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February 10, 2005
Out of Order
We all have our quirks, and one of mine is a resistance to planning ahead when it's avoidable. Knitting a sweater usually goes like this: Wind one skein of yarn into a ball, start knitting. When finished with first ball, wind another skein into a ball and continue knitting. Repeat until all pieces are finished. Block all pieces. Wait for pieces to dry. Seam all pieces. Remember I need buttons. Go buy buttons. Attach buttons.
There's nothing wrong with it, per se, but the system is wracked with inefficiencies. Why not wind all the skeins at one time? Why let the first few finished pieces sit there, balled-up in a pile, when they could be blocking? (And imagine the heartache I would avoid if by blocking the first piece before going on to the next, I discovered gauge problems early!) And why wait to buy buttons when I usually end up buying them from the exact same place I got the yarn?
The lack of a schematic and crazy gauge instructions in the pattern had me on heightened alert for problems as I started the black cardi. It's not been easy knitting, either: the combination of "sticky" yarn and equally sticky bamboo needles leads to tired, achy hands and arms, even with frequent breaks. By the time I started shaping the armholes on the first piece, I vowed that I would block and measure it to make sure that my gauge was OK before knitting even one stitch on the next.
Long story short: I'm well on my way to my first well-planned sweater.
Posted by shannon at February 10, 2005 11:43 AM