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Thursday, April 27, 2017

I've figured it out


 OK, so most of us are familiar with Second Sock Syndrome. I'm going to talk to you about a related condition, Second Sleeve Syndrome.  For those of you who are blissfully unaware of these syndromes, let me explain.

These are the conditions by which a knitter finds her/himself having knit one sock or sleeve and looses total motivation to knit the second.  You've lost that loving feeling. Many projects lay languishing in dark corners of closets or buried deep within knitting baskets due to this affliction.


My "aha" moment came as I cast on and began to knit the second sleeve of my Spring Lake Hi-Lo Pullover. In a rare show of project monogamy, I have been knitting steadily on this sweater to the exclusion of other works in progress. It's amazing how much you can get done this way; but I digress.

I was sitting in the living room knitting the second sleeve and I could feel myself slowing down. My mind began wandering to thoughts of what I was going to cast on for next.  I think we reach a point where 90% of the knitting is done and we get bored. (Thank you Amy, for coining the phrase 90% knitter'. It is definitely a thing.)

This is why so many of my customers and students find projects they started months/years ago that have so little knitting left.  I can't tell you the number of times people have said: "I don't know why I stopped ...
  • I'm part way through a sleeve.
  • I just have to pick up stitches for the ....
  • This only needs to be sewn together
  • Insert your own discovery here (and as a comment, I'd love to hear).
When we put something down, we don't know at the time that it's going to be longer than a day/week.  It's why we don't put any glaring notes as in

YOU ARE HERE

THE LAST ROW KNIT WAS _____


Unfortunately, there is no easy fix other than suck it up, cupcake. Finish. You'll be glad you did. So I will leave you now to finish the sleeve.  I don't know what I'm complaining about, it's not even a full length sleeve!

Share your own experiences with these conditions.  We all feel better knowing we are not alone! Think of it as a support group.



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