The story of yesterday was I cheated. Let me start at the start.
I picked up early in the morning and all went very well.
It's going well. I put in a couple of inches and am pleased with how it's going. It's a fun knit.
But I was heartily sick of it by noon. I am quite sure it has to do with being stuck in my room while floor work goes on. It was just that antigens that creeps in when you can'tdo more than anything else. I put my pretty yellow away.
I thought I would knit on my Kauni sweater. I searched through the bags in the WIPs bin and couldn't find it. It's somewhere in here but when I opened a bag with some navy Cascade 220 and some multi colored yarn from a maker called Yarn Love ghat I purchased from someone's stash a good long while ago, I threw all thought of sticking with knits on the go aside. I needed to cast on something new. That was exciting.
I am making a Shalom with this. Shalom is an oldie that I made four times before as a vest or a sweater. This version is going to be a pullover.
And now for an answer to Jen, who commented yesterday regarding gauge issues. Simply put, not anymore. There are no patterns I will not knit if I have a gauge issue. That's the simple version but the truth is way weirder that that.
I rarely follow patterns completely. Right from the start of my knitting journey some almost 20 years ago. I struggled as a new knitter and still struggle now. The difference is I now understand why. When I see a line of type with letters and numbers they pile up at the end of the line. Literally. A knitting pattern can be a nightmare for me. I have to break it into today smaller bits in order to understand what is going on in a pattern. Once I understand it I can usually make something that will fit me and that will kind of look like the design I want.
To get to this point, I read and played around lots. I highly recommend reading everything by Elizabeth Zimmermann, Knitting In the Old Way by Priscilla Gibson Roberts, Knitting From the Top Down by Barbara Walker, Knitting Rules by Stephanie Pearl McPhee, Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague for starters to encourage you to be in the drivers seat of your knitting.
Longer ago, I could purchase what I wanted to suit a pattern but now, with a ginormous stash, and little spare cash, I play gauge games. I also play gauge games because my one hand has a shaking problem that makes fine yarns very difficult. That is what happened with the Geddy Tee.
I wanted that tee. I bought the pattern to read how the designer built the design. I carefully read the schematics. I made a swatch of what my gauge with my yarns was. Then, I rather blindly made my crocheted granny squares. I knew I wanted to use only two for the shoulder saddles because that looked nicer and two were wide enough for how I wanted it to fit. And then basically, I picked up the number of stitches that I would need based on her schematics and my granny squares measurement.
As you can see at the shoulders, the main body ruffles a bit but the picture shows the unblocked sweater. After that it's all about my gauge and her schematics. I rarely read the pattern except to confirm her details. I try to keep to the details of the design, the shoulders, the collar, all the little bits that make her design the sweater I want.
So I sort of wing it. Because I can't do anything else. Would that I could. Would that 9 year old me could have done those train math word problems or that slightly older me could have done algebra.
Do I need patterns? Not really. That is both blessing and curse. I struggle with patterns that are too line by line and where numbers are perfect on every row. But can I knit to fit me? Yes.
I hope this helps answer your questions Jen. It's all about gauge and the designers schematics. If you don't have my issues with letters and numbers, the reasonable thing is to do the things you describe to get the size you want.
That's it for today. The little bits of rain we are having is nice and the air smells Grand. All the really heavy stuff is south of us. So far. So far.
