Knitting Interrupted

The other day, when I wondered aloud if I could finish sweater for myself in time for the New York Sheep & Wool festival, I got to thinking. The plan has always been to reknit the top-down yoke cardigan that I killed back at the end of April. The New York Sheep and Wool festival is the weekend of October 17th. If I cast on my sweater right away, I’d have exactly 21 days to finish it. That seemed reasonable, as long as I dedicated all my knitting time to this single project. So that’s what I did. I dug out the yarn and cast on the evening of September 27th and knitted up to the first set of increases for the yoke.

The following morning, I knitted up to the second set of increases before I realized that the garter band on the collar was just too W I D E. I ripped back to the middle of the garter stitch band and pushed forward.

At this point, I was in knit-as-fast-and-as-often-as-you-can mode. When I wasn’t trying to keep up with the housework, or minding the children, or running a quick errand to the store, I was knitting. I knitted as fast as I could get my hands to go, whenever I had a few minutes to sneak in a row or 2 or more, and by yesterday evening I’d gotten through 3 of the 4 sets of increases for the yoke.

Why was I surprised, then, when I sat down last night to push through the last 20 rows of the yoke only to find that my left arm was radiating a sort of warm and twitchy ache? That’s right, faithful Reader, my old nemesis, the Very Horrible tendonitis, has returned. Evidently, I had forgotten the mantra (from the last time I had a flare-up).

• I do not need to hold the world record. I can knit at the speed which is comfortable for my body. I do not need to hold the world record. Om.

To which I add: I guess I really didn’t need a new sweater for Rhinebeck…

*sigh*