Failure..is an option, nay, it’s my manifest destiny

Briar Rose is complete. If I could just find a little person with Booger McFarland-sized biceps the sweater would be an excellent gift.

How have I really fucked this up? How could I have sincerely f-ed the sweater but make reasonable Booger-sized arms? And the damned baby cables. For 4″! Could I not tell this was a doll-sized garment before I wasted my entire holiday weekend working this nonsense?

It comes down to guage. If I am not prepared to really take into account guage, I have to face this possibility. But I’ve been lucky so many times before!! ARGHHH.

Pics and or vids to come. They’re embarrassing. But I’ll show you.

Update: Ok, ready to show. Not ready to try it on, because it would be like fat guy in a little coat, fat guy in a little coat:

So here it is on the floor. My greatest disappointment to date. Le sigh.

 

It’s a mod, mod, mod world

Ok, ready to make the swirly-do hat with fleur, from Lauran Blogi. Except the only white or white-ish yarn I have is Twinkle’s handknit super chunky. And because I’ve waited until the last moment for custom holiday gifts for friends, now I must…dum dum dum. Modify this pattern! I’ve never done this before. I hope I don’t fuck it up. Is it a good idea to do this for the first time when the instructions are in Norwegian?

It calls for:

Aran weight yarn, gauge 14 sts/10 rows = 10 cm. 5mm circular needles, cast on 80 sts.

I know nothing about guage. I should. Maybe I’ll learn one day. I hope this isn’t the day. But anyway – I cast on 48 sts of Twinkle handknit super chunky on a 5mm circular needle. Fingers crossed!

[40 mins/1.5 glasses cabernet sauvignon later]

It seems to be working. Because I’m an idiot, and also I think because the yarn I’m working with is so thick, I’m using a cable needle (well just a single dpn; I don’t own a cable needle) and doing this cable-style. The instructions I needed (and ass-umed, which turned out to be correct), is that for the first row (knit 1, purl 3), you knit the knit and purl the purl. Er, the 3rd and odd rows, since you repeat rows 1 & 2 ongoing.

[1 glass Fresca and 10 rows later]

Hat looks great. For a Pinhead. Dammit! Changing to larger (size 10) circs, metal.

[3 days, 1 office holiday party, 1 dinner party, 1 play festival and countless glasses of wine, beers and vodka rocks later]

Size 10 circs too long in length. To be continued!