I did it. I am still in a little bit of shock. I created a sweater from an idea that I had and I knit it. With no pattern. And it looks like a sweater and even fits the intended recipient!
I want to show everyone, and I mean everyone, this sweater. But I can't. I'm not self publishing this design, so it is up to Three Irish Girls to release it for the world to see. It might kill me to wait.
The knitting was just the first part, though. I wrote down what I did as I went (thank goodness, because I would stand no chance of remembering all the tiny details if I hadn't). The next step is taking those notes and assembling them into a coherent set of instructions that someone else can follow to make a sweater that looks just like mine.
My husband racked up major points by taking the boys to the grocery store to give me time to type up the pattern. It went surprisingly well (the pattern typing, he isn't back with the boys yet so I will have to assume that they all survived the trip). I was worried that turning my notebook pencil scrawls into something that made sense would be impossibly hard. It wasn't too bad.
It going smoothly might have something to do with the fact that I decided to just leave the number parts blank. Fully grading this pattern into the 4 sizes I want it in is still a bit daunting. I have lots of the numbers worked out, really. But it can start to make your head hurt when you are trying to figure out exactly how many inches and fractions of inches a neckline should go down or an armhole should be for a 4 year old versus a 6 or 8 or 10 year old. I like the easy measurements a lot -- chest circumference and length, those make me feel smart (I am choosing to ignore the fact that at least half of my children could figure these out without much help). The others, not so much. I will get there. When I am properly caffeinated and feeling rather brave.
For now though, I am going to relish my (albeit small) victory.
