As a knitter I tend to enjoy learning new things and techniques. Like on my last post where I learnt a few things from the harlot. Well about 3 months ago I decided to join a KAL to learn how to steek a sweater. I had heard about steeking but never done it. For those who don't know this is where at some point you take a big sharp pair of scissors and proceed to cut right through your knitting, usually from top to bottom.
I know you are thinking what sane knitter would do this, but of course it has it's purpose which I shall not go into. Anyways, the sweater is a beautiful stranded cardigan from Rowan. The KAL was going to be about 8 weeks. Well, here we are at are 10th week, and although I have come a long way, it feels to me like the end of this keeps moving farther down the road. I am spending so much time on this project to try and finish it that I will probably have to go this winter without gloves, hats or scarves.
I am at the shoulder shaping part, trying desperately to remember my short row shaping and wrap pick ups. I have gone backwards as much as forwards and each day think that it would not be so bad to just drop it out of my car window and forget it ever happened. I am growing to hate this beautiful object.
Of course sometimes the best projects are the ones that were hated the most during knitting. This was certainly the case with my Shetland Shawl that is now one of my favorites.So I shall not throw this out the window. I will not accidentally have it fall into my fireplace. I won't even misplace it in a garbage can on garbage day.
No, I am going to keep moving forward. I will finish my shaping. I will block it out. I will three needle bind off the shoulders. I will seem parts of the arm. I will attach my sleeves. I will put on my ribbed bands and attach my ribbed bottoms. I will do the ribbing on the end of my sleeves. I will attach buttons. I will cut the steeks and sew them before and after. I will do the duplicate stitching.
Yes I will do all of this and hopefully sometime before I turn 80 I will have a great looking cardigan for my wife to wear.
Sure I will go hatless, mittenless, shawless, sockless and every other thing I could have knit in the meantime but I will move forward. Isn't that what us knitters do. At least the ones that have an unnaturaly strong pull to this art form.
Wish me luck!
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