Uncle

I think it's time to acknowledge that no, I am not going to finish my Tilted Duster for NaKniSweMo. I know, I know, big surprise, but I am disappointed.



This was my progress as of about 5am yesterday morning. Not pictured are two sleeves, knit but not seamed.

I had eight hours of classes yesterday (without sleep), and though I knit for as long as I was awake last night, I still only finished 13 of the 80 skirt rows. Which is to say nothing of the collar or the rest of the finishing.

Considering I have class from 2-10pm today, with all the work I can stand this morning before class, then another full day tomorrow, this just isn't going to happen.

Sigh.

Looking back on this month, I can come up with plenty of times when I could have been knitting. I took several long train rides, working on my traveling sock instead (great progress there, by the way).

During an extended visit at my parents', I spent most of my time knitting a hat, then trying out another:



At least I like where it's going, even if it's a blazing symbol of my constant knitting infidelity.

I'm not going to completely beat myself up though, because this month has taught me a lot about knitting and myself as a knitter.

For one thing, I shouldn't have been so afraid of seaming. I let that hold me up for the longest time (if even subconsciously), when it actually took about 20 concentrated minutes of work. The seams came out alright, not great, but acceptable enough for my first full seater.

I should have been afraid of picking up stitches from the cast-on edge, as this turned out to be a nightmare. I still don't know why I had such a hard time with it, but it literally sucked up hours of knitting time Tuesday night.

I also should have thought more about the pattern itself and what I was attempting to accomplish. The skirt portion is 80 rows of 210 or more stitches per row, which in and of itself is nearly like knitting an entire Tempting over again, but with increases. I might have reflected on the time it took me to knit the original Tempting (which yeah, we'll talk about soon) and realized that no, leaving a few hours is not sufficient for that part.

Lastly, if I really want to finish something by a deadline, I shouldn't dally around with other projects. I know it's so easy for me to rationalize a hat or two or working on my socks instead, but obviously that was time I should have been working on the Duster.

I am much further along in this than any other sweater I've started so far, so it shouldn't be too much time before I finish it, provided I actually stick with it and don't put it aside indefinitely when I start up Christmas knitting next week.

Ahh the insanity. I realize it's ludicrous to stress about knitting, since this is the hobby I do to relax, but I don't like facing my limitations in any context. There may be no NaKniSweMo police (and thank you, Amanda, for reminding me of this), but I can still be annoyed with myself that I didn't rise to the challenge the way I thought I could.

I hope your NaKniSweMo's were more productive and successful than mine, and I'm excited to traipse through FO posts when I find a moment.