Lookie! I got a sleeve done! Unfortunately I still don’t think I’m going to be done with the whole sweater by Sunday, but once in a while, miracles do happen. So, just in case I’m due for one, I’m going to keep at it. Either way, I can taste FO status coming. C’mon everybody, say it with me now:
I think I can
I think I can
I think I can
My favorite part of the sleeve is the little cuff, with the split cuff on the inside so it flips up so cute. It’s a little hard to see in the photo because the sleeve cuff is blending in with the sleeve right there, but I happen to think it’s darling. I did sort of wing it as I went, but I was smart enough to make notes on the sleeve as I worked it so that I could replicate the same sleeve on the other side.
Wanna see the cute little buttons I found?
closeup of button for baby sweater
My mom and I went shopping at Jo Ann’s over the weekend. The buttons say “genuine shell” on them, which I suppose means they’re made of seashells, but who knows? I hope they are. In any case, I think they’re a great match for the colors in the sweater.
Ok, I better shut up now and keep knitting. Keep the positive vibes coming! I’m feelin’ it!
Thanks to those who commented via the comments and Plurk. As you can see, I did start the sleeves. The first one is getting close to being done, but alas I have admitted to myself that there is absolutely no way that I can get the sweater done by the baby shower next Sunday. It’ll be close. As long as I can get it done by September 1, which at the moment seems more reasonable, I should be ok!
I’m glad now that I have two pairs of each size of smaller needles in Harmonies. I actually had the sweater on the 24″ needles, but also had a pair of 40″ needles. I knit the sweater body onto the 40″ needles and started the sleeve in the round with the 24s. I incorrectly stated the other day that I was using size 2.5 mm needles; I was wrong. They’re 2.25. I like the nice, dense fabric I’m getting, which despite the light weight of the fabric should still make for a fairly warm sweater. I don’t think I’ll be doing a baby sweater with really thin sock yarn any time again soon, though… this one is taking me forever!
Oh, and in case you’re interested, here’s a closeup of the cables:
closeup of cables
I didn’t like them at first but they are growing on me. It’s a simple braid, over 12 rows, crossing on row 5 and row 11. It’s a much more relaxed braid than the 8 row variety that is my usual favorite, so the relaxed look wasn’t doing it for me at the beginning. But as fussy as this yarn is I wanted to spread the cable crossings out a bit so that the yarn would be easier to work with. Did it help? Not sure, but I bet it probably did. I found the cables fussy to do as it is, and had to fix them several times during the process. I’m not quite done with the body length yet, so there may yet be more fixing up of this sweater as I near its finish, but I do think I’m finally getting the hang of it. We’ll see.
The title of today’s post is a nod to my favorite podcast, Cast On, and its wonderful host, Brenda Dayne. She seems to be struggling a bit with a podcast format/frequency schedule that works for her. I just wanted to give a shout out and say to Brenda that I love Cast On, and will take it in whatever way works best. Just please don’t go away. I need Cast On for the connectivity to knitters, much the same way that you say you need it. I’m glad you’re back and can’t wait for the next one, whenever it happens to be.
Over and out… I actually have to put the knitting down for the night and make some progress on some writing I’m doing. Yuck. I’d rather knit.
Congratulations on being able to achieve that which so many thought would never be done again. I am a fellow Marylander, and, with the exception of a minor dozing off incident last night, I have been watching you with most rapt attention and cheering you along.
But you see, Mr. Phelps, therein lies the problem. I have this deadline to meet. And with you being on TV nearly every night for a week now it has been hard to pay attention to what I need to do. I know you understand about making it to the finish line in time. Mine is next Sunday, and I’m never, ever going to make it if your races continue to be this exciting. I just can’t take it! I’ll never make it to the end this way.
So, do me a favor, and just knock that last one out of the park, ok? No more nail biters. I know you can do it. A nice, boring win for the last one would be ok. I’m rooting for you.
Thanks very much,
Nervous Knitter in Maryland
What Should I do?
baby sweater progress
I’m thinking at this point I should cut the yarn at the end of the row, pick up and do the sleeves, then go back and do the body. Maybe that way, I’ll have a better chance of having a completed object by next weekend? I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Please leave me your opinion!
When you knit something as small as a baby sweater on size 2.5 mm needles, progress can seem slower than slow, and very ungratifying. Especially for a sometimes hyper ADD knitter such as myself, who wants it all, and wants it all, NOW. Some time ago I read on Kelley Petkun’s blog that she uses a row marker to help her track her daily progress. She was particularly impatient with the progress of her plain black socks for Socks for Soldiers, and this little row marker thing seemed to help.
So I got myself some row markers, and I’m giving it a try. What you see here is my progress since this morning, which doesn’t seem like a lot, until you remember that I work full time and so I only have had some commute knitting and a wee bit of time after dinner so far today. And, need I say it again? This sweater has more stitches per row than my giant brown ripple afghan (sadly, still in progress). Big blankets are a challenge to do because of the size of the project. But, I’m discovering, so are tiny baby clothes in sock yarn with small needles. These itty bitty miracles of knitting are actually, quite deceptively, enormous.
Did I mention that the shower is on the 24th? That’s right folks, 11 days to go. Yikes.
And, for the record, here is today’s shot of the whole sweater. See? I am really getting there:
baby sweater progress report
But alas, this is my own personal Olympics. Finishing this would be as good as gold to me.
We had a sudden downpour this afternoon that included tiny, marble-sized balls of hail. (Haildrops? Whatever.) I tried to catch a photo of the action:
rain and hail on a Sunday afternoon
Meanwhile, not a whole lot of action on the inside today, either:
baby sweater in progress
Does it look any bigger than it did the other day? The stitches are so tiny that sometimes it’s hard to tell, even after what feels like a lot of work. The kids will be away at Mom’s for most of the week though, so I imagine that there will be much knitting. Wish me luck!
Back to the Swimming… er, watching the swimming. While knitting. Come on, you knew what I meant.
Ack! Just found out yesterday that the baby shower for the recipient of this baby sweater is in two weeks! I don’t think I’m gonna make it, but I’m gonna try!
So here’s today’s update:
closeup of the cable section of the sweater
This is the cable I twisted at the pool this evening just before coming home. No dropped stitches, yay! I was having my doubts about this cable in the beginning but now I think it’s starting to look nice.
I did take a break away from the knitting today to get a totally new “do”:
my new haircut
I’ve been wanting wash-and-go hair for quite a while now. Mostly because I wear lots of hats in the winter and my hair always gets so smashed up in my hats because it’s so fine. But now, all I need is a little pomade and water, and instant hairdo! Not bad, eh? Can’t wait to give it the hat test this fall.
