F.O. Again, So Soon?

Well it seems soon, but it's really not so much. This project has been around nearly since the pattern. When I saw Nob Hill over on knitty last year I almost immediately started looking for yarn for it and ordered some from Nordic Mart right away. But after a few tries I gave up on it for a while. I was having trouble keeping track of my increases for some reason. It seems kind of weird now, but I think I was also feeling a little confused about gauge and thought perhaps the yarn looked a little too open in Stockinette stitch, and the color was brighter than I had anticipated. So overall I was just feeling discouraged about it. There was frogging, restarting, frogging again, packing it away for months....

Then in march of this year I pulled it out again. I guess I was determined to make nob hill and to use this yarn since I hadn't really thought up another convincing project for it. So I just went for it, figuring it might not turn out perfectly, but...whatever. That was what this yarn was meant to be for. This time I did the math, adjusted for my slightly off gauge, and ended up feeling completely fine with both the color and how open the stitches were. It's actually a fast project....but once I got to the sleeves I came to a halt again. I did one sleeve wrong, with the cast off showing on the right side, bleh! And I hadn't been careful at all about picking up stitches evenly, so they just looked all weird. I made room for the project in the closet and moved on again...

So when I pulled it out this week, there really wasn't a lot of work to be done. But there was still a lot of knitting angst to face. The sleeves that just won't sit right! Well an episode or so of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency helped me tackle them, making the much more even this time. They are still kind of wonky... After weaving in all the ends I blocked, which helped some. I am hoping they wear in and take on a reasonable shape eventually. Until then, I think I may have figured out what I'm wearing to see the new Star Trek movie! Actually, the photos I just took of this project are convincing me that it's not as sci-fi looking as it seems in my head.

My other issue is that I didn't cast on as many stitches as I probably should have for the collar. I was too worried about the sleeves still and just wanted to be done. But my hair is there, so it may not be too much of an issue. I guess I'm planning on seeing how the sleeves do. If I eventually decide I have to redo them, I might as well consider redoing the collar too....but since that's not the most motivating project, I think I'll avoid it if I can. Meanwhile...I think I'm pretty happy with the finished object overall, and the fact that all this knitting angst has drawn to a close, for now at the very least.

This project and the last one, the shalom cardigan, have seen the use of some buttons Chuck made for me on the schools laser cutter. I'm still trying to figure out a decent way to finish them, a stain, paint or sealant of some kind, but I couldn't really resist adhering them to my projects anyway.

Guess what else? Tonight is the Leonard Cohen concert I've been looking forward to for months! In just a few hours, I can't believe it. It should be great!