Low Degrees = Tight Gauge

Well, so much for my New Year’s Resolution of blogging at least 3 times a week! Oh well.. I am still doing fairly well this year…  This was my first lapse. Need to work on that all or nothing mentality and blog, even if it is just a wee little bit!

So what caused my lapse? Well, me, of course, but what was the catalyst?

I had some tight deadlines. One was a garment (cannot say what :)). Since I was working on it when it read literally about 40-50 degrees inside the house (landlord put up insulation, thank goodness), and so my tension changed, unfortunately without me realizing it. It tightened up, most likely from being so darn cold. I should have habitually checked my gauge while working, but you know what it is like when you get a rhythm and you just keep going.. especially if you are one where rarely your tension changes.

The finished size was off by about 1 – 2 inches, depending on how one measures. And of course, sometimes an inch discrepancy will occur, since even a gauge swatch, if off by even a millimeter, when working a larger project, such as a cardigan versus a small hat, that minuscule difference will have a bigger impact.

So anyway, I had a few options. I could block it and stretch it out some. But, since I knew myself, I knew that would not suffice. The crazy insane perfectionist I was said we needed to rip. I consulted the editors, and told them the dilemma, and send a few snapshots along with it.

Luckily, I was not banished from ever working with them again (hah), and they were pretty understanding. Ultimately, I decided for myself regardless of what their response would be that I would redo, no matter what. But I wanted to keep them updated of what was transpiring.

So… there I went and began anew. Because the gauge was off throughout the garment, I knew I had to start from the beginning. While working on this, I also had 2 more projects to work up for publication, but not only work them up, had yet to design them! Eeek.

In an odd sort of way, I work well under pressure. It gives me an excuse to not be lazy and get off my duff and get some work done. Sometimes, I just sit there, staring at the paper, which is not a bad thing.. I call it my “meditation-brainstorming.” It is relaxing, but productive at the same time. Yeah, an oxymoron.

Finished the garment.. Designed the other 2 projects. I am very proud of these designs.. And one, is different. You will be surprised, as it is a bit different. Actually, all 3 are different from my normal work, and I think they will be different in a very good way. You will see these projects sometime during the summer months :)

Ok, so this is short. Need to get some work done. Some upcoming posts, I will be introducing you to a good editor friend of mine who now designs, my nifty new printer, and some other fun things!

PS, Just also want to say, I am currently working on my taxes and bookkeeping from this past year. I have surpassed my earnings from the previous year. Although I am not sure yet by how much, doing this for the 4th or 5th year in a row, I now get an inkling of how I did as I tread through the paperwork. So we end this with a woohoo!

I leave you with a pic of Water Child when he was a little one… HAH I love this photo!!!

Water Child, at age 3

Water Child, now 15