Wednesday, November 14, 2012

My Cheating Ways

You know Taran's blog tag: Sewing is what I do when I'm cheating on all my other hobbies. When first I read that I snort-choked my coffee. Genius, IMO. And these days, for me, somewhat apropos. 
Generally, I'm firmly in the one-project-at a-time-kind camp. Partly that's because I'm intense about whatever I'm doing and I generally can't split my effort. Partly it's because I hate clutter and having unfinished crap all over the place. To me, that's chaos. Furthermore, it stands to reason that I can finish whatever I'm working on that much sooner if I'm not doing 8 other things at the same time. Which means I can brag/complain/talk about it that much more efficiently.

I do love serial crafters, though. They all seem creatively hyped on uppers in the most charming way. They're gonna knit that sweater while sewing those slip covers and make reindeer cookies for the bake sale. Oh, and a costume for the school play. While refurbishing a vintage machine. I need a drink just reading about it. I mean, seriously, I'm not Martha Stewart. I do not have a team of sous-crafters to realize my vision. (Would that I could be an artistic entrepreneur and make as much money as I do in my current career...)

Which is why I'm so surprised to be cheating on my knitting with other knitting. You know you've got to reconsider things when you need 3 pairs of needles in the same size at the same time. Don't fear: this isn't a trend. It all happened so organically - we were just out for coffee and then we got to talking and... What I mean is, I'm working two projects at the same time (and swatching a third, truth be told) not because I can't resist but because I'm avoiding things.

That is SO not my way. I would rather smack my head against a wall than have something hanging over me. And, if it's a problem that has to be solved, why wait? It's not going to fix itself. What's weirder still is that I've actually solved the problem (I think). I have 5 pages of typed notes to detail EVERY FUCKING STEP of the yoke of the Bettie (the top 6 inches of this knit-in-the-round project that affixes the sleeves to the body, shapes the shoulders and creates the neckline/neck tie. But, secretly, I'm worried I won't have enough yarn. I've got 2 skeins left (I started with 8) and that got me 2 shortened-to-3/4-length sleeves (up to the armscye) and the bulk of the body. Will 240 yards get me the rest of the way there?

Not only that, but the body looks exceptionally straight, never mind the fact that I used a slimmer needle on the waist section. It also seems like it might be too big, but in truth, it's kind of impossible to tell. The measurements I was going for are the measurements I've achieved according to the tape measure. I suspect it's much easier to tell if a sweater is going to fit once you've got shoulders because well-fitting shoulders really are the arbiter of a sweater in the right size.

Anyway, I know I've got notes and I've considered the final stage of this sweater up the freakin' yin yang but just those 2 sections of short rows (those that separate the rib from the feather and fan stitch at the base of the sweater and those that separate the yoke from the feather and fan stitch at the (current) top each took upwards of 3 hours and, due to some key disconnect I'm still wrangling re: picking up the wraps using the Japanese technique (I think on the purl side, but truthfully, who knows?), I am unhappy and nervous about the next uncharted frontier. 

As stupid luck generally has it, the next section of the sweater will probably be the easiest. Still, I need a rest till the weekend when my brain will have more space to deal with any unexpected potential challenges.

Alas, I must craft. The thing that's keeping me sane is the meditative action of needles clicking. Sure, I'd love to be sewing but that's not something I generally do mid-week. Also, it's something that takes a lot of energy. There's cutting and pressing and tracing - lots of moving around in addition to thinking. It's not a slow-art. It's very dynamic. Knitting, well it is also dynamic but, relatively-speaking, at the pace of salted caramel dripping from a spoon. Or international package-delivery via Canada Post. You can stop and put it down (and nothing will lose its critical mass). You can watch a movie. You can sit on your ass. In fact, you have to sit on your ass. 

I mustn't overdo it right now. Every time I do, I suffer. And I can knit to my heart's content and not do myself any damage.

Add scenario A (the fact that I'm not ready to finish the Bettie) to scenario B (the fact that I have to keep my hands occupied) and it leads to scenario C - the "other project": le Rondeur.

