Wednesday, January 5, 2011

String theory — I try not to fall into the black hole of knitting

I think I've discovered a new part of the theory of relativity.  The closer I get to finishing the elaborate sweater I started almost a year ago, the slower it goes. I last blogged about my Mayan Dreams sweater close to two months ago when I cut the steeks.
I've now finished the sleeves, so that's progress. It didn't happen as fast as I hoped and the second sleeve took longer than the first, proving that it just gets slower and slower. I'm worried that if it continues decelerating at this rate, I shall fall into some hole in the space time continuum in which I can neither finish this sweater nor knit on anything else because I'm still knitting this sweater. Is this part of string theory? String is certainly involved.
  After the sleeves, which I think are quite pretty—especially the cuffs pattern and little picot detail—I knit the neck and bottom bands. I love the way two color ribbing looks. After trying on the sweater and gnashing my teeth, I decided I needed to redo the collar because it was too small. Even going backwards by ripping out the neckband was slow. 
Now I am knitting the new version of the collar with a bigger needle and more stitches picked up in front. I might decide I need to redo the bottom as well and if so a therapist experienced in knitting issues might need to be called in. Next step will be to pick up the stitches for the front, the most fiddly part of the entire sweater project. The front bands need to be quite wide and have a facing, so it's going to be a lot of knitting even if I get it right the first time. Past experience with front bands shows that might not happen. If I ever finish this sweater I know what I want to knit next...and mostly I want to finish this sweater because I can't wait to wear it.

7 comments:

Lynn said...

Oh that is lovely....just keep knittingknittingknitting you can do it! It will be worth it!

Carolina said...

Thanks! I'm trying....

Trudy said...

funny funny...sounds like some of my cooking adventures.

TECHknitter said...

Looks like you DID decide to take the collar off! Good luck with the project, can't wait it see it finished.

Carolina said...

The collar is now done over and a bit bigger around. It should work. I decided I don't need to redo the bottom (whew) and it's time to pick up the front band stitches.

Queen of the Tea Cosies said...

Gord! It is BEAUTIFUL.
You are almost there.
Hurry up now.

Carolina said...

Thanks! Can't hurry any more because we are now separated by a couple of thousands of kilometers. I didn't feel I should bring it to Costa Rica. I do have another simpler and lighter sweater to knit here. I got the band ribbing done before I left and I can see it will fit, which is excellent news.