24 Hours Later

9 p.m.

When I left off last night, I was up to the cable part on the shoulders. At this point, the sweater is requiring a lot of attention as I am keeping track of sleeve decreases, front and back decreases, (which are a different kind and at different intervals than the sleeve decreases), and change every several rows, the cable chart pattern and the cable section decreases.

I get an inch or so into the cable, and decide I don't like it. It was hard to see from the magazine photo, and I didn't realize it had all this seedstitch in it. It isn't just seedstitch in the center, with smooth "twists" (I don't know what to call them) around the edges, but the seedstitch in the center becomes the seedstitch around the outside as you move up, with smooth stockinette centers, and it alternates like that.

Anyway, I'm explaining it badly, but the point is, I thought it looked sloppy. I decided to change it to a smooth cable. Faced with the option of ripping about 10 rounds and figuring out all those raglan decreases again, I opted to ladder down to change it:

10 p.m.

I always kind of cringe when I do this, but then I am amazed at how quickly the fix knits up. So much quicker than all those rounds of knitting.

10:30 p.m.

I like the smoother cable better, but it is still a little weird. The right side crosses to the right 2 rounds before the left side crosses. Can you tell it's a little lopsided? I still didn't like it, so I laddered that left side down and changed it again.

Midnight.

I am happy with the cable. Actually, I love the cable. I am extremely obsessed with finishing, as I am dying to try this sweater on and see how it fits. I really need to transfer it onto waste yarn to try it on, and I am just too tired. It is 2 hours past my bedtime, and I have to call it quits.

Then I break my cardinal rule. That "Don't try it on when it's late at night, you're tired, you aren't wearing the proper undergarments, and its not finished so it will look like crap, and you will go to bed depressed" Rule.

Not only did I try it on, I didn't take the time to switch it to waste yarn, so I lost lots of stitches, including a decrease, while I tried it on. Of course, it looked like crap, and I went to bed unhappy.

4:30 am

I wake up. I think about the sweater. Next to me, my beloved is snoring like King Kong. I creep downstairs to the sofa. I toy with the idea of getting out the sweater. I know I shouldn't, but I really want to. I close my eyes, and try to sleep. It works. I get three more hours of sleep.

7:30 a.m.

Knitting and making toast. I've really got the cables and the decreases memorized, and I'm keeping track of everything with little hanging markers. I'm decreasing like mad and it's going really fast.

Intermission: doing other stuff.

12:00

I get to the point of the turtleneck, all the decreasing is done, and all I have to do is knit straight up the turtleneck. I only have a couple more cable crosses to keep track of, it's smooth sailing.

Can you see what happened to me here? Another Bryspun cable incident. It broke at the join, 2 rounds from the finish line, on the row right above a cable cross, causing a loss of a couple of rows.

Ok, another break, doing other stuff.

I finish it up and try it on. I am super happy with this sweater! It fits really well. It was too dark this afternoon to get a good photo, plus I still have to weave in ends, and sew up the small underarm section. Here's a preview. Hopefully better pictures to come this weekend.

And the casting on of something new!