Ups and Downs

I took this photo first thing in the morning.  You can see from where the marker is just how much I got done the day before.  

I took this photo In the late afternoon, just before I put it away for the day.  I already had the marker set up for the today, but you can see that the side below the underarm is longer. This is not a fast knit. I only get in a few rows a day, but with a marker, I am seeing the progress.

I took this picture because this was the point in the project where I am starting to look hard at the yarn usage.  A big part of me is screeching " Eeeeeeeeep".  There is about half a skein of grey yarn attached to the sweater and these four balls.  That is it from my full bag of ten skeins of the grey. The half fisherman's rib is using up yarn at an amazing pace.

I know how long I want the sweater to be but I am, as usual, starting to feel as if I am going to be short of yarn. I won't be.  There is plenty, but it is time to manage the yarn.  I think after the ball I am working with at the moment is used up, I am going to knit the sleeves.  That way, I can finish the body by knitting till I run out of yarn.  

It doesn't look like a lot of knitting, but I can only work for a little here and there through the day.  The double stranded yarn makes for heavier work and I am trying to take care.  I am getting in some knitting time on other things in lighter yarns.

I pulled out this pair of socks.  This is one of my favourite yarns, Cotton Fun, an older Mielenweit sock yarn.  It is a bend of cotton and wool and is just a pleasure to knit with and wear.  I had a sock half knit and then realized I was not enjoying the stitch pattern, so I switched patterns and started again.  

I was so deep into thinking about the changes my feet have gone through, and deep into the pattern and the yarn, that I did a silly thing.  I knit the pattern the whole way around the foot and I kept doing it even after I realized it and knew that a lace pattern on the sole of a foot was never going to work.  Purpose made holes on a sock sole are not smart.  It was hard to face.  I stepped back and did not touch or even think about this sock for a good long time.  I was so deep into the dream of this sock, but I found some gumption, pulled it back to the toe and restarted.

I marked the front and the back with clunky stitch markers to keep the lace only on the top of the foot.  I have no idea why, but even with the markers, I found I had to really be careful and focus on what part of the foot I was working on.  I guess this is why most of my socks are plain vanilla socks.  

After all this trauma, I pulled out something solid and simple and sensible, the worsted weight socks.

Sock two of this pair is underway.  It is nice and plain all the way around the foot.  

Even though sweater knitting is going well, it felt like it was one of 'those' days. I don't like that feeling but the things that don't go so well are a part of knitting too.

No worrying about sock feet or yarn management today. I must tidy the sewing room aka the spare bedroom today so I can do some sewing.  After a weekend, chatting with Cassie about clothes and things we could use in our wardrobes, I feel the urge for something new.