Why the title? (An intro)

I changed the title for this blog so many times, I finally just deleted the blog and started over. The new blog, 3sleeves, and the new title, 3 Sleeves to the Wind, comes from a sweater-knitting fiasco I committed last year:

I started knitting Tivoli, the original version of Picovoli. [If you've knit this before, you can skip the explanation below.]

This sweater is knit top-down and has raglan sleeves. Basically, you cast on the appropriate number of stitches for your size, placing a marker at the end of the round. Then you count out stitches for the sleeves, and place 4 more markers, two for each sleeve seam (where the sleeves join the body, at the front and back). You increase each time you come to one of the sleeve markers, resulting in the sleeves growing larger as you knit down the sweater from the top.

After a week of knitting Tivoli each night for an hour or so as I watched TV, I looked at it in the daylight. I had increased at each marker, INCLUDING the end-of-round marker. I had five sets of raglan seams. At first, I couldn't figure it out, and I thought I was just looking at it wrong. I kept turning it around and around, counting, "one sleeve, the front, another sleeve, the back, another sleeve, the first sleeve again...." I finally had to face it--my Tivoli looked as though it had three sleeves.

I had to admit that knitting after dinner, having had wine with dinner, and watching tv, had taken its toll. I was knitting in an uncontrolled fashion, and dubbed such knitting "knitting three sleeves to the wind." The term made it easier to smile about my embarrassing mistake.

Since then, I've knit many things, and learned how to avoid such mistakes, though I do still make some. I've used this meme to provide a list of my experiences:

Mark with bold the things you have knit at least once, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Top-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Ok, there you have an explanation of the blog title and a list of my knitting experiences. Oh, I forgot to finish telling you about the Tivoli. I ripped it out, of course. Then I reknitted the sweater, tried it on, and found out it was about 6 inches too big around. So I ripped out the entire sweater and reknitted it for the third time. It was wearable, but a bit tight. I gave it away.