I've been knitting a lot. I still don't have pictures, but I do have stories. I don't quite have 1000 words of stories, but these few hundred will probably come close.
I finished sewing up the hem and the sweater is blocking downstairs. There's a little bit of the hem which I'm a little disappointed with, but these things happen, and I'm not that worried that it will negatively affect much. I'm still undecided about closure. I think I'll probably due with out for any wearing that it gets this year, and make a mega-order of zippers in about a month if I can't find a source of good zippers locally. This sweater feels like it would proably work alright with some simple black bobble-esque buttons, so I might make little I-cord button hole tabs if it came to that.
It's still damp so we'll have to wait a while to get good pictures.
I've also been a knitting fiend of late, working on the sleeves of my sweater, which I've been working on seriously for almost a week, and will finish the end of the second sleeve this evening in all likely hood. I can't wait to start knitting on the body of a sweater again, particularly given that when I'm done with the body of this sweater, I'm done with it, because the sleeves are already done.
The problems with my knitting queue are done. Done! I can resume my normal, if a bit obsessive, knitting life, without having to drag myself through projects that I don't really want to work on, and I can look forward to the next project with hope and anticipation without guilt.
Speaking of my queue, just like my mother's self imposed goal/project of knitting ten pairs of socks before memorial day, I'm setting a goal of knitting 14 Sweaters by December 31st 2009. Which is a little bit less than a sweater every six weeks. On average.
Which is about my common rate of progress, assuming I'm not knitting huge sweaters at fine gauges like I've been doing this year. I do a stranded sweater that fits me at like 8 stitches to the inch, in six weeks, and I don't think I'll just be making stranded sweaters either. So all should work out. This goal, like my moms goal, is really not a rush, but more like an excuse to spend my time (and knitting budget) on projects that I genuinely want to work on. I love making sweaters, and would be happy to just keep knitting sweaters and nothing else. Here are some other ground rules that I'm considering as part of my challenge:
- Sweaters started before the goal was established count when they're finished. So the sweater I'm working on now, and the fine gauge gray sweater count when they're finished, even though some percentage of the knitting occurred before I've started.
- The next 144 rounds of the Pi shawl I'm working on on size zero's would count as a sweater, and if it's not done at that point, the remainder of the shawl will also count as it's own sweater. I don't expect to be working on this, however.
- At least three quarters of the sweaters I make should be my own designs and/or things that I could publish as my own. Preferably more.
Sounds fun.
I've also worked out what yarn/kinds of patterns I intend to make for the next eight sweaters I want to make. Which is also incredibly exciting, I have stash yarn enough for two sweaters, and i think I have leftovers enough so that I can knit 3 sweaters only buying 4 cones of yarn (the last two sweaters I've made I've bought 4 cones each, which while necessary, has contributed to my leftover shelf greatly.) Also surprisingly, I have, on my list, five yarns/sweaters that I want to make that are medium weight single color patters/designs/ideas. I'm thinking that it's about time for me to suck it up and knit cable work.
Anyway, hope you're having a good goyeshe yantif, I should go knit/write, I'll be in touch.
Onward and Upward!