I Made This..

although this weblog thing is totally new to me, knitting and crochet are not. my mom taught me both crafts when i was maybe around 7 or 8 years old. she still has that little red rectangle of garter stitch in her sewing basket that i made for her to hold her sewing needles. when i was in highschool in france, my mother and i would knit me sweaters; she would do all of the shaping, etc., i would just do the stockinette, or the pattern repeats as long as they weren't complicated. in college, i occasionally brought out my knitting but i really did very little. first of all, this was the early 80's and knitting wasn't cool. and second of all, the yarn that you could get your hands on, was crap. i still have one from those days. a black red heart acrylic (yes!) boxy turtleneck that i made from a vogue knitting magazine. i've kept it because it's officially the first sweater i ever made, without my mother's help.

i've progressed since then, although based on what i've presented here, you wouldn't know it. i think i've been afraid and intimidated by all of the talented knitters that i've "met" here. it used to be since i was the only knitter i knew (and i still am the only knitter in my circle of friends) i threw caution to the wind and made whatever made me happy, even if the gauge was off or the yarn was crap, etc., or the pattern and stitch were difficult. while cleaning out some closets and drawers this week, i found some old sweaters that i'd made.

this is a vogue knitting pattern. it's huge and comfy and insanely warm. i may have made it a good 15 years ago. the original pattern is a much more fitted and shorter sweater. but i made it with thicker yarn and bigger needles so it's more like a tunic.

this is also a vogue knitting pattern. again, i probably made it at least 10 years ago. i think i stayed much closer to the intended gauge, but i know i didn't swatch.

finally, this is detail from a dkny sweater that took me probably four months to make. i kept messing up and having to rip out from the beginning. i remember that the original pattern called for size 1 or 2 needles. something ridiculous like that. i made this on size 4 or 5. and i winged the sizing. i don't wear this one anymore. it's a little tired looking now. but this reminds me that somehow i've been holding myself back.

Comments

[Rachael]

Hello, KNITTER! I love these sweaters. Very impressed. And the sushi toilet paper cover is hysterical. You go!

[sassy]

I am *so* impressed! Those are really good! I love that first one, the details are incredible!

[Julie]

Maryse, very nice! I especially like the first one, that's beautiful. They all are!

[kim]

Thank you so much for sharing! These sweaters are gorgeous. Let 'er rip, kiddo. The thing I've most enjoyed discovering about this online knitting world is that even the most out-of-this-world talented knitters respect and pay attention to the newbies and less-advanced. It's pretty amazing; perhaps due in part to it being a community almost entirely composed of women? Not only do I imagine that you will receive kudos from the most advanced, I imagine you have a ton to share as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with next!

[Vera]

Intimidated? Really?

I guess intimdation in the eye of the beholder because you are a much advanced knitter than I. Your work is very nice too, so I from where I sit, I see no reason for you to look at other knitters and feel that way.

I've been knitting in ernest less than a year, and I see other blogs and I'm often blown away and a little intimidated by what others can do. I try to remind myself that I'm somewhat new, and I've come a long way, and I do pretty good work for someone who has knit for such a short time.

Looking at other blogs has made me want to try more things. I'm doing a Charlotte Shawl. I got the yarn today, I made a practice piece in Wool Ease that came out well and I've never made a lace piece before.

That colorway you're looking at in the Koigu is beautiful. Come join.