The Longest Time

Oh, oh, oh, oh, For the longest time. Oh, oh, oh, For the longest....
I have not been updating my blog
But you see, I've hit a little jog
But I have missed you
I hope you're missing me too,
I haven't posted for the longest time!

Look closer!

Okay, so if you are among the tens of hundreds.....well.....maybe tens, who have wondered where I have been, you're lookin' at it! You'd think by now I would have learned my lesson on knit-for-hires. Apparently I am unlearnable. Every time I agree to a job I think, "This time will be different. This time I will knit on the project for a set amount of time each day. This time I will approach it as a real job that I go to. This time I will finish the sweater in advance of the due date and calmly mail it off to the designer. This time there will be no marathon (every waking and many of the sleeping minutes) knitting the week the thing is due. This time the piles of laundry and dishes will not be competing with Mt. Washington for highest peak in New Hampshire rights. This time my family won't be casting straws to decide which one of them will be sacrificed to make the tastiest meal. This time the run on ice at the corner store will be for the heat wave, not my aching hands. This time I will not cancel social engagements or doctor's appointments, leave excercise by the wayside, stop answering the phone, eating meals, getting up to go-you know-GO!, risk permanent clawed fingers, or have my husband asking around for the best divorce attorneys in the area. Nope! This time will be different."

This time was NOT different.

So. I should let you in on the details, becuase knitting is what you come here for, right? The photo of the above sweater is published here with the designer's permission, as it has not been photographed for publication just yet. It did however, make it to Ohio in time for the distributor's convention. Barely. Anyway, the yarn is Karabella Aurora 8. You must knit with this yarn! It is spongy and squishy and soft when knit up. Mmmmm, mmmmm, good! And as is usual with last minute deadlines, there was a major error to fix. Necessity being the mother of blah, blah, blah, I learned a new technique. Look at the lattice work in this photo. See it? Look again. How do you write deafening silence. No screaming, no tears, no hurling (though lunch was threatening to come up). Just stunned silence. For a minute. Then panic. Do I rip back? That's at least three hours of work. Three hours I don't have! Do I make the front the back so it isn't seen when hung up? That's two hours I don't have! This is where fear and resignation set in. A tiny voice in the back of my head is saying cut, cut, CUT, CUT! In the time it took me to talk myself into cutting that cable, I could have reknit the the thing. I decided (the designer's great idea) to try it out on my gauge swatch. That's it! Then I can decide if it will work or if additional sleep deprivation is in my future. With my handy Harmony Guide Knitting Techniques Vol. 1 and a Google search to Aven's site I took my sharpest scissors broke into a cold sweat and cut. Here's the thing. My first attempt was a success, so was my second. Everything was text book. So when I went to cut the actual sweater (the pic you just saw) I was filled with confidence and bravado. This is a cinch! Imagine the shock when I cut and saw some weird, out of place, strand of yarn going across the under part of the cable. That is why there are no more photos of the surgical procedure. I was too stunned to remember. Long story short: I cut again. Just cut it. What else could I do? Pulled everything to the back, kitchenered the stitches together, knotted off and wove in the ends and that was that. I am afraid that it is a bit more noticeable than the attempts on my swatch. The good news is: It is done and gone! And in her pajamas and unwashed hair, the girl from the blues was doing a happy dance!

Here's the scoop on the designer I knit this sweater for. She is a friend of mine, Sue McCain. Her company is Vermont Fiber Designs. There are some really attractive designs, the one pictured above will be part of the new fall line. The impressive thing (for me as a designer anyway) is the range of sizes. The patterns are written from XXS to 5X! There is alot of math in that work! Check it out, and I will remind you when there are new designs posted to the site.

