There is Little More Frustrating...

...than searching for a new ball of sweater yarn, only to realize that you're inexplicably out of said colorway. The pattern calls for two 25 gram balls of Twilight, and I'm woefully short. I knew that my row gauge was significantly smaller than the target, but I wasn't expecting to be quite this off. I've barely started the first sleeve, in fact! The worst part is that I can't remember if I have used both balls already or if I've misplaced one of them. Perhaps ball number two was a victim to the Great Move of 2007. Who knows? I think there is a Lincoln Park yarn store that sells Jamieson. (Any Chicagoans happen to remember the name of it? That would save me a trip to Des Plaines, or, even worse, Lake Forest.)

Running out of yarn is really only the icing on the cake. I had decided, before the Twilight yarn ran out, to take a break from knitting the sleeve to work on the collar. My decision was based not so much on the idea that I needed a break from sleeve knitting. Rather it was because of the fact that I accidentally broke my waste yarn stitch holder over the collar and dropped about 10 stitches in the process. Ergh.

Not only that, but I suspect that this sweater sleeve has been sleeping with the Gusset of Doom. My sock gussets usually consist of about 20 sets of decreases, alternating every row, for a total of 40 rows starting at 90-some stitches per row. This sleeve gusset, on the other hand, starts at 161 stitches per row, and decreases every third row for 72 rows, then every other row for 32 rows. At last count, I had only reached about halfway through the 72 rows. I guess the good news is that the rows can only get faster. But then I have a whole other sleeve to look forward to. I wonder if sweater knitters develop a Second Sleeve Syndrome similar to some sock knitters. Are there a whole bunch of one-sleeved sweaters in the world as a result?

So, as you can imagine, I haven't really felt that inspired recently about knitting. Between the recent vacation to Cape Breton, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and our most recent contra dance tour, I've had a lot of other things to think about. I'm sure the slump will soon end, though, after I figure out how much additional yarn I need to order from wherever it is I need to order it from.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Unlurking to ask a dumb question (oh yes there are. But they,re easier to handle than dumb mistakes!): I keep trying to access the "two color partridge heel" but all I get is a message saying "nope, this is not available for the likes of you, try retyping the widget or go back and try again" Well, that is paraphraged a bit. Anyway, please can you direct me to where I gotta go in order to find this topic? Thanks much!
Mauren Mureaux said…
Psst, Peter Martin says hi. He and his family were at the annual campout we attended July 19th-22nd, at the Indiana Dunes. It was wonderful to have him drumming and playing flute with us this year!

I've not blogged it yet, but have pics uploaded to Flickr, so maybe later today.

I actually started a conversation with him by saying, "Hey Peter, i read this blog by The two Sock Knitters. They're musicians who recently moved from Oak Park out to her father's place in the burbs..."

And he looked at me with this dazed and amazed expression and said, "Meg and Jonathan! I was wondering where you were going with this conversation and thought...oh surely not."

What a hoot!
Anonymous said…
Second Sock Syndrome ~ Sleeve Island

I wonder if it would be that much worse if you were making a sweater for an octopus
Franklin said…
Second sleeve? Oh hell, duckie. I have this koigu vest that's been sitting in my basket for a year waiting for a second armhole. Mostly because I have to rip out and re-do the first armhole. And somehow the idea of about eight shortish rounds of garter stitch just saps me.

I sympathize.
Kimknits said…
I can pick up the yarn you need from the LF shop (live nearby). Can let that beautiful sweater sit unfinished.
Anonymous said…
You said "Chicagoland"? Cool, I knew there was a reason you were so cool. I was born in Aurora, raised in Montgomery, went to college in Naperville. I am actually heading back up there this week for a visit with my sister and dad. Dad's still in the house I grew up in and sister's in Aurora, west side. I'll think of you while I'm there...
Kathy,

We're actually slightly east of Naperville in Unincorporatedland. So we're not far off at all. Enjoy your visit.
Sarah said…
I know of a shop just over the Indiana border that Jamieson for sure. If you need it still, drop me a line. I go there pretty often to see family.

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