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Halfway up the armholes on the back of greensleeves and I am still unsure about whether I will have enough yarn to complete the sweater. I've used one and half skeins (of the seven that I have) on the back so far. That's not enough for me to say that completing the sweater is impossible, but also not enough to say that it is probable. So, I continue to knit.

Emma made a great suggestion the other day that I definitely want to try if I do think that I'll run out of yarn. She suggested doing half the front in green and the other half in the purple yarn that I had planned on using for the cable. Then half the cable would be green and half purple and they would wrap around one another. Neat, huh? I didn't know what I was going to do if the yarn ran out. I am really fixated on using the green yarn to make this Able sweater and can't imagine it becoming anything else. Up to now, I had been practicing the Scarlet O'Hara method of dealing with the possibility of failure: "I'll think about plan b tomorrow." But now I have a plan b, and a good one! Thanks, Emma!

posted by alison at 7:56 am | in greensleeves

Comments

Alison, that's looking great! How many hours did it take you to knit that so far? I am envious of your fast knitting--do you knit continental all the time now? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that you will have enough to knit the front too.

Posted by: Leigh at March 1, 2003 9:06 AM

Man, you're fast! All that seed stitch in nothing flat. As a general rule the amount of yarn used for the back is about one third of what is needed to do the whole project. Assuming all your skeins have the same yardage you can figure a third for the back, a third for the front and a third for the sleeves. I do like Emma's suggestion though.

Posted by: Larry at March 1, 2003 10:09 AM

Wow Alison. That was fast! If you only went through 1 1/2 skeins for the back, you should have enough. But it is nerve-racking, isn't it? Been there before. I still like Emma's idea. Have you tried locating this yarn to get another skein (such as posting to the dreaded knitlist)?

Posted by: Melissa at March 1, 2003 10:33 AM

I adore that green colour and that sweater is looking lovely so far!

Posted by: Isabelle at March 1, 2003 10:53 AM

I'm not such a fast knitter, really. I've been working on the back during the boys' naptime and in the evenings after they go to bed for two full days now. And I've still got about 15cm to go. I'm guessing it will take two skeins. And if Larry's right, I might could just make it!

Posted by: alison at March 1, 2003 11:15 AM

Emma's idea might be fun to try even if you did have enough yarn. Lookin' good!

Posted by: Kerstin at March 1, 2003 2:40 PM

I think the half and half look would be great! But go with you preference and see what happens. Get the back adn both sleeves and then you will have a better idea of what to do with the front.

Posted by: Chris at March 1, 2003 7:44 PM

Back's always swallow up the yarn & make you panic. I regularly buy 1-2 balls over & after the back panic about what I have. Now I have about 3 balls from each FO, so have no worries, it sounds like you will make it with lots left over - considering you have the 2nd colour to incorporate. I think the 2-colour cable sounds wonderful & something to experiment with. Challenging & stretching one's skills is always a plus with me. :-))

Posted by: Peter at March 2, 2003 9:01 PM

Looking very good, Alison! That is a gorgeous green. From the number of skeins you used for the back, I think you'll have enough yarn. You've passed the armhole shaping and you only used one and a half skeins. I'm pretty sure you'll have just enough :-)

Posted by: Becky at March 3, 2003 5:08 AM