Two years ago next month, I blogged about how I had started a sweater for Pat. Over the last two years, I’ve occasionally posted on the progress as it’s happened. I threw out his birthday as a goal date to have the whole thing finished this past summer, half jokingly. Then the other day, I realized I could actually make it happen. Yesterday afternoon when I stopped to do a stitch count, I realized I was rows away from being done, really done. So I sat and knit until I bound off the last stitch.
I still can’t believe it. All those piano lessons. Soccer practices. Roadtrips. TV show marathons. Movies. College football AND basketball games. Bowl season. Everything I’ve sat through but felt guilty about sitting still for, I picked this up and kept my hands busy. Everything I’d had to sit through and wanted to use the time to be productive. This is what I have to show for it. I’ve not felt so proud of an accomplishment in I don’t know how long. I set a long term goal and hit it. Pat’s birthday isn’t until Monday, so I even have time to block it and properly wrap it.
Last night, as soon as I bound off the last stitch and cut the yarn, he tried it on. At some point yesterday afternoon, it started looking too big. A few months ago, I worried the arms were too short. All worry for nothing. It fit beautifully. I snapped a few shots of him wearing it last night, but I managed to combine the photography skills of both my grandmothers and so I have a few blurry shots with his head cut off. No matter. It needs to be blocked before he wears it anyway.
I want to shout from the rooftops that I’m done. I did post a shot of it to Facebook last night as well as emailed it to a few friends not on there or known to not check it regularly, which I suppose is the modern day equivalent of shouting it from the rooftops. I keep high-fiving myself. I finally finished the sweater.
The pattern is from Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears, with an assist from this Knit by Numbers article on Knitty’s website. Once I got over my math hang-ups, it was easy. It’s knit in the round, from the bottom up – so there were no seams, just weaving in ends. I’ve knit scarves more complicated than this sweater. It just took time and patience. Lots of it.
Chicken Wire & Paper Flowers 
CONGRATULATIONS!
I can neither knit nor crochet, so I have sweater envy. So glad you finished what will, I'm sure, become an especially treasured gift.
Nice job! In college I learned to knit from my mom, and made a couple of sweaters. But it's been so long that whenever I look at a pattern I feel overwhelmed by all the shorthand I don't remember and close it again 🙂
Brava!
Congratulations! Well done!
It looks great. Congratulations!
That sweater looks awesome! It would take me a decade to finish, no joke and I think one arm might be longer than the other!