet girl who is more apt to play with her toy sword and shield she wears when attending the Renaissance Fairs with her parents than she is with dolls. Savannah is a great kid and the perfect kid to knit for. I chose Heidi Kirrmaier's pattern Sweet Peasy which can be found here on Ravelry. I ordered the yarn in Savannah's favorite color and got to work. I was excited about this! I began to understand why I was told I needed to knit a sweater to expand my knitting experience. There are so many things I was learning from the moment I cast on Savannah's Sweater. I knew I could do this...no problem. This was a top-down raglan sweater that, for me, has been a great way to learn the construction of a sweater. I have been enjoying this knit from the beginning. Fast forward to where I'm at now. I have finished both sleeves and have picked up all the stitches and am now working on the body. But I think there's a problem.

Heidi Kirrmaier's Sweet Peasy pattern knit with Knit Picks Swish DK on US size 6

Do you see it? One sleeve is slightly longer than the other. No matter how may times I look at it, measure it...the right sleeve is slightly shorter than the left. I cannot possibly be the only knitter in the world to have faced this problem. I think what I'm going to do is finish the body then go back and take out the bind off and add more length to the right sleeve. Any other suggestions? I've been looking at this for a few days now and I've been in denial about it. "If I measure it this way, its fine!" But nope. Its shorter than the other one and that's a fact that needs to be fixed. If this were a shawl this could be considered a design element. But in a sweater...not so much. Crap. Its all a learning process right? Right.

Through all my knitting ventures, mistakes and successes, Kona is here to support me. He's so supportive and never criticizes me...

He is the most wonderful, relaxed, and sweet cat I've ever met. He is a Siamese Selkirk Rex and how he came to belong to me is a story for another day!

As soon as I get finished with Savannah's Sweater I promise pictures of it and also pics of Savannah wearing the it. Unless of course I have screwed up more than just the sleeve and it doesn't fit her. That design element may be too much for me to fix! We all recently learned that Ariane and Robert are expecting a baby early next summer so if necessary the sweater will, at some point, fit the new child. Ah, the things we learn along the way, design elements and not!