Turning a Failure into a Success!

I bought the book, French Girl Knits, by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes. I love the designs, but the pattern writing leaves something to be desired. I started the Wrenna Cardigan. I used two balls of Wool Ease Thick and Quick blue, and two balls of Wool Ease Thick and Quick black. This was a stashbuster project!

I loved the horseshoe lace and the fact that it's in super bulky yarn, so I knew it'd be quick. I followed the directions for my size, using two sizes smaller needles (I couldn't find any that large). It was still absolutely HUMONGOUS! I frogged it and started over, this time using a size small (I usually wear an XL or a 1X). It was still TOO BIG! I mean, HUGE! I figured that I must have misunderstood the yarn size, maybe it was bulky. Nope, it really called for super bulky. I frogged it...again. This time I cast on about half the stitches that it called for, followed the pattern for the shoulder increases, then just winged the rest. I couldn't do the horseshoe lace pattern because there just wasn't enough stitches to even try, so I did a simple cable instead. I wish I had done more increases at the hips, but it fits.

Overall, I'm happy with my sweater; I am not happy with the pattern. It's also really, really, really difficult to capture a cable pattern on black, but it's there and looks great! (You'll just have to trust me!)