I wanted to tell you all about how I finally finished the Flower Back Sweater yesterday after a two-year battle with the pattern. I wanted to share in the glory of this great achievement. I wanted to tell you that it was blocking on my dining room table and getting itself ready for the white flowers I will attach to it. I wanted to say I could have finished pictures by the end of the week.
Well, I can’t lie to you. And I certainly can’t tell you any of this. Why, you ask? Because the yarn dye in my Tilli Tomas Pure and Simple in American Beauty #179 is running no matter how many vinegar baths I have tried. So far the total is three. I already tried just wool wash and then every time after a vinegar bath, I try a wool wash, and the color runs. Tonight I have to try a boiling water/vinegar bath and if that doesn’t work, this top may never be finished. I just don’t know what else to do.
I have to say, that this part is very disappointing. To say that I have the top 95% complete but then to be stalled by some stupid dye issue is just infuriating. It’s like I can see the shiny object nearly in my grasp, yet I just can’t reach.
I’ve already had to accept some losses with this top: first I had to rework the pattern a gazillion times when my gauge was off. Then the pattern isn’t even written well. It’s missing a number of clarifications that would make it easier to understand. Also if you follow it to the letter (regardless of the fact that you may need to rework the pattern because your row gauge is off), the pattern doesn’t even work out. I wanted to make the deep low V-neck and if I followed the pattern correctly, the top would become a dress and the V wouldn’t start until above my bra line. Not exactly how the item was pictured. Now I get that everyone’s body shape is different and when making a handknit, it’s every knitter’s job to know their own body, but this frakkin thing is ridiculous. It should say something that only about 20 some odd individuals have tried to make it, leaving a number of frustrated comments about the pattern. Of course, all of this appeared on Ravelry after I had purchased the very expensive Tilli Tomas yarn and very confusing pattern.
Did I mention how I’ve knit this thing up at least four times over a two-year period? Disgusting. I am a committed knitter and with the exception of an afghan that is a lifetime project, a shawl that got pushed aside by other projects and my first official sweater that I took on as a newbie knitter with very little experience, I have finished projects in a timely and competent fashion. I’m no dummy knitter. Need of more advanced education? Sure. But I’m not stupid. This pattern has challenged my will to keep knitting. And frankly, my dear, I don’t like it!
In the end though, I will be satisfied with my top. The V is not as deep as I originally intended, but now I’ll be able to wear a bra, the length is just right for my body and the color will look great on me. I also have some leftover beautiful silk yarn to create some accessory for the top. It’s just getting to the end here that’s proving difficult. One day … maybe one day …
Be inspired.
Kate has been a fantastic resource for all things digital, whether redesigning my website on Wordpress, fine tuning my social media profiles, or understanding Google Analytics. She's an excellent communicator, and I will absolutely hire her again in the future.
Kate has an incredible amount of drive when it comes to LoganSquarist. In the six months that I’ve been involved, I’ve watched the site grow from a pet project to a respected community publication. This success can be attributed to Kate’s technical and leadership skills. From building out the site to off-hours community management and a consistent flow of content, the site improves by leaps and bounds on a weekly basis. When it comes to team management, Kate delegates tasks in an organized and efficient manner, making her an all around great and inspiring person to work with.
One of the best things I've ever done in my career is work with Kate Hamilton. Her enthusiasm for all things editorial, not to mention her energy and passion for any project she's involved with, is contagious. In addition to being a natural born leader, she's also a creative type, a thinker, a stickler for details, and someone with incredible vision and the drive to get things done. I always marvel at how she is constantly teaching herself new things. She always seems to be ahead of the curve on anything related to social media, and she also has an eye for design. This lady rocks! And she continues to be a mentor to me and others in journalism and communications.
I worked with Kate during my time as a community manager at Lightspan Digital while Kate was my direct manager. Kate’s communication practices really taught me how to navigate the sometimes complicated agency world. As an account manger, Kate smoothly orchestrated 10+ accounts at one time as well as help me manage and prioritize tasks in my role. Kate was a role model during my first few years in the professional world and continues to be so to this day.
Kate did and excellent job with our website. We have received several compliments on how nice it looks and how easy it is to navigate. She also went above and beyond to make sure that we were able to update and the website ourselves through Wordpress. I cannot gush about how awesome she is and how happy we are with the site and her dedication to the project.
I met Kate through the Association of Women Journalists (AWJ) and immediately was impressed (and inspired) by her creativity, drive, work ethic and use of social media. Her passion for journalism, digital media and communications overall is evident in the projects she takes on, including LoganSquarist, an online news outlet that she founded that uses social media to socialize the neighborhood. What I admire about Kate is her vitality as well as her desire to keep learning and growing personally and professionally. Kate is a modern-day renaissance woman who is multitalented (ask about her travel, knitting and marathon exploits!) and who brings instant value to any team or organization.
Kate is a real professional and a pleasure to work with. She is a great communicator and always put her client's (my company) interest first. She is tremendously personal and had a great understanding of our business and how she could help it. She is great and is a tremendous asset to any company.
Kate is a wealth of knowledge who served as a tremendous mentor for all of our team members while constantly improving processes and workflows. She’s a tremendous project manager, pays great attention to detail, and is able to demand results from her team with respect. At LoganSquarist she has built and led a team of dozens of volunteer contributors committed to her vision of a community resource. I would happily work with Kate again anytime!