The "G" Word

This is a big apology to my fellow Howe girl knitters! When we started on this knitting venture, I failed to teach you a very important lesson - always check your gauge!

Having said that, I admit that I used to be quite neglectful in this area. I always assumed that if I had the needles and yarn indicated in the pattern, that all would come out right. A collection of misfit outfits taught me different.

Unfortunately, I failed to stress this need enough to miss maggie and jj. For our toymaker, maggie, it hasn't really been an issue. Poor jj came face to face with it with our latest project - the Ballet Tee by Teva Durham.

http://http//www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ballet-t-shirt

I thought that I would knit this little tee the same time as jj - that way, if she had any questions I would be ready to jump in and offer assistance. I knit up my gauge sample and jumped into the project. It's a fun little tee to wear over a cami and is cool and comfy. Here is the final project:

Cute, right? I did add a couple of inches to the bottom to accomodate my middle-age midrif, but otherwise it went just as written. I actually love this pattern and will be making a couple more to have on hand. (note - I will not be wearing it over a black sports bra as miss jj is modeling here)

JJ, meanwhile, knit away on her piece. As mentioned previously, there was no gauge check - just a lot of fun knitting. Same size needles, same yarn...different result. Take a look:

Still absolutely adorable on jj, but definitely a different look! What you can't see in the photo is how she stretched this little tee over her teeny body!

Just to make the point more clearly:

Gauge - it's a pain in the ass, but it has it's purpose!

Two fabulous tops, one interesting lesson on gauge.

love, marmie