Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Yarn Along: CATASTROPHE APPALLING

I sped through the decreases on my Ramona last week, and knit about five inches on the body in the process. When I finished the ninth and final set of decreases on Sunday night, I pulled out my pattern to see what was next.  That's when I noticed it.

[ominous thunderclap]

The 4 rows I had been repeating over and over were supposed to be only two rows--neither of which included a decrease. My sweater had dwindled down and now had 32 stitches fewer than intended.  There was nothing for it. I had to rip back.
The best decision I made was to both frog back and get the work back on the needles properly before heading to bed. I woke up and was able to muster up the fortitude to march onward. The only evidence of my blunder is the tidy ball sitting atop the cake of yarn, marking just how much knitting was lost. I'm really looking forward to hitting that cake again and finally putting this fiasco behind me.  Still, I haven't knit much on it since.  Time heals all wounds, I imagine.
When I wasn't dealing with my unruly cardigan, I was finishing up my final two skeins of mohair/wool handspun. I keep coming back to this vest, despite the gauge discrepancy (about 12 stitches/4 inches instead of 16 on size 8s, the smallest needle that can comfortably manage this bulky yarn). There is also the troubling fact that I have less than 300 yards of this yarn with no hope of obtaining more fiber. My only prospect would be to mingle it with commercial yarn.  Eh, it is actually impossible. So why do I keep pulling up the pattern and remeasuring my gauge, hoping for a miracle?  
 
I've also spun up the delightful Moonshadow fiber and plyed it with this Romney fiber.  Recently I went through my fiber stash and paired each single braid up with something similar to stretch them all a bit further.  Next up?  This yellow gradient paired with this lemon curd braid.  I'll chain ply them separately to preserve the gradient but ultimately plan to knit them in the same project--like a kid's sweater with lemon curd sleeves and the gradient as the body.  
Outlander continues on. With lots of car time in the near future, I imagine I'll make some headway this week.  I also ripped through Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1 and began The Road after they were mentioned here.  The graphic novel even contained a little knitting.
Hey, if the world went to hell in a hand basket, I'd get out my needles too.

8 comments:

Juliann in WA said...

I did a similar thing with a shawl recently. Alas, we have not made up and the yarn and needles have been banished from sight for now.

Christine N said...

It's almost less frustrating to rip back and get it all set up for recovery before you leave the project sit for a while. Still, it's always a pain and the pain is always worth it! I hope you're able to make up for the ripped yardage just as fast as you knit it the first time around. Good luck!

Melissa Marie said...

The comic strip is too funny! I really dislike pulling out my knitting, so I definitely know that feeling. But the sweater looks beautiful and I love the color!

momto5 said...

OH NO! i hope you can get thru your yarn ball and back to the cake soon. :P

Donna said...

It does get very defeating to have to rip back rows and rows of knitting. Your spinning is beautiful so hopefully that brings some happiness!

elizabeth said...

Oh dear! this happens doesn't it! so sorry! but what a PRETTY purple... such a calm lavender colour!!!

Fun spinning!

I am sure you will be back at it and past where you were on that sweater in no time! it is a lovely one!!!

Unknown said...

I feel your pain!

Juliana said...

I totally feel your pain! I've frogged and recast on the green cardigan I"m working on FIVE times. It's the dumb button band that keeps hanging me up. I'm hoping this is lucky number five, because I'm really starting to get somewhere with the length, finally.

Those homespun yarns are lovely! I tried spinning a long time ago, but really couldn't get the hang of it. Your yarn is just goregous!! (Also: I need another fiber hobby like I need a hole in the head...ha!)