knitting

first sweater

sweater

I’m celebrating my first knit sweater finish today! I started this project (Oatmeal Pullover designed by Jane Richmond) probably a year ago. It sat by my bedside for quite a while collecting beagle fur and dust. I finally picked it up a week or so ago and felt determined to finish it.

You see, I ran out of yarn after finishing almost one sleeve. Bummer. I know I made a ton of mistakes and probably not really knowing much, had bought the yarn a while before I actually started the sweater. I’m sure I didn’t even look at the overall yardage I needed. Ooops.

sweater5

I make mistakes like it’s my full-time job.

If there’s a mistake to be made, I’ll make it. Not a bad thing, but I really really learn so much by making mistakes. So if you happen to look really carefully at this sweater you’ll notice I bought one skein way after the others in a totally different dye lot. I could have frogged the sweater, but I wanted to finish, to see if I could actually knit a sweater that I could actually wear.

I even learned how to pick up stitches without making things look all crazy. And I did the sewn bind off on the cuffs, so fun, definitely like sewing, but with really thick thread.  I think now I could probably make this sweater in maybe a weeks time if I kept at it.

sweater3

I’ll post some of my notes on Ravelry (@noodleheadsews) today, just in case. Oh, and I’ll try blocking it too. Wish me luck!

Pattern: Oatmeal Pullover by Jane Richmond
Yarn: Puffin in Nasturtium by Quince & Co.

sweater2

36 thoughts on “first sweater

  1. Heather says:

    Love it!

  2. knottygnome says:

    congrats on finishing your first sweater! lovely color.

  3. Emily M says:

    Hey not bad for your first sweater! and you can just say the different sleeve is supposed to be a cool ombre look. It’s good to just jump in a go for it! personally I find it the best way to learn too.

  4. Bunny says:

    Blocking cures many ills! You will love the results. I skipped the blocking step for about the first 3 years I knitted–live and learn!

  5. Whitney says:

    Good job! Doesn’t it feel great? I agree with above, do blocking! It hides many mistakes well.

  6. Tina says:

    I still remember wearing my first (and only) sweater I knitted. I think I was 14, and it was – well, crocked and spiked with non-intentional holes, and whatever, but I MADE IT!
    I was very proud about it.

    I think I should try it again!

    yours definitely looks much better than mine did 😉
    Congrats!

  7. AnnetteZ says:

    Wow! I’m so impressed. I’ve been knitting for probably 5 years and am just attempting my first garment and I’m making lots of mistakes too. Yours looks wonderful!! The thing that MAKES this blog post though is your smile in the last picture! Beautiful!

  8. gail says:

    I am VERY impressed, in awe even. After years of knitting, I haven’t’ progressed past wash cloths. Your sweater is lovely! 🙂

  9. Tiffany says:

    i have that pattern, but i never got around to knitting it up! probably because i took up cross stitching and that has taken up all of my “free time”. the sweater looks great!!

  10. Rose says:

    I love this sweater on you (and other people) but I made it for myself and it just looked completely wrong and didn’t suit me at all. I was so disappointed! But was fun to knit and didn’t take as long as usual as thick wool.

  11. Jen H says:

    I love the look I that second sleeve. Nice job Anna!

  12. Angela says:

    This post made me laugh. It sounded like a conversation between my sister and I.

  13. speechlaura says:

    Love to see you smile. I’d be beaming if I were able to knit clothing (it’s all rectangles and squares for me).

  14. LeAnn says:

    I’m impressed!! Love the ribbing at the bottom.

  15. That is awesome! Knitting my own sweater is on my life bucket list. Maybe someday. I love how your sweater turned out. Congrats on finishing it and learning lots on the way to success.
    Melissa

  16. It’s awesome! I love the colour!

  17. Heather says:

    Wow! Great job! Don’t sweat the small stuff! I tried to learn to knit, but it was hard for me to put the time in to learning something I didn’t really get, when I was already pretty good at sewing so I just stuck with that. However seeing the beautiful knitted creations people make rekindles the desire to try and learn again. Thanks for the inspiration as always! 🙂

  18. Jeni says:

    WOOO! It turned out so awesome!!