Intriguingly, this is perhaps the first project ever wherein I've had to size up in the needles. I think that's because I'm working with a DK yarn that's on the slim side. It could also be that this yarn just knits very compactly. I will say that, one needle up, I got exact gauge both vertically and horizontally. I don't think that's ever happened before either. I usually have to sacrifice on the vertical side of the equation (which generally doesn't cause any problems and actually saves me yarn).

The Rondeur is an interesting garment. How many cherry-pink wool t-shirts do you own? Admittedly, the yarn I'm using is washable and is also very sleek but still it's a strange idea. And while I undertook this to escape the mental focus required to finish the Bettie, the initial rounds of the Rondeur (the yoke) are those with the lace work and cables and the pattern is actually very fussy to establish. I'm probably going to have to do a bit of wrong-side-fixing in a couple of spots that seem to be sporting yarn over holes where perhaps they should not be. I'm fairly confident these will not be noticeable in the end (though I'm always going to know) but that's the kind of thing that really irritates me, especially since I am so careful as I go. Sure, it's only 26 rows of lace/cables at the shoulders, but they are painstaking. (I worked for 2.5 hrs last night and only got through 18 of them.) The Bettie would unlikely be harder for longer, but somehow it matters not. I want a new texture and colour. And fortunately that's what I've got.

So, today's questions are: Do you have hobby ADD? Or are you a one-garment (at a time) crafter? Whichever camp you fall into, why is it your preferred way? Do you flip-flop between those two styles (ooh, that would be schizo)? Let's talk.

Oh, and if you have already made Bettie's Pullover and you're reading this - can you confirm that the top 6 inches (where it all comes together) isn't too traumatizing? And that it doesn't take much yarn? Thanks!

22 comments:

  1. I must have 3 projects on the go at a time... One easy, one hard and one that I love (loving all three is the norm).

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    1. When you put it like that, it seems sensible!

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  2. Yeah, I've got a problem. I'll start sewing one project, but *just quickly* trace off another. Then maybe cut it out. Then I run out of space on the table...

    Of course, that's when I'm not working on my photography, writing on my blog, reading three books at a time, or trying to cook something interesting.

    Sigh. And people wonder why I don't have time to plan a wedding or have a family! Hahaha

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    1. Sunni just wrote a post on a similar theme. I think you will relate to it!

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  3. I try to have only one thing going on at the time (apart from the humungous pile of mending). But it's normally 2 knitting things as I knit on the tube and there are certain things I can't handle knitting on the train (DPNs, colourwork, large stuff) so I have a back up one. I'm screwed up at the moment as I'm on the arms of a cardigan which means it's both huge and DPNs are involved, so I haven't got any tube train knitting.

    Oh and I entirely agree about the difference between knitting and sewing. Knitting can be fit into five minutes. Sewing needs a least an hour to bother starting. And knitting can be done while sitting on my arse in front of the TV.



    generally need a back up one as I knit on the tube for when the one I normally knit on the tube gets too big or complicated for the

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    1. So true - you can't be pulling out DPNs on the subway.

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  4. My MIL works on one project at a time - she goes out and purchases supplies, makes it, cleans up and then thinks about what to work on next. She has no stash, no clutter, no chaos and it drives me nuts. ;) I don't think I've ever stuck to just a single project at a time. I've just finished seaming a sweater, I've got a sweater in progress on the sofa, one in progress in the bag I take when I head out, and just started a bias scarf that will be my project on the plane for Thanksgiving travel. I just finished a major quilt project and now I've got 3 small pieces that are gifts in progress. I need new pants and the fabric has been prewashed but I haven't traced the pattern yet. I flit easily between projects and love the excitement of so much going on.

    Lois K

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    1. Lois: I used to be like that! I told everyone I'd never have a yarn stash. And really, I don't. But I do have a lot of left-over single skeins and partial skeins I can't bear to part with but don't really have a sense of what to do with. Throwing them out seems criminal based on how much yarn costs. But I'm not interested in making wash cloths.

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  5. I don't like having multiple projects on the go. But I will stall by not sewing at all if I'm stuck. It takes some time before I'm willing to call it a UFO for now and go on to something else. Most of my other "crafty" moments are more need driven. Like I want to make a birthday card, or make bath products as a gift.

