Thursday 31 January 2008

Lying Swatch

I was so careful. I swatched, I measured, I counted. It was perfect. It was acurate. Well at least, it should have been. Stupid Tank top!

Let's rewind at bit. Remember this knitting commission? It is the last one on the list and I have until the end of Feburary to finished it. Being the project floosy that I am, if I was making it for myself, it would have gone to the deepest, darkest recesses of my project bag long ago. But no...someone actually wants this. She picked the yarn and the colour....and is paying me to knit this.

Here's the problem....Thinking that I'm master of the numbers game, I cast on. I knit, knit and continue to knit. I knit the front of this tank top. I complete the first shoulder strap, duplicating the shaping of the store bought tank exactly. I'm brilliant, I'm a genious, I am a knitting goddess.

I bind off the neck line and head on down to the other strap. I lie my creation down on top of this store bought tank when I realize that I am an idiot.

What I have just about finished knitting, is too large. #$%#^^%&% Swatch. The stupid thing lied to me. It looked me straight in the face and lied to me.

I give up.....grrrr...the ONLY thing that is saving the life of this tank is the fact that it is not mine. The nearly finished front is frogged and I start again. This thing is now being knit in the round and I'm comparing my creation with the original every step of the way.

It's come down to a battle of wills....and I am not about to be beaten by a stupid tank top in the middle of winter. I may lose a few brain cells but I will not be beaten.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

6 comments:

Georgie said...

Sneaky little swatch. Better check thats its not getting into your chocolate stash and lying about that too!

How very annoying. But one lying swatch doesnt remove your knitting goddess status!

Nancy said...

I know this feeling. I never knit on commission, but when I knit for a family member, or just myself and do something I don't like, it makes me verrrrrrrry mad. Hope it works for you now.

Kathy said...

Seems to me like swatches always lie. My swatches rarely have anything to do with the finished whatever I'm making. I usually just statrt a sleeve. If it works, great, if not oh well. Course that's not much help for a tank top...

Lisa said...

Stay strong! Its clearly a battle of wills - woman vs gauge and you've got to win this one for all of us. (no pressure or anything)

Taphophile said...

Bastard lying swatches. They'll be the first against the wall when I take over the world! ;)

MadMad said...

I'm so sorry! I must have rubbed off on you! I've never met an honest swatch... and it shows, sadly, it shows.