Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The fish seem happy...



...but I'm a wee bit bummed. It's not their fault, but my own. They're actually not involved and I only mention them because I previously claimed that happiness is a tank full of fish. Now I'd like to amend that statement to say that happiness is a tank full of fish and a enough yarn to finish the Tea Leaves Cardigan (Ravelry link).
I'm a basically optimistic person, so by tomorrow I should be ready to move on, but right now....
I have no one to blame but myself. In my zeal to start knitting the Tea Leaves Cardigan RIGHT NOW, I decided to use some yarn I'd reclaimed not once, but twice. The yarn is a wonderful blend of silk and merino, but didn't work in two different projects. I should note here that in both those previous projects I had knitted to near completion before it dawned on me that things were not going as I had envisioned. That probably should have clued me in not to try to use this yarn, but the my thrifty/controlling inner voice was so excited at the prospect of finally making this yarn submit to my will. Also, I reasoned that since the Tea Leaves Cardigan is knit from the top down and I've knit several successful projects that way, everything was going to be OK.
So, I cast on.



And I knit and knit. I was so happy and making such progress.



Today I realized that I would be finishing the body in the next day or so and that I should probably check to see if I had enough yarn for the sleeves. I didn't think there would be a problem, but it just seemed the sensible thing to do.
The horror! There's no way I have enough and, like salt in an open wound, the store where I bought the yarn at least a year ago doesn't have any more. I checked online too. I have been defeated by an incredibly soft and lustrous merino-silk blend.
I have other projects and they'll get me through this rough patch, but for now I'm going to have to mourn for the Tea Leaves Cardigan that never was.

Tomorrow though I think I'll start working on this:

11 comments:

Amy said...

You should put up exactly what yarn and dye lot it was -- maybe someone has it and will be willing to do a trade with you or something! (I know if I owned any yarn I'd be willing to!)

Jessicah said...

Do you have enough to just make wee cap sleeves? You could knit both at the same time to eek out as much yarn as possible.....

lori said...

definitely post in any relevant ravelry forum! i'm in the same boat (due to one of my skeins being drastically different from the rest) and people have been sending me their partial skeins, offering whole skeins, etc. i'm dealing with madelinetosh yarn, and there are a number of madtosh forums, but maybe there's something for the yarn you're using. worth a try!

Anonymous said...

Oh, man. I have done the same thing with underestimating yarn! I am literally *one sleeve* away from a completed Samus (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/PATTsamus.html) - it's so disappointing!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I've so been there. ANd it's a beautiful sweater! Would you ever consider making it short sleeved?

Sunni said...

And its so gorgeous too! I'm sure something will spark your imagination and you'll be able to somehow finish with what you have. In the meantime, that Amy Butler pattern and fabric look perfectly delicious together.

Margaret said...

Yes, post the yarn and dye lot! You'd be surprised how much of a response you might get. And the short sleeves idea is good, too; the Tea Leaves design reminds me of the Shalom cardigan, and that is designed to just cover the shoulders.

Good luck!

Kelli said...

Definitely check out the stashes on Ravelry. If anyone has some leftover or some they don't think they will use, they might send it your way.

beki said...

I had planned to make my next tea leaves a short sleeve one...just saying. BUT, I have to finish my first one before that. I started this cardigan, knit to the under arms, then realized it was too small. I tried again, finished it, then didn't like it on me. Night before last (the same night I blogged about it), I ripped back most of the body. Ah, tea leaves...

Annette said...

I'm sure you'll come with something - it is really beautiful. If you give out the yarn and dye lot I would sure look through my stash.

Jo said...

So there is some totally-written-in-stone rule that says the sleeves must be the same exact color as the rest of the sweater?? Where's the design challenge in that?