^{Chugging along on the as-last-as-possible train!}

Original project statement.

This project has been a pain in my butt! Or more literally, a pain in my hands.

Initially I wanted to make the sweater slightly smaller than the pattern called for, so I just kind of plowed ahead with what I was quite certain would work. Roughly 20 hours of work and 11" into the sweater, I finally had enough knit to try it on. And it was TOO SMALL. (Related update.) I wanted to give up, but was convinced by cheerleaders and myself that I could deal with it being too small. It was also around this time that I discovered many glaring mistakes that would have taken hours to fix. (Related update.) I'll admit that at this point, I quite literally threw it in the naughty basket and walked away for a few days, more than a little disgusted with myself. If I had actually planned right, this would not have happened.

It took a few days to reconcile myself into tearing out the entire sweater, but I did it. Then it took over a week before I could bring myself to start over, (this time, the right size). The phrase "labor of love" does not really come close, lol. More like a labor of love and hate. Part of me wanted to never look at that stupid yarn again, and part of me was furiously determined that I WILL DO THE THING AND IT WILL BE GLORIOUS, GOD DAMN IT.

So here it is, as far as it's come the second time around. That tab thing on the top left is the front right shoulder. I have three more of those to do (front left, back left and right), plus the cowl neck collar, and two sleeves. And then she'll be done!!

My original goal was to get the whole thing completed before the contest ended, but life really, really got in the way the past few weeks. All in all, I'm actually super pleased with where it's at right now, and I'm a little proud that I pushed through. I knew this project was going to be a bit tedious, but boy did this get a little ridiculous! Trust me to knit the same sweater twice and only come out with one finished object... :P