Learning that Sore Hands Means Less Knitting Time

So, I am continuing to work on the Argonath. I have just completed the tenth repeat,which brings me to the halfway point in my journey on the river. The yarn is just as yummy and the cabling looks so beautiful. However, (and must there always be an however?) cabling tends to leave my hands sore. So much so that I don’t want to knit on anything else after having knit a few rows on the Argonath. So, I have learned to space out my knitting through out the day instead of bunching it all up at the end of the day. Any other project I would knit at night when I am relaxing. This stole demands that I break up my day and knit just a little at a time. Good thing I work from my house! My plan is to knit a couple rows, then move on to something I need to accomplish. Then take a short break and knit a couple more rows. This way I get what I need to get done, done and I can still get the knitting done on the Argonath. As an added bonus, my hands don’t hurt so much at the end of the day!

Argonath Halfway

I should not have had to relearn this painful lesson. A couple of years ago, I knit a cabled sweater for my sister. While I don’t begrudge her the work that was involved,my hands nearly fell off knitting it. I hope that in the future, I remember this lesson. If I ever make a project with lots of cables, I need to allow time and realize that it will be slow going. Happily, I don’t knit for my job which would require me to have things done in a reasonable amount of time.

The sweater that nearly made my hands fall off!

Planning is done on my future projects. A couple of birthdays are coming up so I have two pairs of socks to knit before I leave. I have two projects to finish as well. The Gentlemen’s Socks and the Pov Socks. I am on the second sock on both projects so I only need a few days time to finish them. The Evenstar shawl is lined up for next month and the yarn bought (hopefully a much-needed break for my hands). I am going to knit it out of a silk and merino lace weight I bought from Rebel Yarns in the UK. It is a lovely silver color called Selene. When I waswinding the balls, I thought it looked like spun moonbeams. As the shawl has a beaded edge, I bought some beads in a hematite color. They pop against the wool and I think they will look stunning in the edging. Can’t wait to cast on!

Selene yarn and Hematite beads. YUM!

Speaking of winding wool, I have begun the physical preparations for my furlough. I have a list a mile long of things I need to get done in the next three and a half months. The first item off my list was to wind all the wool I am taking with me (as this is a relatively easy thing to cross off the list ;). The yarn is for the projects I have planned for the rest of my selfish year. I don’t plan to take much as I will only have three projects left and they are all lace knitting. I also have to plan how many knitted items to take. I have a limited amount of space and will have even less on the return trip. I am planning to take two sweaters, two shawls and a cowl. I am afraid that if I take more it will get left behind for lack of space. Now on to my next item on the list,cleaning the house.

Wound up yarn.

Since my last post I have learned that slow and steady is better than fast and in a sling. And when knitting cables it is better to be the tortoise than the hare. I also learned I like to knit lace more than cables. Until next time, keep on knitting and learning.