My Aidez sweater.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 7:15AM 
I finished Aidez a few weeks ago. My Rav link is here, with journal notes of the process. The pattern is by Cirilia Rose, whose designs I adore, and can be found for free here. I was happy that I got to wear the sweater twice before the weather turned too warm. It was such an educational knit--I feel much more confident in my cabling and seaming techniques, though I still need lots of practice. I blocked before seaming but think one more blocking will help smooth out a couple of wonky areas. There are some cross cables on the back, especially, that I knitted inconsistently and regret not being more precise. I know blocking can't save a piece, but I'm constantly amazed at how much it helps.
I lost count how many times I had to rip out and restart certain sections, but I can say with certainty that if the rows were tallied, I knit the sweater at least twice! And despite the ripping and reknitting, it is far from perfect. Nevertheless, I am very happy with it and know I'll reach for it often in the fall. For now, it's in permanent residence on my office chair as chilly basement garb. And even though it's not very spring-like, I decided to use it for a new blog header so I could see it often.
When I look at it, I can't help but smile over how far I've come with my knitting. And now that it's done--and true to my word--I am promoting myself out of beginner knitterly status. Whee.
Sandra
Reader Comments (6)
Oh, wow...just wow! Your photos look like they are from a knitting magazine.
It looks amazing! You are SOOOO not a beginner!
Waouhhhh! Fantastic! You made a big big work! Really beautiful! Congratulations!
You are such a knitter now! Great job on a beautiful sweater - plus it looks like it fits.
Thank you for the sweet comments! It's nice to get some feedback other than, "are you done with your blanket yet, mom?"
You definitely deserve to be proud of this sweater and definitely you are no longer allowed to hang out with me in the beginner world!
Really a beautiful, beautiful sweater.
You are right about blocking! My first effort at blocking last week - I am now convinced of it's value!