Gang Aft Agley

Even though I’m neither a mouse nor a man, Robert Burns hit the nail on the head with my progress this week.  My work schedules have overlapped in a most unfortunate way, and I was hoping for the solace of finishing the front details on Ed’s sweater as a counterpoint to my growing frenzy.  All I really had left were the pockets and buttonholes.

The buttonholes did not work out at all.  When I did the buttonhole stitch around them, they looked worse than they do unfinished.  The thread held them open in a very lopsided way.  I have a couple of ideas for reinforcement, but I may save the work on them until after I attend my “buttonholes” class at Stitches East. 

But the pocket problems were a huge surprise because I’ve done pockets like those I planned on many sweaters. I happily sat down on Wednesday night, attached the pocket linings to the stitches on the holder, and knit five ribbed rows.  I felt so confident, having just completed the Kitchener stitch on the collar, that I was going to try a tubular bindoff—something I’ve done correctly only once, on a swatch.  But when I was up to the tubular stitch, something didn’t seem right, and so I left the work until I could look at it in the morning.

The ribbing on the top of the pocket disturbs the flow of the cable, and I don’t like that.  So in daydreaming sessions on Thursday, I considered how I might make the ribbing less intrusive on the design.  I brilliantly thought of attached i-cord, and I spent last night doing it.  But that sixth sense kicked in again when I realized it might not be tight enough to hold the pocket in.  When I looked at it in the morning, I was sure that the i-cord just wouldn’t do.

When I fold the ribbing over so there are only about three rows showing, I think the ribbed edge will be about as good as it is going get.  I can achieve this by folding the ribbing or by reknitting so that there are only about three ribbed rows.  I will try both, this time with smaller needles.  The rest of the ribbing is on size 5 (US), and I’ll use size 3.

I’ve missed my window of opportunity because our cool weather is over for at least the weekend, making it less ideal to knit with heavy wool, but it doesn’t take long to knit the ribbing on the pocket borders, and I may do it anyway.  It would contribute to my mental health if I could still block the fronts and get on with the sleeves next week.

I also returned to Liv last night, which was some consolation, but I’m at a point where I have to think (egads—at a time like this, I’m not up to thinking).  I’m ready to divide the fronts for the V neck.  There is an error in the printed directions, and even those corrections posted on Elsebeth Lavold’s site are not crystal clear.  But I hope by Monday to have the pockets done and Liv’s front knit.  And if I could figure out the sleeves on both, then next week might be a lot more satisfying.

Comments

[robin]

Wow - no ideas for you - but I look forward to seeing what you come up with! I say it's time to cast on a new project!

[tiennie]

You have such tenacity to do things over and over again to get it right. Your finished products really shows it too! You do fantastic work!

[Judy G.]

I do like your final solution. Would turning the hem provide a little more stability than just 3 rows of ribbing and then a cast off, or will it be too bulky?

Waiting your decision...