Let’s take a gander at my Endless Sweaters, shall we?

I haven’t shown you my Tatami in a while . . . mostly because there’s been little progress to SHOW.

I’m just under the halfway point.

Yes, you heard me. I’ve been working on it since December, and it’s not even half done yet. Close, but not quite.

See? The ruler there by the arm? The sleeve is about 9" wide at this point.

It needs to be 20" before I can bind off the front edges of the sleeves and work down the fronts of the cardigan.

You heard me. I started the sleeves in February when Liz was here. And sure, granted, I’ve been focusing on my Celtic Icon, and there was the Mystery Project to get done, but still . . . Three months for 9 inches worth of sleeves.

The worst part? I’m getting a little bored with this sweater. (Getting? Who am I kidding? If I’d been loving every stitch, it would have moved up ahead of C.I. by now.) I still love the pattern. And I love the way my handspun is knitting up. And I love the way it looks. Just . . . sooooo slow. The stitch pattern is more interesting than plain stockinette, but not that much more, if you take my meaning. And it’s back and forth in rows, which really, is my least favorite sweater method. (So how have I ended up with this many knit-and-seam projects lately??)

Well, on the plus side, I’m into the sleeve shaping on the Celtic Icon sleeves. Finally. Once they’re done (still a few days away), I need to stitch everything together and THEN knit/finish the hood. And then either sew in the zipper. (One of many.) Or I might, at that point, decide that it would be better with buttons. I’m really . . . not worried, exactly, but . . . concerned about the way this sweater is going to fit. And since it’s turned out so long (after blocking), I don’t know that I’d want to put a zipper all the way up the front. So, I might, at that point . . . with everything sewn together and able-to-be-tried-on . . . decide to go for button bands and buttons instead.

How long, you ask?

Well, to give you an idea, I laid out my two "Celtic" sweaters. Granted, they’re not at all similar in style, but, well the names, the cables . . . I thought they’d like to get together.

As you can see, the front pieces of the Celtic Icon go well beyond the bottom of the Celtic Dreams.

And, really, my Celtic Dreams is just about the right length–give or take an inch either way. So, you can get an idea how very long this sweater’s going to be when I wear it, huh?

Before you ask, yes, I did measure it as I was making it, and yes, I did periodically check my gauge, and yes, I did block it . . . but that’s where the problems started. It definitely grew in length during blocking. For some reason, my pieces always do, no matter how careful I am.

So, ultimately, I’m thinking that putting a zipper into a sweater that’s going to be THIS long is probably a mistake. Assuming it fits well enough to wear when all is said and done (cross your fingers for me), I’d most likely be wanting to leave it open. You know, so it won’t look like it’s trying to be a mini-dress or something. I’d probably just button a couple buttons up near the bust or waist and leave it at that . . . so those zippers might not be going anywhere!

And, in retrospect, it’s really no wonder I needed that extra yarn, huh?

(Now I’m just worrying about how far past my fingers the sleeves are going to reach once I wash this the first time . . . Why ISN’T there a way to block pieces smaller?? I’m so afraid this isn’t going to fit at all . . . after eight months worth of knitting. Eight months!)

Other than knitting? Today is my niece’s 18th birthday. The one whose Senior Prom was last week. She’s not a little girl at all any more! An adult and old enough to vote. How did that happen? I’d swear she was this size just a year or three ago. Anyway, happy birthday, niece!!

(And yes, I know, my nephew should still be this size, instead of fourteen. This is the kind of stuff that makes me feel old!)

Ooh, and I saw this over at JenLa’s and had to try it.

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