  19. Betz says:

    Awesome! Congrats and here’s to many more! I’ve been knitting for 30 something years (I learned as an infant, ahem) and I still make all of the mistakes. That’s why knitting is so RELAXING, lol!

  20. Cindy says:

    Looks wonderful- great job, Anna!! I can’t even imagine wearing a sweater at my first attempt. Love the color and it looks super warm!:)

  21. Rae says:

    aw man SO awesome!! I need to make an Oatmeal too!

  22. Karylen says:

    Pour un premier, je dois dire BRAVO, tu es douĂ©e…c’est certainement le premier d’un longue lignĂ©e et j’ai hĂąte de voir les prochains ;-)!

  23. J. says:

    Awesome job! Finishing a big knit like that is always an accomplishment, even if there is stuff you want to do differently for next time. Rock that sweater!

  24. Liz says:

    Congratulations! And thanks for sharing that you too make mistakes while learning. Your work always looks so perfect but you give the rest of us hope sharing that you have a learning curve too. 🙂

  25. Jenny says:

    It looks great. Congratulations! It will look even better after blocking. I’ve been eyeing this pattern for a while.

  26. erin says:

    well done, anna! it’s beautiful!

  27. BeckyLeeSews says:

    I think the sweater looks amazing! Of course, I don’t knit so I have no idea what I’m looking at but I will tell you it looks “factory”. So that’s a compliment! (kind of
LOL)

    “I make mistakes like it’s my full-time job.” Oh that’s rich! And so ME! There isn’t a single project I start that I don’t screw up right out the gate. I’ve gotten to where I laugh at myself and say, “OK, now that THAT’S out of the way, I can get serious about this.” It’s like when you get a new car and get your first scratch in the paint. Aw seriously? Fine, now let’s get down to the process of real life and stop stressing about paint-perfection already. Crap happens. Don’t get me wrong, I still like things to look nice and I strive for an amazing-looking project I’m proud of. However, letting go of “perfection” has allowed me to enjoy the process of creation so much more and now I’m cranking out all kinds of quilts I’m no longer adamant against putting a machine binding on. I mean really
what’s the point of making all these glorious quilt tops if they sit folded up for no one to see? I’ve come up with a machine binding technique that looks great. Unless it’s a gift for someone, it goes on the machine and then into cuddle mode on the couch or “Look at me!” mode on the wall.

    Love the sweater! Stay cozy!

  28. Pam says:

    Oooh, congratulations! I took some classes this fall on various techniques hoping they’d build my skills (and confidence) enough to tackle my first sweater. Maybe after the holiday craziness settles down…

  29. Bethany says:

    Congrats on your first sweater! It adds the capital “K” to your Knitter status. 😉 How was the Quince Puffin? I imagine it would be a bit like knitting with a luscious marshmallow!

  30. YAY!!! You did it! And it looks so gorgeous on you! I absolutely adore the Nasturtium and totally can’t see the colour difference in your photos 😉

  31. YoU did a great job. The first thing I learned to knit was socks and I must have knit an dunk it about 10 times before I got them right.

  32. kristin says:

    even though you posted this quite a while ago, i couldn’t let it go by without commenting. your first sweater! amazing! congratulations! you really think you could make another in a week??? that seems crazy, but sweatermaking still intimidates the heck out of me. i don’t trust “real knitters” when they say things are quick, but i’d trust you. it looks fantastic. i really love that color on you.

  33. Delia says:

    you are amazing!!! Love it!

  34. Yay for finishing! And I too think learning from making mistakes is the best way to learn.

  35. Brienne says:

    Anna! Your first sweater!!! This is so exciting, hooray! Hooray! I love the color that you chose. Enjoy it:)

  36. Monica says:

    Haha, I’m a mistake-maker too. It really is how you learn… Knitting seems so elusive to me, great job!

Comments are closed.