The Issue with Gauge

I know, as you know, that a good knitter always knits a gauge swatch.

I also know, as you know, that sometimes (or a lot of times), a knitter doesn't bother to knit a gauge swatch, and that often, it doesn't matter.

This is not the case in this story.

I cast on last month for a Tropical Lily for Baby Girl, using some Cascade Luna that I bought on the North Shore Yarn Crawl. I really loved the blues and purples of the yarn, and totally imagined how the colors would bring out Baby Girl's bright blue eyes.

I cast on the appropriate number of stitches using a size 7 needle as called for in the pattern, and I knit. I realized as I was knitting that the pinafore would be a little wide, but I decided that Baby Girl could always wear it next summer. Too big is always better than too small when it comes to clothes for children.

I followed the pattern, except to make a button tab instead of ties at the back. (I just didn't like the bulk of knitted ties). And, instead of putting buttons on the ends of the strap, I put the buttons on the inside of the waistband, and made 4 buttonholes on each strap, so the size could be adjusted as needed. Feeling very clever, I blocked the top, being careful not to add any extra width, but hoping to add a little length.

And as expected, the top is too big for Baby Girl.

Unexpectedly, it is also ever so slightly too large for Little Girl. Thankfully, only slightly.

She wore it to school today.


The moral of the story: Sometimes, when you don't check gauge, it still turns out alright.

Happy Knitting!

Hello, Again.

Despite its lack of appearance on this blog, there has been knitting going on.

I've knit two slouchy hats (that story is a blog post all its own):

I'm almost done with a Tropical Lily for baby girl:


And I'm on the start of Clue #4 out of 5 on the Birthday Pi Shawl:


Progress has been kind of slow because it's been pretty busy around here.

My cousin got married in Alexandria Bay, NY.

I made the kransekage, the traditional Norwegian Wedding Cake:

Alexandria Bay is a 7 hour drive through 4 states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York). I used knitmap to locate the yarn shops I would be passing, and stopped at three of them in Vermont on my way to New York. I bought a skein of sock yarn and a skein of worsted weight wool, but I haven't taken any pictures of them.

Little boy graduated from preschool the following Friday, and as a member of the parent board, I had a lot of running around to do to get ready for the graduation after-party. We're so proud of our little boy, and so glad that he had such a positive first school experience!

I've also been very busy meeting with brides and grooms whose weddings I'm coordinating at church. I had three weddings in May, and three more in June. I LOVE doing weddings, but it always makes for a busy weekend.

I'm hoping to make it to my knitting group tonight. I haven't been there in months!

Happy Knitting!