Without anything else on my needles Tempest Two has been growing in leaps and bounds. It's a fast growing sweater anyway, but I didn't think it would be finished so quickly. The first sleeve and the body is pieces are off the needles. (The sleeves for this incarnation are above the elbow.) One sleeve to GO!
You can see the little pins I use to mark the increases, decreases, and the number of rows. The only way to knit Tempest without stripes, and keep track of what's coming, is to count the rows as if there were stripes. Each piece was carefully marked and checked against the others as I went. Seaming go smoothly because of this due diligence. (fingers crossed)
To keep the yarn from pooling, or the color from doing strange things, I worked with two separate balls and worked two by two rows. Each ball had its own little quirks; bright blues spots, more white areas or stronger color sections, and in the end, mixing the balls paid off. The pieces look very much the same and the fabric is a lovely color and texture.
I have to confess to being quite happy about being ahead on knitting twelve sweaters. It takes some of the pressure off, but I still have that sense, that niggling voice, constantly telling me there are more sweaters to do. Maybe I'll feel some relief after number ten is finished, but I have a feeling my mind isn't going to let me rest until all twelve are in the bag.
BEAUTIFUL blue. Really very pretty.
If you finish the 12 sweaters early, are you going to keep going? Or will you stop at 12?
Posted by: Lynda the Guppy | July 30, 2009 at 01:09 PM
I love the shade of blue you have chosen. And I can't wait to see the finished sweater being modeled.
Posted by: Mia | July 30, 2009 at 02:00 PM
Your tempest to be looks really lovely :)
Posted by: Rachel | July 30, 2009 at 02:22 PM
I like this Tempest even better than the first one! You are a speed demon.
Posted by: Birdsong | July 30, 2009 at 05:42 PM
This latest sweater is really pretty. I'm still agog at your fast pace knitting all these sweaters. It doesn't sound very Zen-like to me. :)
Posted by: Nancy | July 30, 2009 at 05:57 PM
I hadn't thought of using rocks to weigh out a sweater when blocking, but I'll have to give it a try. Cheap, easy to find, and only require a bit of cleaning -- why I can throw them in the sink with the sweater. Great idea! :-)
Posted by: Lynn | July 30, 2009 at 06:14 PM
Very, very pretty. :)
Posted by: Renee | July 31, 2009 at 08:18 AM
No need, really, to stress about the 12 - you are way ahead of the game, and you'll have those last few finished up easily and quickly, I'll wager.
Tempest part 2 is looking great! I love the blue you picked.
Posted by: Anne | July 31, 2009 at 10:15 AM
All I'm going to say..is..YOU AMAZE ME!
Posted by: Dianne | August 02, 2009 at 05:44 AM
you wont feel any peace, sorry to burst that bubble - hoping that comes with #12 - i am finishing #11 today, and the mind is just in a crazy place determining what the last one should be. Your KAL for susan i think will provide enough of a distraction so that i can regain some clarity on the last one...Monica
Posted by: monica | August 02, 2009 at 12:35 PM