Knitting Through the Doldrums
Are we there yet?
I know some knitters get marooned on "sleeve island" or suffer from Second Sock Syndrome. For me, the part of a knitting project that often feels like a slog is the lower body, especially if it's worked in one piece with no side seams. I call this the knitting doldrums.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the "doldrums" is a popular nautical term that refers to the belt around the Earth near the equator where sailing ships sometimes get stuck on windless waters. Ships can be becalmed (a lovely word for a frightful situation) for weeks on end, making no progress while watching the supply of fresh water dwindle.
I started this cardigan back in November, but set it aside while I worked on some design commissions that had deadlines attached. Now that those projects are finished, I've picked this sweater up again only to find myself deep in the doldrums. I know (based on my swatch) I need seven repeats of the 19-row pattern to reach the armholes. But still, I keep reaching for the tape measure, asking "are we there yet?" No. The answer is no.
To be fair, it isn't the sweater's fault. The yarn, Malabrigo Dos Tierras, is a joy to knit. I love the way it looks and feels. I know this cardigan will be a favorite. But each row is 284 stitches. If I'm really zipping along, I can just about knit four rows in an hour. I know I'm making progress, but instant gratification it's not.
My immediate goal is to reach the armhole division by the time I write to you next week. Once I pass that milestone, the rows will get dramatically shorter and I'll feel like I'm getting somewhere.
As an added incentive, I ordered these pewter buttons for this cardigan today. Aren't they pretty?
To keep my brain occupied while I knit, I rely heavily on audiobooks. Last week, I listened to two terrific books.
The first was Portal: San Francisco's Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities by John King.
I lived and/or worked in San Francisco for most of the 1980s and 1990s. For those of us who worked downtown, the Ferry Building was the giant "You Are Here" sign that anchored our days. King celebrates this architectural icon with a thorough recounting of its history, from its design and construction in the 1890s through today. But he also uses this story as the entry point to an exploration of how cities evolve over time. He ventures into politics, urban planning, and the rise of personal automobiles. I found it fascinating.
The second book, which I binged over the weekend, is Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon.
This novel is based on the true story of Nancy Wake, an Australian journalist living in Paris in the 1930s. With the outbreak of World War II, she worked with the French resistance to smuggle people and papers across the border to Spain. With a Gestapo bounty on her head, she fled to England, where she volunteered with the Special Operations Executive, the Allied counterintelligence operation. She was sent back to France to coordinate delivery of Allied support to resistance fighters.
Big thanks to subscriber Cathy Kerr for recommending this book. It completely sucked me in. The characters are beautifully realized, and the propulsive plot kept me up past my bedtime.
Starting this week, the links to books I recommend will take you to Bookshop.org, and they are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I will receive a small commission (at no cost to you). Bookshop.org is a non-profit which supports independent bookstores. Thanks to subscriber Anmiryam for pointing me in this direction.
By the way, Library Extension works just as well with Bookshop.org as it does with Amazon. I couldn't possibly afford to buy all the books I read, so I'm a heavy user of my local public library for both paper and audiobooks. I can use Bookshop as my primary search resource, and the Library Extension pops up to tell me if the book is available through my library. Brilliant!
Some things that caught my eye
The New York Times published an article this week about an exhibition at Windsor Castle spotlighting Queen Mary's Dolls' House. I'm not someone who would ever create or curate a dollhouse as an adult, but I'm in awe of the level of detail and craftsmanship that goes into these works of art.
If a visit to England isn't on your calendar this year, how about Chicago? The Art Institute of Chicago is home to the Thorne Miniature Rooms. Created in the 1930s by Narcissa Niblack Thorne, this series of tiny rooms was intended to present a visual history of interior design. I've seen these in person, and they are astounding.
What’s your strategy for getting through the knitting doldrums? All suggestions are welcome in the comments!
As always, thank you for inviting me into your world each week. I wish you steady winds, no dropped stitches, and engaging reading!
Love the sweater project and the buttons. I love the fabric Dos Tierras produces.
I do love what you’re knitting and the buttons to go with it. I usually have more than one project going on so I feel like I’m progressing with something if my knitting project hits the doldrums. Still, I don’t like taking a break per se because the only way to progress is to knit. Even though I keep notes on my knitting, if I drop a project for too long, it takes just as long to get back in the rhythm. If the pattern is simple enough, I can suffer through the doldrums by knitting while watching TV or listening to an audiobook. If the pattern requires more of my attention, then it will be a long slog … and I’ll probably vow to “never knit that again.” Thank you for the book recommendations. I tend to “plow through” my audiobooks which are usually some kind of crime fiction. Currently I’m listening to The It Girl by Ruth Ware. I might give a listen to Portal. I lived in the Bay Area (Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland, in that order) from 1978 to 1986, then San Francisco from 1986 to 1990. We still have friends in SF and try to visit every few years. It’s changed a lot (understatement).