Unexpected Guests, the Plague, and Sleevitis

Last weekend my aunt and uncle stopped by while on their cross country trip. It was great to visit with them, but I think they brought the plague. Whether they carried some mutant virus from the Great Plains or I ran myself down with the holidays, road trips, and visitors, I have had the cold from hell all week.

It's been so bad that I haven't been able to lurk at my favorite blogs or even hang out on Ravelry. The plus side is I got a lot of knitting done while watching bad day-time TV. I planned to work diligently on Sassy's Cherie Amour, but I had crippling sleevitis. Instead, I knit a very simple twisted wrap with the Trendsetter Venus yarn I picked up at Hanks. I used a provisional cast on with a garter stitch seam to create seamless shoulder wrap. It shows the variations in yarns and textures beautifully! I have a bit left; I think I will do a very narrow, very long scarf.


I also cast on Mrs. Darcy, finished the back, and started the sleeves. I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport and size 10 needles to match the gauge called for in the pattern. It has made a light and lacy fabric, perfect for Florida! The Lorna's Laces is soo soft. I love it!


Did you notice that I knit the back, skipped the fronts, and went straight to the sleeves? I thought that might circumvent my sleevitis. Maybe it's not sleevitis; maybe I just get bored with a project near the end and... Nope, it's sleevitis.

I have put a lot of thought into this disorder over the last week. First, I must qualify that I have freakishly long arms. According to da Vinci, a person's height is supposed to be equal to her wingspan measured fingertip to fingertip, across the shoulders. Well, I am 66 inches tall, and my wingspan is 70 inches. Four full inches difference! I should be in a side show.

So, when I knit sleeves, it takes an extra long time. However, my sleevitis cannot be simply blamed on my freakishness. Think about knitting the front of a sweater. You knit four inches, hold it up to your body, and look! you've knit from your hipbone to your belly button! Now think about knitting two sleeves. It's often the same number of stitches, so it should be just as exciting. However, you knit four inches, hold it up to your arm, and you've knit to your wrist. Hardly exciting.

I think we need support groups for sleevitis. Special stitch and bitches devoted strictly to sleeves. "Hi, my name is Eryn, and I have sleevitis. I have knit two half sleeves since our last meeting."

Even without the support group, I forced myself to knit Sassy's sleeves. They are officially done and blocking. I will be embarking on the grand adventure that is seaming as soon as all the pieces are dry.

Until then, I have much blogstalking to catch up on. First, my worst habit. I think it's obvious that my worst habit is procrastination. I will do nothing today that can be put off 'til tomorrow! The next assignment is a snap-shot of our knitting needles.

Here you see my needle drawer, including my brand new Options Harmony set (Whee!). So far I love them; they are beautiful: smooth with just enough grip that I don't lose my stitches. Maybe they can help me fight sleevitis!