A Stalled Sweater

Some time ago I started a sweater.  The design is worked from the bottom up with 3 x 1 ribbing, so it became my mindless project.  I carried it around and diligently worked on it.  I read the suggested length to underarm and knew I didn't need to make it that long but wasn't sure just how long to make it.  

So I kept knitting.  You know that knitting.  You're working along. You're sure you're not even close to the desired length.  You're almost positive you'll never get to the desired length.

Two weeks ago I had a feeling I should really figure out the desired length, so I set the project aside.  It was easy to let the sweater simmer because I was in the middle of a couple other projects.  

Once the other projects were finished, I was ready to turn my attention back to the sweater.  Last week I grabbed it on my way out the door and realized I still hadn't resolved the length issue.  The sweater moved from simmering to stalled.

It's not a good time to sit down and sort out a sweater when I'm on my way out the door and running late.  It's also not the time to do it when I'm sitting in an office, waiting for an appointment.  

One of my weekend projects was to get this sweater back on track. Since I wasn't sure of the exact length to underarm I was trying to achieve, I decided to measure it against another sweater.  This is one of my most trusted methods for getting the correct length to underarm. It also works for sleeves and comes in handy when I can't find my tape measure.

I like the length of the red sweater, and this little exercise confirmed that I had indeed shot past the target length.

There's only one solution when that happens.

I thought I might need to take out 6 rows but stopped with 5 just to be safe.  Heaven forbid I go too far the other way and take out extra rows.

And that was just right.  This sweater has gone from stalled to up and running.