There has been a dearth of knitting in my household lately. Actually, I have been knitting, it's just been knitting the same thing over and over and over again. I'm still working on the Inishmore. It's the sweater that keeps on giving, especially if you lack the necessary concentration. After having knit the first sleeve three times, I figured I'd be pretty safe of the second sleeve. Well, you can see where this is going, can't you. One purl in the wrong place and several hours later you realize you get the pleasure of re-knitting the whole thing again! Woo Hoo! Second time around it seems to be going pretty well, thus far anyway, and with any luck I'll finish it sometime next week. I'm managing about an inch an evening, so I won't hope for sooner. After I get the sleeve done, I just have to sew the bits together and then add the neck and I'm done. I think I'll have it finished by Christmas. I hope so because it's green and I can call it my Christmas sweater.
Can you say, "this sweater is kicking my proverbial backside?" I know I can.
Things I've learned from this sweater:
1. Complicated is not the same thing as difficult. There are no stitches, stitch combinations or techniques in this sweater that are new to me. I've done them all quite sucessfully in the past, so it is not difficult for me. It is, however, complicated and if your attention wanders for a moment, you might as well just save yourself the time and frog before you find the mistake.
2. Sweaters like this should be knit in the round with a fake seam added if necessary. Yes, it might take longer and may be heavier on the needles, but it may just keep you from taking that short walk to the nice, soft room they have reserved especially for knitters.
3. Cotton yarn is lovely, but not quite as forgiving as wool. It's also not as strong if you catch an individual strand.
4. Even a cotton sweater can be quite warm if you add enough cables. If I had done this in wool, I would have had to vacation in the Antarctic in May to be able to wear it. Norway in January might do too.
5. Before offering to knit someone a sweater, make sure you know just what you're getting into. Three seconds on your tongue will earn you three months of knitting.
Wish me luck on the rest of it!
Oh! I feel your pain. I just unraveled about 3 inches of my Elegant Empire sweater I've been working on since....the summer. Three inches doesn't sound like much, except that it's three inches off the entire left side. I messed up the cable, and it's not even a complicated cable.
ReplyDeleteDo they have socialized doggie care in Switzerland?, ha, ha. We just spend another hundred dollars taking Rowdy back to our old vet. Our big expenses came from taking him to the emergency vet hospital in Bakersfied since our vet is only open four days a week. I woke up this morning to find him lying on the couch, which he's is supposed to do. That's a good sign:)