A Finished Mango Pomegranate

Queen Victoria: What is a mango?
Abdul: It is... the queen of fruit.
-- from Victoria & Abdul (2017)

When I get close to finishing a project, I can't help but start pushing hard to the end. It usually means that I make silly mistakes and end up taking twice as long to finish as I would have if I'd just taken my time. I don't know how to stop this habit, but I do know that it's enough of a habit for me to tack on another couple of days to my projected finish date.

I finished my Pomegranate sweater last night and this time it was one of the most drawn out finishes I've ever had. I mean, I cast off the final stitches for the cuffs and for the neckband and was feeling really good about myself because for once, all of my stitch counts matched the pattern. That never happens. I'm constantly fudging stitch counts here there and everywhere.

And THEN... I realized how many yarn ends I had to weave in. I mean, I usually have a few to do at the end, and I am usually pretty happy to get them tidied away, but THIS... this was ridiculous. Just look at all of those snipped off ends I had at the end of the night. I seem to have made a sweater AND a bird's nest:

It's a rare thing for me to block a sweater at 9:45pm, but I was determined to have it ready to wear today. By 10:15, it was spinning in the washing machine. By 10:30, it was drying on a rack. My 10:45, I was tired of looking at the clock to see if it was morning. I was so excited to try this thing on.

I am not disappointed. I am very, very happy with this result:

It blocked beautifully. All the stitches evened out and the lace opened up and stood clear and detailed. It's the lace that really drew me to this pattern, and I am so glad it lived up to my expectations:

It was a couple of firsts for me. It was the first time knitting a sleeve from the top-down using short rows. It was more work than I am used to doing for my sleeves, but it sure is a pretty cool method. And it was the first time I have worked a tubular bind off, and I am SUPER pleased with how well that turned out. I love the rounded look of the ribbing at the neckline. I'll for sure be doing that again:

I adore this mango colour. You almost never find it shops, and I'm so glad I could make myself a top of my own out of it. And while I didn't really LOVE doing all of those finicky decreases for the neckline and the shoulders, I really do like the resulting neckline shape. I guess some things are worth the extra effort:

It has been a coolish weekend, and while I know a lot of people would love to be in their summer shorts right now, I'm quite glad I get a few weeks to wear my wool sweater before the sweltering heat comes on. It gives me a chance to cover up my winter weight. And you know, I've decided just to talk about this weight thing, because "success stories" like me are always scrutinized whenever we put on a few pounds. Thing is: we're all trying hard. Let's just be kind to each other and ourselves about it, ok?

Anyway, I'm off to make some dinner and to think about sitting outside in the chilly air for a while in my new sweater. I'm gonna wear this thing until I sweat my brains out. Happy Sunday!'