Nihon Vogue - Project 8 disaster update

I am way behind on updating my blog. I have been putting in a lot of hours for work and had to travel to California earlier in the week. I am now storing my photos on the home computer and am unable to access them while traveling. The home computer is a technological relic. The keyboard seems to "stick" and the dim monitor's font size is set for Rob's vision and not mine. I must have 20 pairs of reading glasses strewn throughout the house and I am always searching to find a pair for reading, knitting or working on the computer as I can't seem to function without them anymore. My favorite pair of reading glasses were prescription and had black and pink frames. They were lovely. They fell out of my pocket near an elevator and I accidentally stepped on them. The stepped on pair had been an exact replacement of an earlier pair that I had the misfortune of leaving on a flight in the seat pocket in front of me. Now I buy the reading glasses that come 3 to a shrink-wrapped-pack from Costco.

In the last 2 weeks almost every non-employer sanctioned hour has been spent trying to recover from my knitting disaster, also known as Project 8 for Nihon Vogue. Recall that Project 8 is the LAST project for Nihon Vogue Year One. I was bound and determined to have that project and the crochet project finished in time for the last class which is scheduled for the weekend of July 26-27. I had completed the back, right and left fronts and blocked each piece outside during our beautiful summer weather for quicker drying. Rob seemed to be surprised at the scent of wet wool and wrinkled his nose up.

Alas, after drying, the sides of the sweater were longer than I had originally envisioned. I re-measured and realized the row gauge measurement for my washed swatch was significantly different than the row gauge on the washed sweater. No big deal. The intended recipient, (my youngest sister) is tall and slender and at that moment I decided tunic length would be a VERY fashionable look on her! I then went to work adjusting the sleeve pattern so that the "yet to be knit" sleeves would accommodate the larger armhole of the sweater. Hmm. There are key formulas and rules to consider when drafting set in sleeves for knitting and with the new measurements I was at the outside edge of what would be an ideal fit. In denial, I decided to put that concern out of my mind and started sewing up the sides of the sweater. Uh oh. Something was seriously wrong. The side seams were off by a few centimeters and didn't match up. I counted and recounted the number of rows up to the armhole shaping. They were not the same on the fronts and back, thus I had an extra amount of length on the back where the armholes began. I was baffled. Where had I gone wrong? Why didn't they match? Arrghhh. I realized with astounding clarity where my mind had strayed. At the very beginning. I had not counted the 8 rows of ribbing on the back since the stitch pattern began directly above it across the entire back. I had counted the beginning of the stitch pattern as row 1. On the fronts of the sweater, however, the 28 stitch cable pattern begins at the same row that the ribbing begins and I had counted each row. The result being the back ended up 8 rows longer than the fronts.

I briefly considered some creative sewing and cutting of the knitted fabric to get the sides seams to align perfectly at the bottom and top but then realized how futile that would be because:
1. I would have to again adjust the armhole on the sleeves which would have ultimately made them too wide
2. Nihon Vogue instructor Jean would probably not be too fond of my creative approach
3. I really, really, really wanted this sweater to fit my sister well and given the gravity of the combined mistakes, a good fit could easily stay a fantasy and never become a reality.

So I did the only respectable thing left to do... I undid the shoulder seams, the side seams and unraveled each piece down to below the armhole bind offs. Nothing evokes an image of wasted hours like frogged yarn. All I had to show for 35 hours lost was piles and piles of crinkly yarn.

Almost overwhelmed with the amount of work still to be done, I began the task of re-knitting most of the back and the fronts again. I pushed through and washed and blocked them before heading to California so that they would be dry upon my return. Everyone in Seattle seemed to be outside enjoying the incredible summer and I was sweating it out in an un-air-conditioned house with worsted weight wool in my lap. At one point I lamented the fact my sister had arms but thankfully, that was just a fleeting moment of sheer despondency! While I was traveling and late into Friday and Saturday nights, I diligently knit the sleeves. I am happy to report the sleeves are finished and are currently blocking on a towel on the floor in the media room. Next tasks: shoulder seams, side seams, neck band, button band. This week's deadline looms large. I think I can make it.