There, you no longer have to see me jumping out of that blasted cake every time you check back to see if I am still alive. I have alot more to post about. There is all the stuff I am going to cast on for this week. There is my growing stash of Koigu for Charlotte's Web. Really, how many skeins does it take to make a Charlotte? I think I have gone a little overboard (with help from Anne ;)) so now the possibilities are paralyzing me. Oh, to have such problems. I am sure there is sadness for me somewhere! But for right now, you won't believe it, I have one more job to finish. You know that word that is two letters and means something negative? The one that means you won't do something? You know the one, it rhymes with go or so or mow. Toe, blow, foe, row, row, row your boat. I have trouble saying that word. Heck, I'm having trouble typing it. There must be a support group for me somewhere........

Comments

[Norma]

Whoa! I was HOLDING MY BREATH to get to the end of that. When you said "cut." Oh.My.God. You didn't really? JESUS, you are RARE and HANDY.

[Michelle]

Wow...you remind me of when I had deadlines in grad school...all-nighters, wearing pajamas 24 hours a day, wondering what smells and realizing it's me because I forgot to shower...

Beautiful work!

Your last SKP giftee is (finally) on its way! I mailed it Thursday... Hope you enjoy it!

[margene]

You are a master! I'm bowing at your blog in a worshipful mode. Did that in a workshop with Lucy Neatby but doing it on a sweater would be very scary. Good job!! Glad you are back. NOW REPEAT AFTER ME...."NO MO' KNITTING FOR HIRE". Let's knit for fun. On Charlotte!

[peggy]

That is a fabulous sweater!! A wonderful piece of work!

[Kerstin]

Gorgeous sweater! I've been looking for a pattern so I could buy me some Aurora 8. I bought a ball this winter and immediately swatched it up. Heavenly, to say the least. Glad you are back. I'm with Margene ~ no more knit for hire. Are you out of your mind?!? Ok, so she's a friend. Still!

[julia fc]

oh...my...living...God. What a story. I'm not sure I should read any more blogs tronight, I'm too wrung out on just this tale of triumph over knitting despair. Like, should Sandra Bullock play you in the movie, or what?

[Iko]

Wow. That was just fabulous! I'm sure I wasn't the only one with the Mission Impossible theme song playing in my head.

[Nanette]

Teresa, what a beautiful sweater! You did a great job knitting it. Thank you for giving out the link to this designer's web site. I'm off to see her work right now.

[Nathania]

So glad you're back! I for one was missing you. This time will be different...

[Annie]

I am in love with that sweater! I MUST knit it with the Aurora 8 as soon as it is available. Gorgeous!

I literally became nauseous when I saw that scissors above your beautiful knitting. Thank goodness it worked out. I was on the edge of my seat...

Glad you're back!

[Ingrid]

Wow. _Wow_. It's awful to find things like that. My mom has a sweater with a mistake in a cable cross (down near the bottom, of course) that she doesn't wear because she Knows. And she especially doesn't wear it when she might run into the designer, because She Might Notice. I believe it's on the side, near where your arm would hang in a loose, relaxed position, if you weren't freaking out and trying to look relaxed while you carefully make sure that your arm is covering just that spot AT ALL TIMES.

Wow. It looks fabulous now. Congratulations!

[alison]

Oh, I hope I never have to write a sentence that includes both "cable" and "cut" -- terrifying! You did a beautiful job, though, and the sweater is really stunning.

[Sharon]

Wow. From the blue lady to lady in red. What a story. Now as for the N word, stand in front of your mirror, purse your lips, put the tip of your tongue on your upper palate, try saying nuh, nuh, take a deep breath and let it out. You are allowed to say NO.

[margene]

You better be knitting on Charlotte!!

[greta]

oh. wow.
So Glad you are OKAY, I was beginning to Worry you'd slipped on some icing and broken your typing fingers or something.

[Mary Beth]

Those steely cold scissors poised over the soft innocent wool - it's a Stephen King novel for knitters! Is it hard to give the sweater up in the end? Do you ever have regrets? Wonder how it's doing in its new home? Absolutely gorgeous work!

[Siow Chin]

What a beautiful sweater! Really enjoyed reading about your adventure although I hope you won't have to do it again ever.