Don’t get too comfortable

I’m almost at the end of this mad sprint, this thing where I’m teaching/travelling for so many days, almost in a row, and the end is in sight.  I’m stopped in here at home just long enough to wash my clothes – I literally take them out of the suitcase, run them through the washer and put them back again. The only thing that changes in the suitcase is the knitting. This last go round, I got on a plane and trotted off to Minneapolis for Yarnover, and to teach at StevenBe as a little cherry on the Minnesota cake, and my project was Cladonia. I didn’t have all the time to knit it that I thought I would (see previous post/cautionary tale) but it’s almost done now, after only a few days, and I think that if all goes well, it will be all done before I get on another plane on Friday for the Make Wear Love Retreat in California.  (I know I keep mentioning this, but I love that my job is to travel from knitting island to knitting island.  I had complete camnesia this weekend (didn’t take a single picture) but Yarnover and StevenBe were so great, and despite the travel fatigue that’s slowly killing me (just a few more days man) I love it all. Every retreat and event has it’s own personality, and I love them all. They are knitterific.)

Once I got the right needle, this shawl has proceed at lightning pace. It’s got nothing but stockinette and a little shaping through the body, then just a few rows of lace at the bottom.

cladonia 2015-04-29

I can’t tell you how much I’m sure I’m going to run out of yarn though.  I was knitting along, starting the lace bit, when it seemed to me like I had buckets of yarn. Heaps, even – so I ripped back, did a little bit more knitting, and then started the lace again, farther along. Now I can’t shake the feeling that I should have soldiered on, because what’s leftover now seems pathetically wee.  There’s nothing for it though, because I’m committed to the risk. I’m going to try to squeak it out. I’ll knit fast. That will help.*

 

*No. It won’t. 

45 thoughts on “Don’t get too comfortable

  1. I always, without exception, knit faster if I think I am going to run out of yarn. Totally illogical but I can’t help myself!!!

  2. Yarn Chicken! Your luck has been relatively good with that… I’m crossing my fingers.

    (psst, anyone want to make a bet on this one?)

  3. There’d be no shame in frogging back to where you should have started the lace, and then resuming. With luck, though, you’ll have just enough yarn and won’t have to do that.

  4. Curious to know what size needle you’re using! When I knitted the same shawl in sock yarn, I tried the recommended needle size but ended up with a size 9 to get the right fabric.

  5. You’ve faced this wall before (thinking not enough yarn left) but you’ve come through with at least an inch (25.40000mm) or two of leftover yarn.

    Keep on, keeping on!!!!

  6. Looking forward to seeing you at M.L.W. Retreat. I hope you are not all traveled out, because I’ve been SO excited about this retreat for 6 months now.

    Knitting faster is a perfectly acceptable way to deal with the fear of running out of yarn – and you know it! 🙂

  7. BTW –
    Has anyone mentioned you and Clara Parkes could pass for twins. Just take a look at your photo’s on the Make Wear Love Retreat page. I swear you two could be sisters.

  8. Definitely knit faster. I don’t know why that makes you feel like it will help the inevitable, but it does nonetheless!

  9. Pretty much in your exact shoes right now. Oh I have 120 yards more than the pattern calls for, I think I’ll knit another repeat…whoops- now I’m looking at the woeful yarn left and thinking I will likely run out of yarn too. What did I do last night after I realized this? Knit faster. As always Steph you are on the money!

  10. I don’t know if this is what you want to hear, but the Cladonia in the Caterpillargreen yarn which you linked to last time, lists the yardage as one and a half skeins. If that is what you are trying to make, there may be trouble.

  11. Hi, Stephanie,
    Love the pretty shawl. Maybe the folks at Grasshopper have a wee little skein of whatever color you will be doing last. Or even of any of the colors as it is already striped. Many of my shawls have a fetching border “trim” of a contrast color (black is a fav) because I ran out of yarn. One even has a sparkle yarn on the last few rows and when I wear it, everyone comments on how much they like it there.
    Julie in San Diego

  12. I wish I’d known you would be in Pacific Grove!!! It was a yearly trip for us when I lived in CA, but now I’m in Boise, Idaho and I only get to go when I’m back in CA for a visit (which was in late March). Just missed it!!!! Enjoy PG – it’s an incredibly gorgeous spot and has one of my favorite yarn shops, Monarch Yarns…..so jealous….

