The Sweater That Wasn't

For a little over a week now, I've been turning that pretty blue yarn you saw in the wooden bowl into a sweater for myself (and maybe a pattern for you!)  I began with an idea and after about 20 rows decided I needed to drop the front neckline a little more.  So I ripped it out and began again.  This time the neckline was just right and I kept knitting.  About half-way through the first skein I suspected that this yarn was not a good match for the design (design was all about the textured bands and the variegated yarn seemed pretty intent on competing with the texture) but I decided to finish the first skein.  At that point, I'd take it off the needles, try it on, and give it an honest assessment.

So....about 500 yards later, I'm finished up through a few inches below the arm holes.  I tried it on last night and it was *okay*, but it didn't make me go, "Wow!  I love it!"  I'm not one to throw good time after bad, so I ripped it out and decided to go in a slightly different direction.  Still a cardigan, but the shape is going to be different (set-in sleeves, not raglan, a zipper instead of buttons, and maybe cables instead of the textured business I had going on here.)  My hope was to model it after My Favorite Hoodie Ever, which I bought from Old Navy about 10 years ago and wore the pants off of it.  (Well, I wore the elbows out of it, anyway.)  I actually made fabric elbow patches (purple corduroy!) and sewed then onto the light blue hoodie (!!!??) so I could continue to wear that sucker until it developed many holes in other locations.  I guess I could have embraced the "patch" revolution and sewed patches over the holes in random spots all over the sweater, but honestly, I'm 37 and I'm not sure I can pull that look off.  So I retired the hoodie to my closet in case the Clothing Fairy wanted to pay me a visit and heal my sweater in the middle of the night.

I tore my closet up today looking for the thing, then the drawer in the hallway where I used to store out-of-season clothes, and finally the rubbermaid tub in the basement where I store all of my husband and my off-season stuff.  It's not here, y'all. 

I had a garage sale last summer, and while I'm sure I didn't sell this thing, I do remember going through my clothes and forcing myself to either sell or donate everything I hadn't worn in the last year, and have no hope of wearing in the future.  I have a bad feeling that My Favorite Hoodie Ever got caught in that raid.  So sad....I thought that one day I would use his exact measurements to re-create him in another yarn (without all the holes), but apparently at the time of the Great Closet Purge, I had forgotten that.  *tear*

So, I'm going to do my best to recreate him from memory, and I'm going to see if this yarn is a little happier becoming this new design.  It's very pretty and soft, so I hope we can agree on something soon!