It’s more of a peninusula

Progress on the Rhinebeck sweater – real progress.

sweater3 2015-10-13

The body is done, and the both buttonbands knit, although only one of them is sewn on, but still, that will be short work. The next few days, I’ll be headed to sleeve island. I’ve got a full skein remaining, and about a third of one more, so as soon as I’m done here, I’m going to weigh both of those, split them in half, and start. I’m still a little worried about having enough yarn to finish – though I shouldn’t be. It feels like enough, but I figure that if I split the yarn in two, and run out, at least I could adjust the sleeve length to suit what I’ve got. A sweater with two matching 3/4 length sleeves is entirely wearable (at least by me) but a sweater with 1.5 sleeves is a look I don’t think I can rock. I’m off to meetings for the rest of the day, but I’m cool with being the crazy knitting lady in meetings, so with any luck at all, I’m actually going to have a finished sweater by the time I get to New York.

Is it my imagination, or does this seem to be going a little too well?

72 thoughts on “It’s more of a peninusula

  1. Sometimes things are allowed to go well. Hope you have a great time at Rhinebeck! Can’t wait to see some pictures (hint hint).

    • Yes, that’s what I was going to say. Not everything has to have a nail-biting finish. I think you’ll enjoy it just as much if it ends up having gone well. There’s always next time for more drama.

  2. You could push the finished sleeve up to the length of the unfinished, no one would really notice. Except that one person, who always notices any flaw you have. There is always one. But, the good news is, they are annoying, so who cares what they say? 🙂 This is why you are so brillant to divide the yarn. Now, there will be no flaws to find. 🙂

  3. My gut says you’ve got it, Stephanie! And you’ve hedged your bet with the 3/4 length sleeves option. Have a rockin’ good time at Rhinebeck.

  4. Knitting sleeves in a meeting will help. Besides the bike rally loves knitters, you introduced them to how wonderful we are. They need to see you in action.

    I am also looking forward to pictures from Rhinebeck. It has been decades since I was there. Yeah my sister and I sold weaving yarn there in the 1970s!

  5. One darn good looking sweater! (I had been musing over that pattern just before you announced your choice.)
    You do knit like the wind so I’m betting you’ll finish and still be awake to enjoy Rhinebeck. Do take lots of pictures for us. Hoping you all have lovely, cool-to-chilly weather to enjoy wearing all that wool. (NCal has just been too hot!)

  6. Gorgeous sweater. I always have to question the pattern. Is there a reason why those button bands could not have been knit right on to the body – like cast on X many stitches more on each front? It looks like they are just ribbed. You’ve done a speedy good job!

    • Doreen you make a good point and one that I feel experienced enough to answer. A band that’s knitted seperately and sewn on gives the cardigan a better structure and firmer edge that one knitted as part of the fronts. There’s less likelihood of the edge sagging.

  7. I am planning to do this same thing with the cardigan I am working on (well once I pick up and knit the button band, which I have been procrastinating about for months), weigh the yarn I have left once that’s done and divide in half so the sleeves will be the same length. It’s a discontinued yarn I bought from someone on Ravelry and I’m not sure I will have enough.

  8. Very clever, I don’t think that I would have thought of dividing yarn for sleeves. I am in awe of the way that you blow through projects. All the best with the sweater deadline!

  9. Recently I was asked by someone to stop knitting at an event. There was a speaker, it was a very large gathering, I was in the way way way back of the room and, no exaggeration, the only person who could see that I was knitting was this guy. I agreed, because I am nothing if not polite, and the guy proceeded to spend the rest of the event on his phone.

    • That makes me so annoyed. I really wouldn’t have been able to control myself from not knitting. Good for you for taking the high road.

    • I would have done the same thing – take the high road, be the polite Canadian – UNTIL he fired up his phone. Then all bets would have been off. For every word he spoke, I’d knit a stitch and stare him down. But then I’m nasty like that sometimes.
      Chris S in Canada

  10. Fiercest lions at the final gates! Be ware of potential snags (cats, knitting stuck in car door, plethora of dropped stitches after knitting needle gets stuck in car door, toddlers, more toddlers, too much wine for early celebration). Otherwise, you are in good form and sure to finish early and with minimal stress.

  11. If you finish early, that will leave more time for pictures! I have hopes of making a sweater someday, for now I am content to admire yours. Have a wonderful time.
    p.s. beware the lure of Rheinbeck. A friend from my knit and natter group went last and we have not seen her since. If you see a lost Marylander please send her home!

    • I have to admit that I loved the oven story. I gasped in horror but I think of Steph as so fast, so skilled, so accomplished, so smart – so beyond who I am as a knitter. The oven story – it humanized her (and maybe it made me feel a little less inferior because I could say “Why what was she thinking? I’d never put a sweater in the oven.) 🙂

  12. Congrats on the peninsula. See you at Rhinebeck…I hope. I will be in the fleece barn this year! YEAH! Won’t be able to buy anything as we are up to our necks in a house purchase..but, that’s okay. There is always the CT Sheep and Wool in April 2016.

    bjr

    • I think they knit from the top down onto the stitches on the holders. So both at once would be a little hard to do. weighing should work.

    • One of the great things about knitting your own garment is choosing the buttons. Thank goodness we all have our own ‘personal taste’ or we would be squabbling over the same ones. I think we can trust that Stephanie likes these buttons and believes they will enhance this beautiful garment she is making.

    • If Stephanie likes them (since she can see them in person), terrific! If she doesn’t, maybe they are placeholder buttons with button shopping on the list for the festival?

  13. Maybe those white/cream buttons are just placeholder buttons for the button holes and Steph intends some lovely wooden buttons instead to grace the sweater?

  14. All of this sweater progress is making me giddy. And itching to cast on my very first (yarn just arrived in the mail). Just have to finish these pesky christmas present gloves. At least they’re baby alpaca and knitting up at the speed of light.

  15. Knit on… gosh, it’s many years since I saw a pattern with a separate sew-on button band – my friend’s mom always made her cardigans like that! Though I hasten to add your cardigan looks lovely and not in the style of my friend’s mom’s cardigans… ;o
    Good luck with the sensible sleeve plan, isn’t it good to be on the short side sometimes?! 🙂

  16. I think by saying you are worried about the yarn, you have avoided a possible jinxing. Good luck! I’m predicting those sleeves take you no time at all.

  17. The color of your sweater is so beautiful. I need to become more comfortable with knitting in public. I think the answer is just doing it more.

  18. I’m amazed that you got that done over the holiday weekend. I’ve been slowly knitting along on a single sock for a while now. I mostly just seem to carry yarn as a talisman these days rather than doing much knitting. Bravo and good luck on the sleeves! It’s going to be a gorgeous sweater.

  19. I guess this is not the place brag that I started my Rhinebeck shawl on Tuesday, finished it on Wednesday night and blocked it on Friday.

    • That’s ridiculously impressive. I almost feel cheated for you that you didn’t get a longer time of joy from that one Work-In-Progress. I guess you get to the ‘I can cast on something new’ joy pretty quickly, though. Enjoy Rhinebeck!

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