scene: the locker room at the gym. I have finished swimming/showering/dressing and am waiting for Ricki to do the same. I have decided to use this time to clean out my purse. A gauge swatch which is in my purse falls on the floor and Ricki hands it to me …..

Ricki: Oh this is so nice Ann. It’s such a pretty color. I thought the jacket was moss stitch.

Me: It is.

Ricki: But it said to do the gauge in stockinette?

Me: (with absolutely no confidence whatsoever) yeah.

I make a mental note to verify this the minute I get through the door.

I get the book as soon as I get home and I cannot believe what I am reading! WTF is the matter with me???? I actually looked at the book, knit the damn swatch, looked at the book again to see what gauge I should be getting. Counted my damn swatch. Looked at the book. Recounted the swatch just to make sure. And have looked at the damn pattern countless times in between as I have dithered over sizing.

AND THAT WHOLE F-ING TIME DID NOT NOTICE THAT I HAD KNITTED THE WRONG STITCH IN MY GAUGE SWATCH???!!!

An afternoon on the phone with Cara and Kathleen – thank God they put up with me and this crazy crap of mine – has revealed that my stitch gauge is slightly off – the pattern calls for 4.25 stitches/inch and I am getting 4.5 stitches/inch. That .25 difference means that if I continue knitting for the larger size, I will actually end up with the in between size that I wanted in the first place.

i lucked out and this screw up has in fact been a very good turn of events.

but still – what the hell is wrong with me?

P4170016 P4170017
on band trips, we used to make out
with these guys in the back of the bus

thank you so much for all your input! Cathy sent me a link to an errata page for Knitting Nature. It has all been enormously helpful. Last night’s knitting brought me to the decision making point of should I/shouldn’t I. I managed to make myself so crazy (what the hell is the matter with me?? – Kathleen is right!) that I just went to bed. It was only nine o’clock!!

A full night’s sleep was just what the knitting Dr. ordered and I have decided to do the smaller (three stitch) reduction.

In other news, the Boar and I are traveling to Florida this weekend – a niece’s First Communion. My traveling neurosis have kicked in and I am busy kvetching about it all ……. I wonder why Kathleen ever assumed I was normal in the first place? That’s the real question!