Look Ma... A Sleeve!

Ok. Maybe this sweater project is bigger than I expected it to be...

I bought 10 skeins of yarn; I charted it out; I swatched, like a good fiber-fiend...

I even estimated the time involved. ::Surely 4000+ yards would be enough!:: I should be able to finish it in about 4, 5 or 6 weeks tops!:: I foolishly guesstimated less than two months to complete this project...

Long story short, I have now increased the total yarn needed by an additional 4 skeins of the sock yarn (making it 14 total) ... and have just now reached a half-way point in the actual crocheting. I now have a sleeve to go with the back of the sweater. That's right, ONE sleeve down, one more to go. (::sigh::)

Seldom have I ever spent so much time on just one project and not been at least close to finishing it. I swear, I am going to wear this thing until the threads give out and it will no longer hang upon my body. People that know me will be sick of seeing it. I will be described in ways like "You know, Jerry. The one with the gray sweater." "Ohhh. Him."

As you can imagine, I was in desparate need for a fiber diversion! (As much as for the sake of those around me as for myself, I asure you!)

I had come across a yarn in one of my favorite color combinations (black and green - remember the ruana?) and for several days was trying to decide what the fiber wanted to become. Then it hit me!

Last week, while trying to escape the clutches of a cluster headache, the idea popped into my head, with the design nearly fully-formed! What about a sleeveless turtlekneck? My sister would like that! When I ran the idea by Fred, his reaction was, well, let's just say there is a reason we fiber-fiends seek each other out. The so-called "normal" folks don't get it. Fred is no different. (In fact, he looked at me like I had two heads.)

I told myself that since this garment was going to be worked with a larger hook and thicker yarn, it should be relatively fast. Surely I deserved a break from the sweater that will not die. Surely the Fiber gods would understand...

They did. And three days later, I had this:

This was made using 8 balls of On-Line brand yarn, "Punta" (balls are approximately 88 yards each) so it went really quickly! I'm even thinking of doing a few more in different colorways, you know, just for those times when the fiber gods want to reward my perserverance on that other project of mine.

SDOSAS!

~Jer

PS~

Don't miss the DFW Fiber Fest this weekend, April 4-6 at the Addison Conference Center!

19,912 Down, 40k+ To Go!

Fred and I recently went to Boston for a long weekend to attend a fundraising event for the Fenway Medical Center. Let me just insert a reminder here - Jer and cold weather do not get along! So the thought of going to New England in winter did not thrill me. Except of course, it was a chance to dress up with a few thousand strangers and a few new friends.

The event was emceed by Kate Clinton and Senator Ted Kennedy was getting and award. Ted spoke, then was gone. Kate hung around for the party. Here's me and Kate:

Here's some party:

But I digress. I needed a project to take on the trip, so a few days before we left, I designed a new sweater for myself. I designed it to be made with that great new sock yarn I found by Berocco, their Comfort Sock yarn. (I can hear the tsk-tsking. I know it's guaged at "1 - Super Fine," I know! But I thought, what the heck!) I decided on a relatively simply stitch pattern to better highlight the gradual and subtle color changes.

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With most of my sweaters, I start with the back piece so I can get a good feel for the stitch pattern before beginning the more complicated shaping involved with the other pieces. After the plane ride with a size D crochet hook (3.25mm) and one full, 447 yard skein, I had this:

I knew the sweater was going to take ALOT of this yarn to complete, but some quick math using the time it took to get just this far gave me a better idea of exactly how aggressive this project was going to be.

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I'll admit, I seriously thought about scrapping the idea of a sweater, right then and there. But afterall, I already had all the yarn in matching dye lot and being a good little fiber stash monger, I wasn't about to return it all to the LYS! Not to mention that the thought of a dozen pairs of socks with the exact same yarn was almost more than I could bare. So...

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So, I perservered.

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I crocheted.

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I crocheted and crocheted. Then, I crocheted some more.

3FPDC, 3BPDC. Over and Over. 3FPDC, 3BPDC. Again and Again! 3FPDC, 3BPDC. Finally, after about 4 skeins ( nearly 1800 yards) I finally had the back of the sweater completed!

Yes! Sweet success!! I cannot explain the sheer joy of experiencing this particular completion. 131 rows - Done! 152 stitches per row! And that's not counting the turning stitches! Why, that's 19,912 stitches!! Woo Hoo!! And the resulting fabric had such a nice hand! I was so glad I hadn't given in, that I saw the mountain and decided to -

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uh oh.

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Then I remembered - the sweater would need a front. ::sigh::

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And sleeves, too. ::double sigh::

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SDOSAS!

~Jer