Feb 28, 2012

The Cardigan Chronicles: Day 107

I hope you'll indulge me as I post about my cardigan again today.  It's day 107, and I'm inching ever closer to my target date for completion (it's this Friday, if you remember).  Thanks to all of you who commented yesterday, and offered both words of wisdom and empathy.  I was feeling so dashed but knowing you're with me here really helps.


Privately, I had two very special people send me incredible notes on how to salvage what I had already done.  My KAL partner reminded me about the notes she made when knitting the sleeves, but I had already taken those into account.  I suppose somehow I still managed to knit more than I needed to in the sleeve cap.  She also suggested blocking the cardigan before setting in the sleeves which is an interesting idea.



Gail sent me incredible notes on the construction of sleeve caps to help me better understand how they should fit into an arm opening and was a true cheerleader in trying to convince me that perhaps all was not lost.


I thought a lot about both what Wei Siew and Gail shared with me and I sat with my cardigan for a good long while last night before I decided to do something completely radical.  Okay, maybe not radical but definitely different than what the pattern calls for.  I searched the Web and found a great tutorial on how to knit sleeves from the top down.




So, I threw caution to the wind, told everyone in my family that I was to be undisturbed, and followed along.

I had to frog back once as I messed up the short rows the first time -- they were not evenly spaced -- but the second time worked like a charm.




There are a few spots that pucker just a tiny bit, but I think that might happen even if I set in sleeves so I'm hoping that once I block the cardigan, the piece will smooth out including the front rib which is pulling up a good inch or so.




I'm feeling so much better this morning and re-energized about this project. Thanks again to  all my blogger friends -- I hope you know how much it means to me that you visit me here and offer me so much support. And to Wei Siew, fingers crossed that we'll soon be able to wear our cardigans at the same time!  

14 comments:

  1. Wow! Interesting solution! I would be far too lazy to do the sleeves again in their entirety - kudos to you!

    I'm glad you're feeling better about it!

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    1. Thanks, Gail. Strangely enough, it just felt easier to start afresh than to frog back and reconfigure the maths!

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  2. Brilliant! Well done for hanging in there and finding a solution!

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    1. Thanks for the pat on the shoulder -- fingers crossed that it's smooth sailing from here on out!

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  3. Awesome video! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Wouldn't have thought about that, sounds like a good solution, glad it's coming along for you.

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  5. Wow, I wish I had seen that video last year. I had a sleeve failure on one of my sweaters and after knitting the sleeves over twice (!) I just picked up the sleeves at the armhole and knit straight down, doing decreases after the elbow. As you can imagine, that sweater has an ugly pouch in the armpit area and every time I wear it I have to remind myself to keep my arms close to my sides.
    Can't wait to see the FO, friday or not. ^_^

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  6. What an incredible learning experience
    WITH A GREAT AND WONDERFUL REWARD IN THE END

    I'm so looking forward to more of your project.

    hugs
    Gerry

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  7. Isn't the knitting community just fantastic! We all care about each other so much! I'm overjoyed to hear that you are still working on the project AND that you may have fixed it! This will be the most beautiful sweater ever, I just know it! Cannot wait for friday!!!

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  8. I'm fairly sure that once this is done, you'll find this is the cardigan you reach for whenever you need one. You go girl! Mine gets a daily wearing!

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  9. how resourceful you are! As a fellow knitter I'm cheering for you. Once you finish, you'll be so proud. I would be. I can't wait see the finished product!

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  10. I love your radical fix! The sweater is looking great. I know that it will be more beautiful in the end because of your persistence.

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  11. ooh, the sleeves look great, and kudos for trying a new sleeve technique!! any puckering will probably block out out later on, I think.

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