Sometimes knitting is a lot like writing. You embark on an adventure, follow it through to the end, then realize that there was a flaw way back at the beginning, which can’t be fixed without unraveling the whole thing and doing it again.

This sweater was like that.

First, the yarn. This is Noro Silk Garden in a colourway that I just love. (#8 Other people must love it too, because it’s one that is still in production.) I think I’ve had the yarn for about 15 years, because every time I knit it, I’m less than thrilled with the result. I frog it, returning the yarn to the wilds of the stash, then sooner or later, cast it on again.

In 2011 (Ravelry provides scary historical data.) I cast it on for Jane Ellison’s Basic Fitted Cardigan. (That’s a Rav link.) I finished (I think) in August 2011 and here’s the blog post to prove it. The problem was that the sweater didn’t fit overly well. It was too wide in the shoulders and looked sloppy. The sleeves were also long (partly because that shoulder seam wasn’t where it should be) and the cuffs were tight. I thought I’d wear it anyway, as a casual sweater, but every time I tried it on, I quickly took it off again.I hated how it looked. The yarn cost too much for that kind of whimsy, so I tossed the sweater into the knitting basket while I thought about it. In the end, I reknit the fronts and the back, then shortened the sleeves at the cuff. It has different buttons this time, too.

Here’s the result. It doesn’t look that different, but now it fits! The Silk Garden won’t be frogged this time.I took this second picture at night, so had to use the flash. It really changed the appearance of the colour – the first shot is a more accurate representation of the colours.