Saturday, May 30, 2009

Finish Line in Sight

Sometimes I wonder if folks get tired of slow as molasses knitting pictures. I know I prefer ones where it seems as though the knitter has a bunch of "Shoemaker and the Elves" helpers, buying yarn and then having it seem to magically knit itself up into exquisitely finished garments, presto-changeo.

My knitting is not like that. I don't knit much, and I knit slowly. This is a theme in my life, apparently.

But, even a slow knitter makes progress. Sometimes, that progress is even serendipitous. For instance, when I chose to knit the sleeves for my current project at the same time, planning to steek and sew them later, it was to make the color runs approximately the same size as the body.

I didn't know they would also be a close match.



And now, despite having absolutely zero elves of the helpful-in-handwork category, the sleeves are almost done.



All that's left is to bind off the steek stitches, and then figure out whether to connect the remaining stitches into two separate rounds, and knit the cuffs before cutting the steeks, or cut the steeks, sew the sleeves into tubes, and then knit the cuffs. I think I had better ask around -- I'm tired and can't quite figure out what order to do them. I want it to be done well ahead of the fair, but also done well.
And why am I so tired, you might wonder? Remember how I don't think I knit much or fast? Well, I know for a fact that I don't run much, and that not very fast.

Nevertheless, I ran my first (and perhaps last) 5k today with two really good buddies. Even with approximately 2500 other women running, it felt like it was just us, and Eric and Caterina, who came out to cheer me on. The slower of us in the threesome had dubbed today the "Chasing Grace" day, and it was. I lost her quickly at the beginning and never caught up. I know I ran a faster first mile than I would have thought, because I heard someone call the time. I paid for it, and finished the race with an average of (wait for it) -- ten minutes a mile! So a fast first, slow second and medium third. Sheesh. I could have done that without the crowds and tags and electronic timing.

Oh well. I figured I deserved a little something (although the free massages afterward were wonderful), so I drove my friend's yarn store and picked up some treats for my feet.


Saucon Sock in "Forest" and Rio de La Plata Multicolor Sock in some combination of "Wood Thrush, Crimson, Posy Green, Chestnut, Indial Teal and Black." It's pretty, anyhow. They'll make cushy socks.

And after this sweater, I'm going to want something a little smaller to work on.

5 comments:

Susan said...

I love to see projects unfold slowly. I think people achieve the elves effect mostly by waiting until they are done to post a summary of how it went. I like that, but I also enjoy the real time experience--knitting as one thread in a busy tapestry of a life that gets picked up now and again. The kauni is gorgeous as always. Evelyn is stuck on her sleeves. She needs double ended needles and doesn't have any.

Trillian42 said...

I'm with Susan - I like to see the REAL progress, so I don't feel as awkward when my stuff takes way longer or gets lost in the shuffle for a while. :D

Congrats on the 5k! That's something I'm considering working my way up to one of these days.

Ruby Louise said...

Oooh! Lovely feet treats. The yarn is gorgeous. Congrats on your race!

Whatever progress you make is whatever progress you make. I'm sure my own progress would be much faster and more photogenic if I were retired and/or didn't have so many other things that need to be done before I get to knitting. But I'm no where near retiring yet and I haven't got a housekeeper or gardener for the other stuff, so I plod along at my own pace. To borrow a phrase from John Bingham...Waddle on! :-)

Charity said...

Congrats on the 5k! That is a great accomplishment!

I am a really slow knitter myself, but it is all good...

Love how the sweater is looking!

allisonmariecat said...

Kauni is gorgeous! It's like your Everest...

I like slow progress for entirely selfish reasons. When I don't bust out a big project every week, I feel better knowing that others are also a bit slower. Also, I really feel invested in Kauni at this point, and I can't wait to see it finished. Every step is quite interesting.

Hey, ten minutes a mile over distance is fantastic! Better than I would do :)