Knitting Problems

  I started this dress six years ago with a vague idea of a cable that grew outwards to fill a pleated skirt. The problem is that once I started cabling, the midsection was only slightly wider than my thigh. If I had started over at the time, maybe even stretched myself to do a little math, I would have had a much easier time of it, since this  yarn I inherited in a full stash from a family friend when she decided one day she would never knit again, is now discontinued. Afterthought colorwork, here I come. Pattern Materials Needles -  US 6 - 4.0 mm Yarn:  MC - Cascade Yarns Pima Tencel in 4084,  10 skeins = 890.0 yards (813.8 meters), 17.64 ounces (Discontinued) CC1 -  Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Peapod,  9 skeins = 675.0 yards (617.2 meters), 15.87 ounces Gauge - 12 stitches and 14 rows = 2 inches in ST Skirt CO 442 in MC Row 1: *P2, K2; rep from * to last 2, P2. Join in round. Continue in 2x2 rib as established for 1” K in ST st until skirt...

The week before Thanksgiving 2011, I grabbed the top of my mannequin and molded some cables around it. I pictured myself in a jaw-dropping neon orange sweater saying "this old thing? I made it myself." Objectively, that isn't a great reason to do anything. In my case, it set me up for disappointment.   I was a 15-year-old freshly out of braces trying to be impressive and had never once looked at a sweater pattern, so I made a few strategic errors. First, I didn't understand the difference between my measurements and a sweater's finished measurements - hint from the present: a sweater should be bigger than what it covers. Then I made the choice to pair chunky yarn with size 4 needles. Two days before Thanksgiving and 5 skeins in, I was still toting around a tank top on a torso. That year I trudged through the woods of my great aunt's property in giant hiking boots and another skin-tight bright orange sweater that I bought from The Limited, a failure. The pictur...