Still more frustration with my Union Square Market Pullover sweater. At this point, it’s just lucky that I like the sweater so much, or I’d be about ready to give up on it. Why, you ask? Because apparently my gauge has changed yet again! I was just finishing the hem–for the third time–and slid half the stitches to a second needle, just to be sure my gauge was still where it needed to be . . . and somehow, it has changed again. Last time I did this, with 200 stitches, the sweater was 42″ around. Well now, with 186 stitches . . . guess what? Still 42″! How, I have no idea.

So, obviously, this is frustrating, and I said as much to Mom last night, with my voice edging into those upper registers, “How is this possible? How can my gauge have changed from 4.8 stitches to an inch to 4.4 stitches? Everything’s the same!” Argh . . . again!

This little outburst of disbelief, though, prompted my boy Chappy–ever attuned to his mother’s state of mind–to jump up onto the ottoman, wagging his tail. “Are you okay, Mom?” He is such a sweetie, I tell you, and does not like to see me upset. If Mom and I squabble over something, the minute our voices start getting tense and high, he comes running over as peace-maker, getting between us and climbing up my leg to make me smile . . . and I tell you, it’s not possible to maintain anger when you’ve got your sweet dog looking so adorably concerned–you just have to smile.

Or sick, either–when my allergies were making me miserable in April, he’d frequently come over to sniff at my nose, my breath, as if checking to make sure my health was still stable. He did the same when I had bronchitis in December–every coughing fit would make him run over to check my breathing, and there was one morning where he kept running between me and the door all night long, but the minute I got up in the morning and opened the door for him and he saw I was upright, he calmed down. I swear he thought I was deathly ill–I wasn’t, mind you–but it was the first time in his 3 1/2 years that I’d been sick at all, and he didn’t know what to make of it, and I had tasted the tiniest bit of blood at the back of my throat from all the coughing, and I’m convinced that that freaked him out.

Basically, I think Chappy has nominated himself as my own, personal watchdog in all senses of the word–he’s not just concerned about keeping me safe from burglars or scary UPS delivery people. No, he’s going to keep my mental state as happy as possible. It’s touching, really. All our dogs have made me smile, but none have overtly made it their purpose in life before!

Anyway . . . so . . . I’ll be frogging the sweater AGAIN tonight. But really, how the gauge changed over the course of three days with exactly the same yarn, same needles, same location, same time of day, same lighting, same state of mind, same environment (thanks to central air conditioning) . . . I have no idea. HOW could it have changed? Like I said, it’s not my math I’m distrusting, it’s the chameleon-like way this has of playing tricks on me.

And, oh yes–I’d twisted the stitches when I joined the round, too. Thank heaven I know how to fix that*, though . . . because, you know, if I hadn’t needed to tear everything out tonight because it’s too huge for me, it would have been really frustrating . . . although, of course, that’s the word for the day.

I placed an order last night for some size 2 Ebony circulars, thinking they might help . . . but at the same time am reluctant to try any other needles–if I can’t get consistency from my preferred needles, what makes me think I will from something altogether different? (Not to mention that the gauge, at that point, will theoretically also be different and I’ll have to re-do all the math . . . again.)

Anyway. Other causes for frustration? My entire family went down to Freehold to visit my aunt and cousin today–the first time since my uncle passed away in April. And I couldn’t go. For whatever reason, my sister decided to schedule this for a weekday rather than a weekend, and naturally picked the one week during the summer when I absolutely cannot take a day off, since my boss is on vacation. (I know she’s said how busy their weekends are, but I don’t recall hearing about anything specific this weekend just past, so I don’t know why it couldn’t have been yesterday. The weather was better, too.) So anyway–the entire family is visiting without me, and I feel terrible. I just hope my aunt doesn’t feel that I didn’t want to come because, while I really do tend to want to stay home with Chappy pretty much whenever possible, I would definitely have wanted to see her–I haven’t seen anyone from that side of the family since my uncle died, and I would have liked a chance to pass on some condolences in person. (Sigh.)

And, oh yes, I have to go to the dentist this afternoon. We had some huge, rolling thunderstorms overhead this morning which even woke me up (always an accomplishment–I’m lucky I hear my alarm clock beeping at me in the morning). Chappy is home all alone for basically the entire day–except for lunch–and of course, I’ll be getting home late as it is because of the dentist, so I feel badly for him, too. I even broke not one, but two fingernails opening the door to the office this morning. (It’s not that I’m vain about my nails, don’t do manicures, but darn it–that affects my typing and my knitting!)

You know, really, it’s just . . . Monday. It’s a very “Monday” Monday.

*To fix a twisted, circular join, after you’ve knitted a few rows so that it’s clear to see where the twist actually lies, work it around to the first stitch–the one where you joined the circle in the first place. Drop that stitch and run it down to the cast-on row. Physically work the twist off your needle so that it’s in that “run” stitch, then pick up and re-work the laddered-stitch. You’ll have a tiny twist at the actual cast-on row, which will barely show, but the knitting itself will be twist-free. Much better than frogging the entire thing and starting from scratch!

(Note: This twisted-fix is not my idea. I read it somewhere online, but can’t for the life of me remember where or find it in order to give proper credit. Somebody more brilliant than I came up with it–I thank whoever you are!)

• Tags: Chappy, Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Frustration //