A Wicked Relationship

It was a rocky beginning, and it continues to be so.

Our first meeting was love at first sight. The pattern is cute and just the right amount of sexy for me (meaning, not too much). The yarn was beautiful and so soft.

Then, we got to know each other a little better. Gauge was a problem. Wicked wouldn’t meet me halfway and do what it was supposed to do. However, being a grownup, I compromised and swatched in the round. Wicked seemed to come around.

We had a great honeymoon! I cast on and it was everything I had hoped for, and more. I used a smaller size needle (7) so that Wicked wouldn’t be *too* wicked. Then, after the neckline, I switched to a larger needle (8). Life was good.

Unfortunately, we hit a rocky spot. I checked my gauge after an inch or so. With the larger size needles, I was getting about 22 stitches over 4 inches, as opposed to the 18 over 4 that the pattern called for. This could be a big problem. So, I again compromised and frogged back to the needle switch, going back the size 7s.

We had some good times for awhile.

We’ve hit a bad spot now and I’m not sure what to do.

Looks good, doesn’t it? Just the right amount of pink, not too much. It’s a little brighter in the picture than it actually is.

Unfortunately, gauge is not my friend. At this point, I’m at 20 1/2 stitches over 4 inches.

I don’t want to start over, but what’s a girl to do? Sometimes, going back to the way things were in the beginning is all you can do.

On the other hand, I can increase to the number of stitches that the next smaller size calls for and just use those numbers for the rest. That’s iffy and there are no guarantees.

Or, I could keep going and see what it looks like when I separate for the sleeves. It may be just fine.

I don’t know what to trust anymore!