Dec 05 2006
Abandonment Issues
I heard them crying from the bottom of my knitting basket, but I went along, merrily completing socks, sweaters, and scarves. And now, I am feeling a tinge of guilt…
Durrow is a long-neglected knit, from Magknits October 2005. It is not because the yarn, or the designer – in fact, I adore them both. It is because I feel like a doofus when knitting it.
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I finished the back, and I have ripped out this %$@# cabled sleeve three times. I can't seem to get it. I am trying to stay positive about it, but I can't wrap my brain around these cables! However, I will not completely admit defeat, especially when I see that Anne is flying with her Durrow sleeve. It looks beautiful… so, why can't I figure it out? I want to get it right. The cable is what drew me to this sweater. Sure, I could skip it, but it would be just another ribbed sweater in that case. (I am not sure that Kris would care, but I want to say that I have done this cable!) Any tips for this knitter who has (almost) reached the end of the rope?
My answer for Durrow was simply placing it back in the basket – letting it marinate for awhile. That is why it has been buried, following the logic of knit basket stratigraphy…
The story with Sesame is simple – I was tempted away by other knits. Sesame is a beautifully designed cardigan, one that I will undoubtedly wear all year long. I am working on the back and sleeve 2 simultaneously, having already completed the front panels, and sleeve one. It is the notorious black yarn – hard to photograph and hard to get a sense about, but I just know this one will be a winner… whenever I finish it!
I knit a few rows while watching some TV this weekend, and while I am using cotton (Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Licorice to be precise), I know it will be a warm garment, and will fit into my layering wardrobe mentality very well. Cardigans are a staple piece – remember, I am an official librarian now, so it goes with the territory 
I agree – the cables make the sweater and what an accomplishment! I am not sure if you have done cables like this before, but when I knit my husbands sweater (which was full of cables on the front and back) I really needed a quite place and a clear head until I was comfortable with the pattern. That pattern you are using will probably take a lot of concentration. Don’t give up! I love showing off cable work too. Sesame is going to be a nice knit. Very pretty in black.
If you’re having troubles with the cables, try colour coding the chart. I assign every chart symbol a colour and then I use a pencil crayon to mark them. I always know that pink is a k2tog and red is a cbl2f or whatever. That was the best way to get through the Mariah sleeve cables. Stick with it! Durrow will be awesome!
You’d be the best dressed librarian around with all the gorgeous knits you’ve been producing!
Is the problem anything I can help with? The spirals can be a little scary, I know they scared the crap out of me.
Post-its are my best friend with the cables, as MY biggest problem is not being able to remember if I’m on row 31 or 33 or was it 35? Just move ‘em up each row, and don’t forget to move them to the position you’ll be STARTING on the next time you pick up the sleeve…yes, move them BEFORE you put the sleeve back in the basket.
You can do it Lolly! You’re such a great knitter. Maybe fresh eyes will help when you pick it up later.
Sometimes, some knits just have to be put aside. I hate doing it and worse, I feel guilty when they sit there for weeks on end. Picking the knit back up is even scarier but sometimes you just have to go for it. Find a weekend when you’re not swamped with other knits and can concentrate, and give it another go. Not sure if the xmas season will help as I’m feeling the ‘madness’ of it all…but I think quiet is needed for something like this. Go Lolly!
I have knits put aside too. One is a sweater that I didn’t have a problem on, but had major problems with the scarf I was knitting at the same time. The scarf is now done, but the sweater remains sitting. Someday it won’t have the hostle feelings I hold towards the scarf in it. Then I’ll pick it up again.
I love to layer too! I need to make more cardigans because I don’t have enough and always end up wearing the same 2 or 3.
When I first started trying out cables I had the same problem. First get a highlighter and highlight every other row (this helps especially if the cables are every other row so highlight the cabled rows), then get some post-it notes so you can move it up the graph as you work. I suggest an optional bar of chocolate that breaks apart easily so when you finish each row correctly you can reward yourself. Start by only concentrating on one row at a time and just be patient, remember that you don’t have to finish the whole sleeve at once and let yourself put it down if you’re feeling too overwhelmed.
Good Luck and I’m sure you’ll do well.
Well, you know I’m NO help with cables. But it seems like others have heard your cry for help and they are answering.
Wow – cables you are brave!
I reiterate the post-it trick. You might want to check out Ashley’s post here for how she is coping with the cabled goodness that is the Demi sweater.
http://doggedknits.com/?p=649
You can do it!
Ugh – I know the feeling. What about the cable is getting you? I use LOTS of post its and a magnetic board that I can follow along the rows, and a row counter. I tend to loose my place a lot..
So glad your blog has led me to the durrow pattern, I’ve been looking for a new sweater to knit, and I think this could be it!
it does look like a really complicated cable pattern. i tried knitting shedir (that beautiful knitty hat) and just couldn’t wrap my head around all the twists and turns. this looks to be very similar. good luck! i know you can do it!
Durrow is a beautiful sweater, and we all know that you will tackle those cables if you set your mind to it. It would be a shame to finish the sweater without the cables, they are the highlight.
You should pick those knits up again, you don’t want them to have to go to therapy for their issues
Maybe it would be helpful to have someone read the first few rows aloud to you (along with the appropriate chart translation, of course). That way, you can concentrate more on following the instructions without losing your place in the chart.
