stress buster

Remember the sweater I was knitting to take along on our vacation two months ago? Well, you don't really have to remember it. And I abandoned it well before our departure date.

In a nutshell, I was having trouble getting gauge with the yarn and needles. I thought I was happy with the drapey effect I was getting. Once I knit the entire back, however, and was well on my way with the front, I realized that it had gone well beyond drapey to "completely shapeless" and "lacking any sort of character at all" and, if I'm completely honest, "looking like something you could catch fish with."

Off to the frogpond it went, for the second time. Secondo had a great time helping me -- he ripped, I wound. That element of destruction is irresistible for boys.

After letting the problem stew for a while, it hit me in one of those just-waking-up epiphanies that I probably could solve all my problems by going back up to the original needle size while doubling up the yarn.

Eureka! It worked perfectly and now the almost-completed back looks like a proper part of a someday-sweater. I made stupendous progress this past weekend by knitting like a fiend while I was forcibly removed an entire state away from my dyepots. It was the only way I managed to keep my stress-levels under control.

Forget the calming properties of gently lapping waves; I'll take knitting any day.