The Challenge Behind the Challenge

When I agreed to knit a sweater in 30 days, I thought the challenge was going to be the sweater. I have no garment experience and little enough experience in knitting anything else except something flat and garter-stitchy. After wrestling with starting my sleeve in the round, I was able to look ahead through the pattern and I became less intimidated by Maeve. The pattern is well written, with a straightforward construction that an advanced beginner can maneuver with a little help or easy access to internet tutorials. 

It turned out that the real challenge was the ability to make the sweater my biggest priority. It's tempting to say that the challenge was finding the time. But I had the time to help with my sister-in-law's wedding, which was a huge priority, and I had various appointments and dates and life changes and things which were a priority, too. So it just came down to the fact that a lot of life-stuff was more important than knitting in October. And that's okay. It might be the case that my sweater gets to be my biggest priority in November. I would really love to wear it for Thanksgiving!

While I wasn't able to make my sweater my biggest priority this past month, I consider my sleeve a great accomplishment. Before I started at Anzula, knitting was another craft that I probably wasn't going to get to in my long list of crafts to try. But once I started working here, I needed a reason to buy the yarn (because it was so beautiful, it had to be mine!) so I started knitting on an overnight trip the team took. The sleeve I've finished, and the garment it will eventually be, is a huge jump in my knitting ability and confidence, and I'm really excited about it. Even if it takes more than 30 days.