What I’ve found really helpful on cables is to photocopy the pattern so that I have a copy I can draw on without messing up the original chart. Then I use a highlighter to highlight each row as I finish so that I can keep track of where I am. If it is something that repeats over and over I might use the post-it trick, but my cat always seems to move them whenever I get up. Another thing that might help is getting one of those magnifying glasses with a line through it that they sell for counted cross-stitch. These make the pattern easier to see and have a line to tell you exactly where you are. However, the biggest help that I’ve found when working cables is a row counter. They make a huge difference as even when your marker/post-it get moved you can still figure out where you were. Good luck, that is a beautiful pattern and I can’t wait to see how it comes out when you get it finished.
such a gorgeous sweater! Keep going girl..you will get it.
I keep forgetting that Sesame is out there, this may be just the sweater I have been looking for!
I had an idea that I would finish all the sweaters I started this year by the end of the year. Hm. We’ll see about that. At any rate, I feel your pain!
Well, if it’s any consolation, I have stalled at the end of the first sleeve because I’m waiting for a time when I can think clearly about the shoulder shaping.
I like the idea of having someone read it to you – that’s essentially what I do for myself. Once you get the first few rows established you start to see the pattern and can *almost* figure out what to do without referring to the chart. Trust yourself, trust the pattern, and relax! I know you will find success.
Ooh, black cardi, excellent librarian attire. I can just see your hair with a bun with a pencil in it. Your up on a ladder reaching for that one book just out of your reach, Kris walks in wearing his freshly knit Darrow and woops, that pencil slips falls out of your hair, locks come tumbling down, Kris is all agog at his librarian hottie! Bad Cable Mojo Be Gone!
Hi Lauren;
Did you have to do any adjusting of gauge for using the Sisik yarn from the original Durrow pattern? Thanks.
Oh wow, I love that Durrow sweater! I’ve never seen it before, it’s so lovely! I really like how the body is simple, and the embellishment is in the sleeves. Definitely up my alley. Let me know how it turns out, I’d love to knit one for myself!
And did you get my previous e-mail about the Snow Angels yarn? I wasn’t sure if you were interested or not…(but really, what knitter isn’t interested in yarn? That’d be like a coffee roaster who hates coffee!)
And I like the Sesame too, that’ll be a nice simple knit and I’m sure it’ll look awesome!
I can’t help with the cables, but I think it would make sense to chart them out stitch by stitch and colour-code or write the repeats out stitch by stitch and work them that way until you have them memorized.
Don’t forget to wear your glasses on the end of your nose with a chain attached and your hair twisted up into a bun.
I know I have trouble reading cables from a chart – maybe try writing out each line on a separate index card and flipping through them as you go. That way – you know exactly what step you are on.
Good luck!
Hi Lolly,
Cables can be frightful. However, if you methodically knit stitch by stitch and row by row putting in necessary markers and clues along the way you should have no probem. Use post its line by line as you go. Do not stop in the middle of a row. You MUST highlight each row as you are knitting. If there is a specific stitch that is getting to you just pay particularly close attention when you come up to it. And do a little online researching before you do it. Keep the harmony guides close by. or anyother stitch definitions. You WILL get through it. I had to reknit a Nicky Epstein hooded shawl for Vogue last summer. It took me the entire month of July to complete it. There were so many crazy twists and turn that I thought I could never get through it. There was some painful ripping but at last I finished it. And it was beautiful and now I actually believe that I’m a pro!!!
You’re a librarian. You can figure it out. Take your time.
You can do it! Cables are one of those things I have trouble wrapping my mind around, but the sweater will be well worth it when you’re done. Oh and *post-its*!
Hi Lolly! No helpful suggestions for ya here, but we all understand…
Ahhhhh, the call of the cast-on of the untainted, no-trauma-(yet), NEW project…..:) I say, “let it eat cake,” and continue to marinate in the basket until it behaves properly! Or, you can try threatening it with a complete frogging—-that will get it’s attention!
You know instead of doing the cables on the sleeve, set it aside and do a swatch of the cables, just a square of the pattern until you have mastered it. That way you can then start the sleeve and wont have to rip it back.
I have to ask the same question as Stacey… what part of the cables is presenting a problem?
I just finally finished the increases on my sleeves, but now need to be careful about my shoulder shaping because it turns out I’m getting 6 rows/inch instead of the called for 7 rows/inch, and I don’t want to run out of arm before I’m finished with the cable.
Oooo Durrow! I was just looking at that a lil while ago! I am searching for the perfect sweater to knit for my dear husband- something young, hip, and cool. This one made the maybe list, but I may have to design one myself.
Simply whisper softly into your basket of abandonment: “Patience, my pretties…patience. You’ll all have your day in the sun.”
Glad to see the reappearance of these two gems! They’re both awesome patterns…you’ve got me thinking now about Sesame and stripes!
Lolly,
Just because you are a librarian doesn’t mean you have to…wait a minute, that is not sounding the way I want it to. I love the Cardi and I agree with the above comments that the cables make the sweater. Stick with it. Maybe finishing another pair of socks is just the trick to getting this sweater done (that is the logic I alway use).
MarlyKnits
I just bought the yarn for a Durrow for my husband… I’m thinking that like your durrow it’s going to be a long term project… thanks for posting about it – I’m definately going to use some of the suggestions of the commenters!!!