unexpected success

While many people knit almost exclusively for kids, I have avoided it for fear of putting all that time into a garment to see it lost, destroyed or worst of all, disliked. While shopping with my 15 year old, she found a $200 cropped sweater that she liked. I jokingly said, "I could make that." She said "Great, can I pick out the yarn?"

My bluff having been called, we went into the store where she picked black Batuffolo, a soft fuzzy yarn. I went home and turned on my sweater wizard software to get an outline for my pattern, an off-centered, raglan that met un-evenly. She came in multiple times over the next few days to watch my progress. When it was 2/3 done, she tried it on. She wanted the sleeves longer. Rip, redo. She wanted the back closer fitting. I picked up a crochet hook and slightly gathered the back with a single row of crochet. When the sweater was complete, she tried it on and said, "I wanted it to go up, kind of curled in the front." Agh! I was not going to rip and start over.

Brainstorm. I cast yarn on a needle, ran a running stitch through the front of the sweater and tied it off. It went up in the front and an old brooch covering the gathering made it perfect! Unexpected success- disasters avoided, daughter and mother happy.

~Lyn