Sleeve Hell

So this is a knitting blog?¹ Right! A knitting blog. And I’ve been knitting some interesting things. In my last post about knitting, I mentioned getting unstuck. Though I’m entering a slow patch, it’s clear to me that this is just a time management issue (and sleeve island issue) and not a real block. Here’s where I am:

I knit the collar and started the first sleeve for the Latvian Dreaming sweater. I’m a that point about 4 inches into a sleeve where time seems like it stops. For the non knitters, allow me to describe the anatomy of the process of knitting a sleeve for a sweater.

The top of the sleeve where it hits the shoulder goes very quickly. This is ironic because the sleeve is it’s largest at this point. I think it goes quickly because you are either near the beginning (if you start at the shoulders,) and anything new seems to go just a little faster. Conversely if you start at the cuff. the top of the sleeve goes fast because it means that you are almost done.

The cuff of the sleeve and the last 4-6 inches go reasonably quickly. For the opposite reasons as the top of the sleeve, but the ideas the same. It’s either near the end or the beginning which equals a larger compulsion or interest in the knitting.

There are about 4 inches near the top of the sleeve which take forever, because the knitting never seems to grow no matter how much you knit and or measure. This is, I think a product of the fact that sleeves are a much larger proposition than anyone expects and there’s a lot of knitting to be done in a sleeve. I think this feeling is properly thought of as “sleeve hell,” but you can call it whatever you want.

The remaining 6-8 or so inches go slowly, but not too slowly and in that can be pretty therapeutic, once you realize that you are making progress and that you may actually like the sweater you’re knitting.

So that’s where I am, anyone have any other theories?