As a former newspaper gal and a freelance writer, I pride myself on my ability to meet a deadline. Thinking back through all my years of writing and even reminiscing about high school (!) I don’t think I missed one due date.

For whatever reason, my knitting doesn’t seem to follow the same rules as my writing. It probably has something to do with the fact that I view knitting as a peaceful, calming thing, which to me is inherently the opposite of a deadline.

I was not even close to done dutifully working on a baby blanket when its recipient arrived. I’d like to blame it on the fact that the sweet girl came a few weeks before her due date, but that day came and went while I was still working away, needles whispering late into the night.

So when I told myself I would finish Jordana’s Emmery by a speaking engagement in November I’d agreed to, I knew I was pushing it. Well, November came and went. Then December. (This, my friends, is why Christmas knitting isn’t in my near future.) And finally January.

Wheee! It’s my first sweater! And it only took me six months! To be fair I did have a few other projects I did in between, and my torso is obscenely long, so the body took some time. I am absolutely thrilled! It’s only been off my needles a few weeks, but I’ve worn it four times already!

Jordana told me that in every project I should learn one new thing. If you have to learn too many at once, she said, you can get overwhelmed and give up.

There were a few new things I picked up in this project, provisional cast ons (crochet method worked best for me) and how to try on a WIP (take the needles out and use waste string), but what I’m most proud of was tackling my fear of using DPNs. Not as scary as they look!

The Emmery really is a great sweater for someone who’s never made one before. It’s all stockinette and the shaping is really easy. Because it was so simple, I started to understand the construction of a garment in general. Super helpful.

Every time I put it on and take it off I’m sooo careful, as if it’s going to fall apart or something. It’s really taken some getting used to, this whole wearing-clothing-I’ve-made thing.

I’m definitely hooked, already deciding what my next JP knit is going to be. I’m thinking either Cerie or Cadence. I love Cerie’s look but I wouldn’t mind some long sleeves. Although by the time I’m done it’ll probably be summer!

In the meantime I need some advice from the JP community. I’ve started on some socks with the yarn I got from Desert Thread in Moab. I love them but I’m struggling with something. See if you can see it.

Arg! Laddering! I didn’t have this problem with the Emmery, I think because it was all knitting. As soon as I started purling it happened. When I worked on the sweater I would pull very hard on the first few stitches and it seemed to work. Not so much here.

Any advice on how to avoid this as I finish this sock and immediately cast on the next? I’m all ears!