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    1. With sewing I cannot split my time between 2 projects. I want to start, sort out any challenges, and finish that thing. Most projects can be done in a weekend so this works out pretty well. I really don't like sewing UFOs. I try very hard to avoid them and I'm more likely to call it a day (if I can't sort out a solution) and throw that garment away, rather than spend a lot of time telling myself it's going to work when I sort out the problem.

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  6. Right now I have 5 knitting projects going -- that's after having stitched up the seams on a pullover last weekend. I was never like this before the whole knit-blogging/Ravelry phenomenon that I've been swept up by over the last 10 years. I was ALWAYS one garment at a time, and there were usually months between without any knitting. A few years ago, I cleaned up all the UFOs and got back to one at a time and that felt good . . . for a while. . . I haven't sewn for decades, so at least that multi-tasking possibility is out of sight, for now.
    So all I'm saying? Be careful, be very careful!

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    1. So you're saying this is a trend?!?! A really scary slippery slope?? But I suppose, if one thing is a baby garment (small), and another is a pair of mitts (quick) and another is a sweater (cuz you need something for yourself). And then you want to make something for Nola so the new baby doesn't get all the fun things... Well, I can see how it goes.

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    2. It all makes sense, yes! The cobweb-lace scarf/shawl can only be worked in certain circs; ditto the fair-isle mitts need attention for reading the chart. I need to have a sweater with a substantial portion in stocking stitch for TV-watching, and mindless as that is, it's too bulky for my commute- knitting, hence a pair of socks on the go as well. . . And then, yes, the balancing-out projects and the requests get added in as well. It all makes perfect sense. . . .hence the fear for your future. . .

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  7. Ugh, I get all over the place, starting way too many projects at once. I like to kid myself into thinking it's more efficient to trace 3 patterns at once but really it just takes forever and is boring. And that's the tip of the pointless multi-tasking iceberg. I gotta focus on one thing at a time. But it's so hard! And I'm addicted to planning ahead!
    Heh :)

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    1. I understand how that happens. I mean, taking out the tracing paper is a pain in the ass :-)

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  8. I can't sew more than one project at a time. At the moment I am learning to needlepoint, and I can see having more than one project going, one upstairs in the studio, one in the public space of the house -- geesh, I am just beginning and I am already planning on covering my house in stitched yarn.

    As for knitting, I like having one project going at a time because it is harder for me to actually finish something if I have another project on the needles as knitting is more relaxing than sewing up. On the other hand, some projects need a chart or a lot of attention and there are days/times when I need simple. Or there are days when project A has grown too large and I need something portable. I am sure you get my drift.

    As for Rondeur, I love it and want to knit it. I have wool and cashmere t-shirts, not just fine (meaning thin) purchased ones, but hand knits and I love them. To me they are the most perfect garments and the knits I wear the most even though sometimes they are the most boring to knit.

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    1. I'm totally tempted by needlepoint, Mardel! But I will not take on a new craft. Maybe when I retire :-)

      I'm really loving the Rondeur. It's a very satisfying knit. Super quick after a bit of lace and cable challenge. Hmmm, I can see that I might have to find a few more of this style of garment. I'll check out your Ravelry page to see the thinner gauge versions that you've worked on.

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  9. Bahahahahaha! Thanks for the mention. My BFF actually said that to me back when I was first picking up on the sewing.

    I definitely do better keeping a strict one-project-at-a-time schedule. I can trace stuff for other projects, but if I start cutting life just gets messy. Good luck with your sweaters!

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    1. That woman should get an award! :-)

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    2. HAHA---Actually, she just won an award for her recent chapbook last week! (She's a poet, among many other wonderful things.)

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  10. Oh I'm terrible. Way more than one project at a time... way, way more. I was just commenting on another blog that some of this is about learning. Sometimes I'm not just project-oriented, but learning-oriented and I'll tackle a bunch of same things in an effort to glean. Although I sewed a lot less and stashed a lot less before blogging about it. And reading about new patterns/classes/fabrics is really hard on my stay-focused-on-the-project-at-hand.

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