  13. It will totally be fine! Knitting faster always works, so keep it up! Safe travels, Harlot. And wishing you quiet time with your family once you’re planted back home.

  14. Good thing the design considers a contrasting color border or cast-off. I’m sure you can come up with something interesting! (This is a lot less cheery than: go for it, Steph, you can do it!). Just that I know it will be a knockout either way, it’s just a matter of how much more ingenuity might be needed. Love those kinds of problems.

    Just started my own Cladonia, changed CC after 4 rows without frogging. Won’t know how well it’s working until quite well in but I DONT CARE. Love it lots.

  15. StevenBe saved my patoot after Stitches West this year. I picked up a skein of 3IG Springvale Worsted from them, in the Captain Rogers colorway…one hat for Little Man and almost a hat for me and I ran out of yarn. I called them, they had one, they sent it to me, and I was saved 🙂 I forever love them.

    With that said, knitting faster makes gauge tighter because you’re stressed. So, it might work…

  16. About “going gray” (saw this in your twitter feed) – go for it! It is so freeing to stop the coloring, and embrace the real color, which I call “silver”. Still growing mine out after a year (my hair is long – with quite a bit of dark hair left, too) but I love the journey. Wishing I had done it earlier! No more wondering if my gray (oops, silver) roots are showing – feels very natural now after a bit of getting used to….

  17. Minnesota and Yarnover….. I am homesick and so jealous! This is the first Yarnover i have not attended in 7 years. We moved from Minnesota to Hawaii a year ago. Call me crazy, but, i miss snow….Yarnover, Steven B’s and Shepherds harvest fiber festival.

    • Barb, I totally agree with you about snow. I miss real weather! I grew up in Minnesota and eventually ended up in Michigan for 25+ years. I moved to the San Francisco area to be near my children and grandchildren 6 years ago, and all I hear is “It’s freezing! I’m so cold!” when it’s 50 degrees. What?! My dad wouldn’t drive us to school a mile away unless it was more than 20 deg. below zero. Besides, the yarn shops in Minneapolis are outstanding. (They really need wooly stuff there.)

  18. That yarn is gorgeous and the colors remind me of a seasonal fruit salad. I can’t wait to see the finished product, what other knitting did you pack to take with you?

  19. I disagree with those who encourage you to knit faster. It’s been proven that if you are worried about running out of gas on the highway, you will drive most efficiently at 45 mph, and thus you maximize the likelihood of getting to the next gas station. I suggest you knit at a reasonable, steady 45 mph; it’s your best chance.

  20. Make. Wear. Love Retreat – how did I not know about this? Am I not paying attention? I live in northern CA. I have been to Asilomar a number of times. I get their email announcements. It is a wonderful place! Dang. Well, maybe next time….Take the time to walk the beach. If you have time and a car, drive to Carmel Beach, one of the loveliest in the world and very close by.
    Another lesson in zooming through emails and deleting spam or supposed spam learned.

  21. Oh, that rings a bell with me! LOVE the shawl and hope it works out. It looks a lot like one I just finished, but mine was silver grey, rose and olive. Right now I`m knitting an Icelandic Long Shawl in my own handspun and I know I`m going to run out of yarn. I keep knitting, hoping I`m wrong. When I`m proved correct it`s going to be a real killer to rip it all out and start over with another yarn because I`m pretty sure this is never ever going to be enough yarn for the shawl in my head. DANG!

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  23. Yardage chicken? Just as dangerous than Russian roullet cause when you run out of yarn that is discontinued…there is no recovery

  24. I love it! Knit faster to not run out of yarn. I love this shawl – been in my queue for a while. Inspiration to start it!

  25. Oh man, how did I not know this retreat was happening!!? It would have been so perfect, it’s so close to me and, coincidentally, I’ve been daydreaming about visiting that area to see the tidepools. I hope you get a chance to walk among them. The local mission is lovely too.
    Cladonia looks like it will be absolutely beautiful with that yarn, can’t wait to see it.

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