Books, Knitting

The Four Day Sweater.

I did it. Stillwater is finished (well except for blocking which will most definitely happen today, I’m almost sure). 
I shared my progress on Instagram – many of you were following along and it was wonderful to have your support! – so I have lots of photos. This morning I put them all together – they tell quite a story!
I used just over 800 yards of yarn (I added an inch of length) and made about a 33″ sweater (details on Ravelry here). It fits great for a summer cardigan. When I knit it again – in wool – for winter, I’ll add a little more ease.
I love the pattern – it’s easy to follow with nice details (mirrored shaping, lace, the beautiful 3×2 ribbing) and look forward to knitting more of Marie’s designs.
I’m not so sure, though, that I’ll knit anything in four days! It was way more knitting than I expected – yep, turns out both of those time trials were optimistic – maybe 20-22 hours total? And the cotton, especially in that lovely 3×2 ribbing was hard on my shoulder and elbow. It worked out well that I finished the body (the first 2-1/2″ of ribbing) on Day 2 and rested until Day 3 to start the neckband (293 stitches and another 2-1/2″ of ribbing).  The neckband took me all morning and I had to ice my shoulder before continuing. I knitted just a little more that day (half of the first sleeve). Yesterday (Day 4), I felt fine (whew – I was worried!) and had no trouble – or pain – finishing the sleeves. 
All that knitting went along great with audiobooks – I finished two: Kerouac’s On  the Road (About travel) and Auster’s New York Trilogy (Set in a place I want to know more about) and started Ivey’s The Snow Child (which will finally give me a second bingo when I finish). 
I also got outside to walk and run – we had a little blue sky amidst all the thunder storms.
In the evenings, we watched a few movies – The Infiltrator (Bryan Cranston is wonderful as always but the story is really bloody), Manchester by the Sea (definitely award worthy, but whoa, not very uplifting) and the latest Mission Impossible (I am not a Tom Cruise fan, but it was entertaining and perfect summer fun) and caught up on Grantchester (sigh. I love that show) – while I worked on some mindless stockinette (yep, Stole 2.0 is out of hibernation!)
And now it’s Wednesday – feels like I’ve been away for weeks, not just days. I’m happy to be back!
Here’s to a short week … and another weekend just three days away!
Linking up with Kat to see what are y’all are knitting and reading.

15 thoughts on “The Four Day Sweater.”

  3. You'll get a lot of wear from that beauty I think! I've got Howard's End (thank-you) going for the Made Into A Movie square and should bring me my first bingo. And Manchester by the Sea…talk about emotionally draining. Here's to this short week!

  5. What a beautiful finish! Congrats on the 4 day speed-athon. Glad your shoulder is ok now. already looking forward to the weekend!

  6. Your four-day sweater sounds just like a sports marathon, with injuries, ice, and everything! Congratulations on your gold medal and a great sweater!

  7. Wow! I followed along on Instagram, but still whoa, you really blew that one away. Glad you're arm and shoulder held up!

  8. Came over to see your post about the sweater. It looks so lovely! – Also wonder if I can ask you about VersaciKnits Herring. . .I noticed you've made one and you mention on Ravelry that at the beginning it was hard getting the increase pattern in your head. Any tips/tricks that helped you with this? I'd appreciate anything you could pass on. I'm having a hard time and seem to not end up where I think I should be. and. it.is.not.difficult.knitting. I'm annoyed at myself. DM me on Instagram if can offer suggestions.

    1. Thank you, Mack! I'm sorry but I don't know you on Instagram to DM you … re: Herring – I'm not sure if this is a tip or a trick, but when I teach patterns like this, I suggest my students copy EACH row onto a separate index card. Clip the cards together (clearly marked with row numbers in case they get mixed up) or punch holes and join with a binder ring. It makes it a lot easier to keep up with where you are – each row = one card and you always know which row you're on because that's the card in front of you. Hope that helps!

  9. I never had any doubt you could do it, and it's beautiful! Glad the icing worked so you could finish pain free!

  10. Congrats on all that knitting and I'm glad to know that your shoulder is none the worse for the wear and tear…the sweater is lovely and looks great on you. The tip you shared with Mack is pretty neat, too! And congrats on all the reading and movie-ing you did…quite a lot over 4 days! Whew! Rest up…Cheers~

  14. It came out great-hopefully I'll get mine done tomorrow. I'm still very worried about running out of yarn!

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