Sticking the Landing

The knitting part of my Knitting Olympics project is complete, so I’m down to all the fiddly bits of finishing. I don’t plan to block the entire sweater as the size is good as is, and I’m afraid blocking will stretch things out. I do, however, want to steam block the trim along the bottom of the sleeves and the hem as it tends to puff up a bit, and I’d like it to lie nice and smooth, flush with the garter stitch sections. After that, I’ll kitchener the sleeves (a benefit of the sideways design of this pattern: no lumpy sleeve seams) and sew the underarms shut. Then it’s grossgrain for the button bands (my bind-off band is always longer than my cast-on band, and the grossgrain helps them hang evenly, along with preventing stretching our from wearing the piece buttoned), sewing on the buttons, and I’ll be done.

When I started this project I had no idea it was possible to knit an entire sweater in such a short period of time. A big lace project? Maybe. But a sweater? Who knew? Mind you, I’m using aran-weight yarn and biggish needles. Nonetheless, I’m feeling empowered to try other sweater patterns, without experiencing that lurking sense of if-I-cast-on-this-thing-it-will-still-be-on-the-needles-when-archaeologists-from-the-third-millennium-dig-up-my-fossilized-bones. In particular, I’m thinking of Mel Clark’s Swing in some yummy Elesbeth Lavold Baby Llama a college friend bought for me. (BTW, Little Knits has this yummy yarn on sale right now for only $32.99 a bag. It is a miracle of softness with a wonderful shine. I strongly recommend yielding to temptation and buying some.)