We went to the Lair of the Bear last week and I managed to sit down and finally complete “Kate”. “Kate” is in quotes b/c I was too lazy and cheap to send away to Canada for the pattern. I downloaded the free tank pattern from Phildar’s french website. Never mind that I don’t read french–the schematics seemed clear enough. I picked up 4 skeins of cotton-ease from joann’s on the way home from the doctor one day and cast on.
Casting on was an adventure because I plunged right in without thinking things through. (This will be a recurring theme.) Why have side seams in the 2×2 rib?
Why not just knit in the round? So I added up the stitches for the front and back, subtracted 4 stitches (clever me!) for the seam stitches and then added 4 stitches to make a slightly roomier sweater than the sz 38.
Adding 4 stitches works for the 2×2 rib, but then I encountered trouble making the sweater ribbing at the side symmetrical. Aha! I need to add 4 stitches front and back for a total of 8 stitches. Frog the thing and cast on again.
I knitted the first ball while watching movies with my family. Knitting in semi-darkness is hazardous to your knitting. In the light of morning, the sweater looked really limp and pathetic; it screamed to be knit on smaller needles. A second visit to the frog pond.
So I went down 1 size to #5 needles for the ribbing, #6 needles for the body. Note to self, recheck the gauge and adjust the total number of stitches. But I was in a hurry, having already spend too much time fussing already with the number of stitches.
The pix and the rest of the story of woe will have to wait for another lunch break.