TDFKAL- Project #1 Completion

Well, I didn't exactly get my second hour-and-a-half sleeve done on Tuesday. Tuesday was hot and Minnesota muggy, and I'm in my 7th month of pregnancy, and our air conditioner is on the fritz- probably has something to do with being around 20 years old... it got to 80 degrees in my house and something like 180% humidity. I usually don't sweat. Tuesday, I sweat, and sat around like a sticky grump on a log, only managing to knit a measly 45 minutes in the hour before bed. Alpaca is warm, warmer than wool, and I really didn't want it on my lap anymore.

I awoke Wednesday ready to finish that 2nd sleeve. I sat down with a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee (ironic in our summer heat, I know- I need to make some iced tea...) and knit my first 15 minute stretch. Then it was out the door to run several hours' worth of errands (including picking out a new cell phone, as, sadly, my old phone- the one before the Wing, died an utter and complete death, again... enough of that, time for a new phone, a cheaper phone, I already miss my Windows though, and the touch screen, cue sad violin music...)

After that excitement I felt the need for some sitting time, and knit another 15 minutes, bringing me very near sleeve completion, and thus, project completion, when I was slightly horrified to realize I had veered off-course, forgetting to copy the slight modification I had made to the 1st sleeve. While trying on sleeve one, I was a bit unhappy with the slight frumpiness I was seeing. I have rather scrawny arms, even now, well into my 30's, and well into a summer pregnancy, and, well, I decided to reign in the sleeves just a bit by going down a needle size on the ribbed section. So there I was, merrily knitting along, and oh, on about rnd 24 out of 27 rnds of ribbing before the bind-off, I realized I was still using a size 11 needle... not wanting one frumpy sleeve opposite one just about perfect sleeve, I had no choice but to rip.

I hate ripping. I hate backtracking. I hate feeling like I've wasted my time. I also hate that feeling I get when I realize how pointless worrying about lost time is- I mean more time is lost lamenting the lost time... so I ripped, and I reknit, and I almost managed to finish with 7 skeins- I was on rnd 26 (of 27), with only 2 rnds and then the bind-off, to go, when I had to break into skein 8... and use an entire yard or two... oh well, I'm thinking that baby boy will appreciate a cute little Natural Strky Brown sweater (I have 2 more skeins in my stash!)

I sat down to knit my last few rnds after supper, wove in the last couple ends, got all my little people off to bed, and sat down with a sigh of satisfaction. Another project complete. I think I only needed 1 extra 15 minute knit-sprint-session, bringing me in at right about 9 hours and 45 minutes, and considering that I often finished whatever row/rnd I was on when my timer read 15 minutes, I would estimate this to be about a 10 hour sweater, the kind of thing one could finish in 2 or 3 days if knitting obsessively... me, I knit it in 10 days. I don't always have the time for obsessive knitting... (though some days I just take the time...)

So that makes one Cropped Cardigan and one finished, previously unfinished sock, for my TDFKAL 2008 knitting. Fun stuff. On to the Loppem!

gratuitous kid pic

Happy knitting-

ali

Oh, and this, absolutely made my day last night! That has got to be the funniest knit and accompanying story I've seen in a long, long time. Go see it, read the notes, and leave her a cute comment. Seriously. It's hilarious!