I am very PO'ed - well, actually not so much anymore. Last night was bad, very bad... I don't know how this could have happened... Because I made a swatch, and took the gauge from the swatch, and wrote it down. Plus, I was knitting on gauge for the pattern. And it turns out - almost half a cardigan later - the gauge is off. Verdammte Scheisse!!! When you hear me swear in German, it's pretty serious... So, here's the story:
I was knitting along on Gale's Sonnet at Knitch. Everything was going great, the yarn is wonderful to knit with and it knits up fast. The body of the cardigan is knitted sideways, and I totally concentrated on the measurements sideways to get the right width... Well, a couple of knitting friends mentioned that the cardigan looked very short. And that made me wonder... So, I drove home last night from the FNKG (Friday Night Knitting Group) with a wary feeling. With hubby by my side for moral support and calming purposes, I measured the length and, sure enough, IT WAS FREAKIN' 3½ inches short... Look for yourself...
And the armholes were - of course - also not deep enough...
Instead of 8 inches, I had only 6½. %&$#@*!!!!
I was close to strangling that smiling sheep tape measure... How could this have happened? I have no idea. I can only guess that my garter stitch tightened up while I was knitting along. Oh well, hubby and I ripped the whole thing. But before we did that, we took the gauge measurement at four different spots on the cardigan. And guess what - it was consistently 14 stitches for 4 inches, instead of 12 stitches.
I always try to think of Elizabeth Zimmermann in situations like this. I like what she says in The Opinionated Knitter: Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises.
So, this is what I had when I started all over...
I cast on last night. It almost felt like after a car accident. You need to get right back into the driver's seat and drive. I am almost back to where we ripped from... Thanks to Bonnie and Clyde (with eye candy for everyone: a gorgeous Faye Dunaway and a handsome Warren Beatty) and Amadeus this morning. (Hubby keeps calling the movie I'm a Danish from a parody of the Falco song he heard a long time ago.) That was nice knitting entertainment. :-)
Lou sent me a cool link for pictures of Ovejas Telefónicas. This is my favorite of the sheepie pix:
Hey - I have something off-topic. Do you have a "mandatory" homeowner's ass-ociation because of where your house is located? Hubby and I do... We get a monthly newsletter which is mostly super-infuriating... I want to share some August highlights:
Garage doors should not remain opened all day. Neighbors do not need/want to see how clean or dirty you keep your garage.
All windows must be covered with the exception of curved windows such as archways.
No artificial vegetation shall be permitted on the exterior of any property. Exterior sculpture, fountains, flags, and similar items must be approved by the Board.
That makes me want to drive to Wal-Mart right now and get the most hideous and gaudy window treatments and some really purdy super-artificial looking flower arrangements to infuriate the Gestapo... uh-h-h... I mean Board.
Here's a cute cartoon from Lionbrand - for all the hecklers in your life:
And with this I wish you a wonderful Labor Day weekend - hope you don't have to work on Monday. I am off to make dinner now. :-)
Comments (10)
OMG, that is SO bad! I'm glad you got it worked out. The ways of gauge continue to befuddle me.
Posted by Jane | September 1, 2007 8:43 PM
Posted on September 1, 2007 20:43
I hate the home-owners ass-ociation where we live.. they like to leave us notes about important things like "garbage cans are unsightly.. please remove yours from the street within 12 hours of trash pick up to avoid fines" and "a green, weed free lawn is a sign of a happy home". They also send out newsletters that remind everyone that its time to sign up for those chemical lawn services for green happy lawns. Bleh. Talk about bad for the environment and the children who might want to play in the yards!
Posted by mouse | September 1, 2007 9:21 PM
Posted on September 1, 2007 21:21
Rotten gauge! I'm just finishing a Sonnet. Hopefully I'll be posting the finished object by Monday. The yarn you are using looks gorgeous. Wonderful handspun and super colors.
Posted by Angie Simon | September 1, 2007 10:49 PM
Posted on September 1, 2007 22:49
Rotten gauge! I'm just finishing a Sonnet. Hopefully I'll be posting the finished object by Monday. The yarn you are using looks gorgeous. Wonderful handspun and super colors. I think that the gauge swatch needs to sit for a bit to let the garter stitch relax. That's my experience, anyway.
Posted by Angie Simon | September 1, 2007 10:52 PM
Posted on September 1, 2007 22:52
The HOA bylaws in our neighborhood say we can't paint our own front door. They can kiss my ass as I'm not paying someone to do what I can do myself for a lot less money. The door will go unpainted first. Some bylaws are good though, like Thou shalt not have a graveyard for 20 dead cars on your front lawn.
It sucks that you had to rip but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.
Posted by Restless Knitter | September 2, 2007 2:25 AM
Posted on September 2, 2007 02:25
One of the conditions I had when we bought our house was that there was NOT a homeowner's association in the neighborhood. I didn't grow up with that, and I don't want some tight-assed HOA telling me what to do with my house or my yard. Of course, our neighborhood is a little more, mmm, free-form than some, but that's ok with me. Anybody that wants to can live in a happy land of weedless bermuda lawns and professionally painted doors. I prefer a little more texture in my world.
Posted by Janice in GA | September 2, 2007 10:42 AM
Posted on September 2, 2007 10:42
My heart goes out to you about the gauge boo-boo...holy cow. The n'hood assoc thing is a toss up. My n'hood doesn't have one, but then one (moi)could become cranky when having to look at old tires left on the street or cars parked in the yard, or tarps on the roof, or junk cars...
Posted by Michele | September 2, 2007 10:37 PM
Posted on September 2, 2007 22:37
Sorry to hear you had gauge "issues". It's almost hard to believe since you are always so good about swatching before you start. Are you sure you weren't just knitting a really big test swatch? I think maybe it had to be the dogs ripping and re-knitting after you went to bed, or knitting poltergeists. Yeah, that's what happened. ;)
See you soon. :)>
Posted by Doug | September 2, 2007 11:30 PM
Posted on September 2, 2007 23:30
Ooooh! Sorry about your sweater! I've had a similar problem this weekend, where I misread a rib pattern and now I have to start the whole thing over again. :(
We have an HOA too, but I think they're pretty lax. Our yard has been 'unsightly' and our trashcans left out and no one has been mean. They do have a lot of those silly rules though.
Posted by Allison | September 4, 2007 8:21 AM
Posted on September 4, 2007 08:21
OMG, I cannot believe you had to rip the whole thing. Memories of learning to knit as a child??
As for the association, geez, where do you live? Wysteria Lane?
Posted by The Yarn Doctor | September 4, 2007 12:57 PM
Posted on September 4, 2007 12:57