I got 8 inches into the front of a sweater, only to realize that I’d cast on 72 stitches because I was somehow convinced that 72 was the right number.

Actually, 76 was the right number.

Many people in the Second Cup were interested in the grumpy girl frogging the knitting. 

Boo hiss.

Sometimes you can fudge it, and sometimes you can’t.  This sweater is meant to have no ease and has a gauge of 5 sts to the inch.   So a loss of 4 stitches is not only the loss of about an inch, but messes up the decreases, increases and neckline. 

Every now and again I have a fleeting moment of nostalgia for the giant drop-shouldered sweaters of my teen years.  Nobody would notice a short/windfall of many stitches in one of those. 

That said, I much prefer the knitted garments of today, that look like actual clothing.  I have a fondness for very vintage sweaters with gauges of 8 sts to the inch and more, with collars, cuffs, and other fine details . . . sweaters that were meant to be more than just cover-ups.  You know, back when some sweaters were called “blouses”, because they were meant to be worn like a shirt. 

But for now it’s back to my 76 stitches.  Sigh.

Sheesh.

The saddest part of all, is that this isn’t the original pattern that I made the sweater from.  I found this copy of it in a yarn store for $1.00 and just had to buy it for the nostalgia.  Witness the nostalgia:

I made the long-sleeved, round-necked, pullover version. 

In lavender mohair. 

Despite the fact that mohair makes me itchy and lavender makes me look jaundiced. 

I have no idea why the name “condo” is applied to a garter-stitch sweater that is made with one regular-sized knitting needle and one broomstick.

Although, ironically enough, this was before the leaky condo crisis in Vancouver really got going . . . perhaps the condo builders (who should all be rotting in a moldy, damp jail cell) were inspired by the airy perforations of this confection.

Extra! Extra! Evidence has come to light that the curse DOES cut both ways!

Daniel posted a comment after my Sweater Curse rant . . . this awesome guy actually made a scarf for a lady friend–who entirely failed to appreciate it and NEVER WORE IT. Shame, shame.

Ladies, I don’t have a clue as to his marital status, but hey . . . just putting that out there (wink, wink).

There are times, though, that you can imagine how a romantic partner could be a little flipped out by a hand-made garment. Particularly if it was all matchy-matchy like this:

Some things require a commitment that many people aren’t prepared to make. If a boyfriend of mine presented me with a matching granny-square sweater, I believe I would have a permanent headache and need to change my phone number (and possibly my postal code).

I did make granny-square pants for a friend of mine once. But let me qualify that statement by telling you that he is a stand-up comic, and the pants never failed to get big laughs.

Muswell was getting lonely, so (with the help of Jennie Eveleigh Lamond) we acquired a friend for her, and a new denizen of Ariadne’s Petting Zoo:

Meet Farmer Fox! He is also made of Warani, with Marra overalls and socks made from your leftover sock yarn (now you know what to do with those ends!).
Farmer Fox likes holding hands,

sitting naked in the grass,

showing off his wardrobe,

and relaxing at the park.
If you’d like to be his friend too, he’s available for $4.50 as a pdf download.