Re Focusing . . . . .

When I reach the finishing stretch of a knitting project, I tend to get very tunnel visioned, my usual schizophrenic knitting patterns change, and I focus on the project to be finished. It is very frustrating to be stopped dead in my tracks, and have to wait for yarn – and for a response from the yarn source.

So, I have frogged two socks (different pairs) that wouldn’t fit over my feet (one’s the Jaywalker sock – it’s a wonderful pattern, but even six stitches more than my basic stitch count for me, it wouldn’t fit over my heel, I’m debating between

1. going up a needle size, staying with 72 sts.
2. going to the larger size – 80/84 stitches (don’t have pattern in front of me so don’t know the number)
3. Or going up the needle size AND stitch count.)

Has anyone else had problems with this pattern fitting? I’m not the only one, I’ve a friend who’s doing the same thing I am, we’ve been wondering if others have had the same problem.

I’m going to finish the Trekking socks that were lost for two months before I go back to the jaywalkers or the other ones I frogged.

The other pair is a wonderful beaded design from Heartstrings. I’ve made one, and it’s awful tight. I’d started the second one, but I’m rethinking it, and ripped out the one inch I’d already knitted. When I get back to them (they’re out of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock yarn in Baltic Sea, one of my favorite colorways), I’m just going to go up a needle size, I was doing ‘em on 2.25 mm and I think if I knit them on 2.5 mm (both listed as US 1s) that’ll do the trick. If it does, I’ll frog the first one and reknit it.

And then (this is what happens when I’m set adrift from my planned knitting . . . .)
I knit a gauge swatch for my FI February project – first needle size wasn’t quite on gauge, and since I want to make the project SMALLER than the smallest size, and would like a TIGHTER gauge for it, I went down even more, and got a very nice gauge of 8.5 sts to the inch instead of 8 sts to the inch the pattern called for. I think it’s going to work well for the finished sweater. AND then I cast on for said sweater – all 351 stitches. (Haven’t got much further than that, because the first 18 rows of the sweater are a hem, so just St st -- I’ll work on it a choir tomorrow night).

And if that wasn’t enough – I cast on for the Adamas Lace Shawl from Knitpicks in their shimmer yarn. I’m to the main body of that already, and will probably work one or two full repeats before I rein myself in, and refocus back to the trekking socks, or the Bressay Jacket, or even to Russian River Fair Isle. And all because I ran out of yarn to finish the Elephants Baby Blanket.

Sigh.

Good news: I think my email has finally gotten through to Virtual Yarns – when they were bouncing yesterday they did so within half an hour of sending, and nothing’s bounced back today! And since I sent it “after” business hours in the UK, I’m not expecting a response until tomorrow.