anyone to knit a sweater in exchange for....?

[kjoe.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for someone to finish knitting a green sweater that my girlfriend from several years ago started but never finished (broke up too soon).

Things I can do in exchange:

- minor carpentry
- general odd jobs/fix-it work
- housecleaning
- website design
- teach beginning guitar/piano
- clean/organize (exceptional)

Or suggest something...

Within 15-minute walk of Davis Sq.

Comments

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I'm a knitter, and while I'm not currently offering my services, I have some suggestions for you:

1. If you have a hard time finding someone now, you might have better luck after the holidays. A lot of knitters are currently scampering to finish Christmas gifts.

2. If you know what pattern your girlfriend was using, you might want to link to it if it's online, or at least give the name of the pattern. That way people might be able to take a peek and find out in advance if it's something they're interested in doing/able to do.

[kjoe.livejournal.com]

brilliant. good advice. thx.

[ifotismeni]

^ another knitter chiming in to agree!



a third possibility is that if you can't find the pattern she was using, a knitter might offer to start over again using the same yarn (basically start from scratch). definitely takes up more time but two people can knit very differently (at different tensions) which might end up with a rather odd-looking sweater.

hope someone is able to help with your conundrum. knitting-for-handiwork is a great offer!

[turil.livejournal.com]

I'd offer to do it for free (just cause I like the idea of a Gift Economy) and I have the time to do it, too, but I'm not a huge expert on knitting more complex things. I could handle some finishing touches, perhaps, but not much more than that.

And, as Ifotismeni mentioned, different people have different tensions and such, so if the sweater is really only half done it might not come out even at all.

A picture would be really useful, in addition to sharing the pattern (if she was following one) for folks to decide if it's doable.

Also, there's a Cambridge area time trade/time dollars group (http://community.timebanks.org/jointb.php?gid=131) that organizes trades like this.

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

This may not be what you need, but I have a free online knitting lesson at sewingwithtom.com . It only teaches basic stitches though so if the sweater has a pattern to it, it won't help.

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

I'm also a knitter and would be willing to help out with this, but I agree with the above comments that it really should be frogged and started from scratch because of tension. Are there cables? Lace? Colorwork? Some description of the sweater would be nice.

[haptotrope.livejournal.com]

Someone might be able to get gauge... though it may take a bit of swatching to match. But this may be the proper approach as it may never "match". And who wants a sweater with break-up juju -- start over, and it is just yarn.

and to the op: If you are inclined to pay money, you can also try http://www.etsy.com/alchemy, and also check with Lucy at Mind's Eye yarns.

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

This is a little off-topic, but are you also haptotrope on Ravelry? I think I've seen you around the forums... (I'm miraclaire on Ravelry too).

[haptotrope.livejournal.com]

heeehee, I'm haptotrope pretty much everywhere. :-)

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

While I knit, I do not live near to DS anymore to make it worthwhile. I am wondering, though, why you would like this sweater completed? It seems like the sweater has been hibernated for a long time already that it could hibernate for even longer now.

I am surprised that no one has brought up the boyfriend curse. While I have met several women who have broken up with someone while knitting that person a sweater, I have never met anyone on the other side of the curse.

[glowroper.livejournal.com]

perhaps he is going where no man has gone before!!

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

I would suggest also posting this on craigslist, so I can immediately submit it for best-of-craigslist.

pictures of sweater

[kjoe.livejournal.com]

pics of the sweater:

http://www.kangarooj.com/sweater.jpg
http://www.kangarooj.com/sweater-detail.jpg

does this help?

on Craiglist: been thinking that, thx.

on why now: I was deep-cleaning and found the sweater buried under a bunch of other 'I-haven't-used-it-in-over-2-years-so-I-must-not-need-it' stuff. it just seems to want finishing, since it looks so close (true?).

a more entertaining version is that I'm still grieving the relationship, and by completing the sweater I seek to make whole again that part of me which was torn asunder by separation.

I suppose I could ask *her* if she wants to finish it (we're good friends now) - but somehow that feels weird..like I'm asking her to return to 2 1/2 years ago..

(for some more context, I'm the one that ended the relationship. does that make it more complicated..?)

Re: pictures of sweater

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

Oh, you're right. It looks like maybe all you need to do is to finish it. If it's any consolation, many knitters avoid finishing, mostly from a lack of desire to do all the weaving in of ends and the sewing. You could actually do it yourself, probably. Look up kitchener stitch on the web and try to give it a go.

Also, as a chic-lit book recently pointed out, another term for finishing a sweater is called making up. Maybe you should consider doing that on many fronts.

[kjoe.livejournal.com]

oh, and I do remember her saying that the only work left was pretty much just patching the pieces together (front/back/2 arms - see pics) - not sure about this..if so, great. if not, I can follow some folks' advice and just start over..

[haptotrope.livejournal.com]

Hello, I'm posting for Lucy Lee of Mind's Eye Yarns -- She'd be willing to help you just after the holidays. She is really brilliant... just bring it into her shop (or give her a call) in Porter Square, and work something out.

http://www.mindseyeyarns.com/

Easier to buy a new sweater...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Unless this is just an excuse to meet knitting girls (or boys)... :)