Dear oh dear. This jumper is so wrong on so many levels.

Yes, it’s supposed to be a Sloppy Joe, big and chunky, a comfort in the winter. And yes, I DID knit a tension square first.

I knitted this because I adore the Paloma yarn. It’s as soft and springy as a bag of wriggly worms, and this mid-charcoal grey is comforting and warming on long winter dog walks. It washes well and the alpaca makes it snug and cuddly. Be careful, though, as it knots and tangles very easily. It’s best rolled into balls, which takes a surprisingly long time even with a family member or chair. I’ve invested in an umbrella swift for next time I use it. As @CelloSuze said “You don’t NEED one but you need one.” And she’s right.

The pattern is easy, especially after my last project, the Fairbank jumper, which took me years of frustration to knit. And that was the problem. It was too easy so I became a complacent Slack Alice with the tension. So it turned out a lot, a lot larger than it was supposed to be. Admittedly I have lost a dress size recently but even the small size was always going to be a little big for me. I just hadn’t reckoned on how vast. I should have used a smaller size of needle, perhaps 8mm instead of the requisite 10mm, which makes for gauziness despite the super chunky yarn. I had to unpick it several times when the yarn slipped off the wooden needles as I transported it to and from music school and then I didn’t put the slipped rows back onto the needles correctly so there are flaws in the stocking stitch. Something to learn properly before the next time I’m panicking.

The jumper actually took me about 4 weeks to knit but it’s been sitting there in my bedroom, blocked and ready to sew up, admonishing my sloth for months. I loathe the sewing up part and I always think there would be mileage in a business that sewed up and corrected the mistakes in home knitting projects. How cool would that be? The other reason for the procrastination is fear of failure and the certainty of having to wear a longed-for garment that is so full of flaws. Still, aren’t we all?

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Paloma 60% Alpaca, 40% Wool Colour:42003
Needles: 10mm Milward Wooden Needles