Well, I was going great guns with the sweater…
The other issue is a little more grave. The pattern (Licorice Whip) calls for a size 8 US (5mm) needle to get a gauge of 3.5 stitches/inch! You’d think I’d have noticed that, wouldn’t you? And did I swatch beforehand? Erm....
Anyway, it occurred to me to check the gauge Sunday morning and lo and behold, 4 sts/inch. Well, I guess I wasn’t as annoyed as I might have been because by then I already knew something was seriously wrong and it was all going to have to come out anyway but man! I’m going to have to go up seriously in needle size and hope I don’t wind up with lace after all! And for those of you following along in the Robbyn starts and dumps yet another sweater game, this one is still in the running :)
To give the sweater a rest and to give myself something to do so I wouldn’t feel like a perfect idiot (don’t be silly girl, nobody’s perfect!), I started a hat and, if I do say so myself, it came out pretty well :)
Round 1: (beginning immediately after second marker) K2tog, knit until two stitches before second marker, SSK, slip marker, K2, slip marker.
Round 2: Knit
Repeat this pair of rounds just until the hat is about level with the crown of your head. This doesn’t have to be pinpoint accurate - you’ve got a lot of leeway because of the generous brim - just somewhere in the ball park.
When the body of the hat is as long as you want it, commence decreasing on every round. This line of decreases will be the back of the hat. When you’re down to 6 stitches, cut yarn (give yourself about 12” of length) and thread through a tapestry needle. Run the needle through the remaining stitches and pull tightly to close.
If you prefer to leave the hat plain, weave in the ends and you’re done. If you want a pom-pom or a tassel or a decoration of some sort, make it now and use your yarn tail to attach it to the tip of the hat. I wanted something to keep the point of the hat from sticking up and making me look like a demented elf, so I added a short, fat tassel to it which both keeps the point hanging down where I want it and also looks pretty cute (IMHO - hehe...) Then weave it in (the yarn tail, that is, not the tip of the hat!).
This made a very comfortable hat for my head but my head is larger than average. However, downsizing shouldn’t be a problem and there are many ways you could handle that:
* Use lighter weight yarn and smaller needles, i.e., Bulky yarn and size 9 US (5.5mm) needles, worsted weight yarn and size 8 US (5mm) needles, etc.
*Vary the stitch count - the only consideration here is the ribbing and you can basically do anything you want. I did a 4x4 because I wanted the ribbing to lend some holding power, but not be constrictive. However, 4x3 or 3x3 or whatever strikes your fancy is perfectly fine. Hmmm, the thought just occurred to me - we use it for stripe patterns - how about a mirrored Fibonacci sequence for ribbing? Heheh… Yes, I am a geek :)
It’s easier (for me anyway) if the stitch count is even (2, 4, 6, 8) but again, that’s entirely up to you :)
Note: All the entries are in for the Dulaan Kick-off Contest and the winners will be announced tomorrow :) Go look in the Gallery (click the word, right underneath the contest button on the side-bar) to see what beautiful things people have made - wonderful, wonderful stuff!
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that’s the pretty yarn from bron isn’t it? it certainly made a nice hat-
now let me console you about the sweater boo-boo- in my time, i have made a sweater with 3 armholes, once i knitted right on through all neck shaping, and i have regrettably on more than one occasion made either 2 right fronts or 2 left fronts- this doesn’t even count the times when in either a fit of over or under-enthusiasm i’ve managed to make a front or a back up to 6” longer than the other side- and i’m just talking sweater bodies here- i could tell sad tales of sleeves that would bring tears to your eyes- (or make you tell me to just retire the needles!)- i’m sorry you are having ‘issues’ with the sweater, but i think after a good talking to, it should behave nicely and make a beautiful garment-
stay happy-
Barb - Yes, that’s some of the beautiful wool Bron sent me (hi Bron!) and I must say, despite the fact that I’ve never worked with wool that weight before, it worked up very nicely and was and is lovely stuff indeed.
I’m not very dismayed about the sweater and still plan to go ahead with it. I would love to hear the tales of your sweater boo-boos, but I’m afraid the tears would be more of the laughter-induced than the sympathy-elicited variety :)
Oh well, your sweater can hide with my top-down raglan under the afghan on the couch. That one is also waiting to be frogged—I got my gauge of 4/in but somehow ignored the fact that i wrote the pattern for 4.5 Sigh. The hat is lovely.
Rob - You know, the basic Licorice Whip (and my sweater is destined to be known as Red Licorice, I think!) is so simple, that I went to Knittingfool and plugged my needle size, gauge and measurements into their online, top-down raglan pullover calculator :) The results give me what I want using the needle I want to use and I will just incorporate the design elements from the other - such of them as I want to have, anyway :)
Never give up! Never surrender!
Heheh…
Oh Robbyn, I did just that, with Sweater Wizard. But I don’t seem to have actually connected the pattern I generated with what I was knitting. 
Or rather, I plugged in the numbers on the label of the yarn, then liked what I was knitting, and the two gauges don’t match. Oops. Skipped a step there, didn’t I?
Ahh Rob, I see the problem. If it’s any comfort, it seems that any time I start a knitted sweater, I forget how to count. For me, that’s just slightly more embarassing than, say, a bladder control problem would be :)
LOL’d at work for waaay too long! 
