D'oh

I had a moment yesterday and I have to tell you, after all this time, I kind of feel a bit stupid.  

I was talking and thinking yesterday about the length from armscyce to hem and why the 10 inches worked sometimes and did not work sometimes.  And I now understand why.  

It hit me that I shouldn't only be taking the under the arm length into account, but that I had to look at the length of the arm itself into account.  It was a sort of "d'oh" moment.  I felt so dumb that I had never thought of that part before.  

The space that I leave for my arms can vary quite a bit depending on the style of shoulder and the general construction of the sweater.  A set in sleeve fits a bit closer all over so I am more likely to go between 9 and 10 inches for the sleeve depth.  On a sweater like the Work Sock sweater, I seem to end up varying between 10 and 11.5 inches.  Follow the pattern?  Heck no.  I don't for one reason and that is that I am a full inch shorter from shoulder to armpit than standard measurements.  

Knowing that comes from sewing and my struggles to make garments that fit my body at my shoulders and my hips.  Somewhere back in time I got hold of this book.  

She has a personal measurements chart with several unusual measurements.  In comparison to a standard commercial pattern that is.  It was a real help in sewing and has been a big help in my knitting life too.  Nowadays, there is great information about this stuff online, but back in the day, all we had was books.

I measured yesterday and I know what I need to get the right length before the ribbing.  Another good inch of knitting is before me.  I didn't get quite as much done yesterday as I hoped.  My hands were not cooperating well and I took a bit of a snooze while I was knitting.  Thank heavens it is all stockinette now .  

Now it is time for my morning coffee.  And breakfast too.  I feel good this morning so I might even make some buns!  I feel energetic before coffee.  What is this world coming to?   

Just a bit more

I just need to knit a little bit more.  The sweater is not quite long enough to start the ribbing.  

I am measuring against my favourite top which says 10 inches at the start of the ribbing split.  It should work to use that measurement for other sweaters but.  But.  I did it for the Blue Cones sweater and it's too short.  Not by  much but it isn't optimal.  I left a note for myself to go an inch or two longer.  And that is where I am at.  I should be able to get to the length I want today.

It's so exciting to be at this point on a sweater.  It is the land of I can see the end even if there are a fair few weeks of work left.   

The Joy of Giant Balls of Yarn

There are some big wins around here, even while I am feeling ornery.  My Work Sock sweater is one of those.  

It looks so very good.  And I am not even worried about running out of yarn! From the armscye, to the current length is 9 inches!  Forever 5 inch measuring has been well defeated.  Almost ready for the ribbing I plan.  

Lots left on my current giant ball and more than enough for sleeves plus on the last ball. 

I cannot tell you how much fun it is working from these giant Australian balls of yarn.  Would that all yarn came in giant balls.  When I bought this yarn, I thought it would be a one off buy, but I don't know.  There may be more Bendigo yarn in my future just for the pleasure of the giant balls.  Irresponsible with the size of my stash but there it is.  I am utterly in love with Bendigo Wollen Mills Classic.

I have a good full day of work before I switch out to knit the sleeves.  I think.  I am concerned (though I don't really know why) about running out of the cream and red yarn I will use on the ribbing.  

There is 400 metres on each ball.  Surely that is plenty for cuffs, neck and bottom rib?  I'm not worried about the red.  There will be plenty of red but the cream might get tight.  My plan is to knit the neck band and sleeve cuffs first and then to knit the bottom rib so that if the cream is running low, I can work right to the bitter end.  

It's probably getting to be time for my coffee.  Time to get some chores done too.  I would much rather be knitting but chores are important too.  Or so I've been told.