September 7, 2008

The 24 hour sweater

The 24 hour sweater
Remember this? It's the placket neck sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts that I started last October, intending to give as a Christmas gift. I finally finished it a few weeks ago, after having put it aside for six months when I realized that (a) I didn't understand the directions for attaching the sleeves to the body, and (b) I wasn't going to have it finished in time for Christmas. It turns out I panicked on the directions thing, because when I finally sat down and followed them, it was embarrassingly easy. As in not difficult at all and I was only four hours away from finishing it last December and could totally have made the Christmas deadline. Ahem.

Also, the observant among you will note that the sweater is from the 4-6 hour section of the book. It took me 20-24 hours to knit this, and that's not counting weaving in all the loose ends and putting on the buttons. I know I am slow knitter, but could it really have taken me 6 times longer than the average person to complete this project? I have made several sweaters (adult and child), knitted toys and scarves and they all took me a really long time. And, although I enjoy the rhythm of it, I worry constantly about whether or not I'm on the right row and increasing or decreasing in the correct places, which requires my full attention. How does one become a faster knitter (in particular, a fast knitter who can talk or watch TV while knitting)?

On the bright side, I am really please with how it turned out (the right size! no visible mistakes!) and now I have a handmade gift ready for giving. I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran yarn which I loved working with; it's so soft and supple. Plus, it's washable, which is key for a child's garment in my opinion. I'm going to give the pattern another try and see if it goes faster the second time around. Oh, and I'm going to make it a size larger, just in case.

1 comment:

Two Dogs and a Quilt said...

This makes me want to learn to knit! Very sweet.