I searched on-line. I poured through Ravelry stashes. I visited every Big Lots in the valley, even going so far as to make poor underpaid Big Lots employees (yes employees with an s) climb tall ladders of questionable stability to search for the elusive yarn in unmarked boxes high on the shelf. I think one was a fellow crafter. She seemed to understand my desperation.
It was a fools errand, and I knew it.
Yet still, I searched. I hoped. I crossed my fingers. I wished on stars.
To no avail.
I need to face reality. After three valiant yet ultimately disastrous attempts, maybe I am simply not destined to knit an Olive Basket Sweater. Maybe the universe is screaming a message at me. Maybe the universe knows this is a bad idea. Maybe the universe knows this is the wrong sweater shape for my body type. Maybe the universe knows that in some random version of the butterfly effect, by finishing an Olive Basket I will somehow trigger the start of the much awaited zombie apocalypse bringing an end to all civilization as we know it. Maybe the universe simply hates me and doesn't want me to feel the happiness it knows this sweater would bring me.
Maybe the sweater and I aren't destined to be.
And still I pondered.
There must be a way to make more yarn magically appear using the power of my mind.
And I started to wonder. Could I possibly mix in another yarn? A yarn of similar weight? A yarn in a shade of blue to blend in with the other colors? Could I stripe it with another yarn without it looking striped?
Would something like that be crazy enough to work?
I think it might.
It changes the tone of the entire sweater. Rather than being shades of blue it is more of a turquoise sweater with accents.
But I dig it.
Of course this is where I have to frog all I've done and start over from the beginning so it all blends. Which is fine. Because I knit a gauge swatch, and I got gauge, but as we all know, gauge swatches lie, and mine told me a whopper of a tale. My gauge in practice was 5.5 stitches per inch. My gauge at go time was 5 stitches per inch. Which means my sweater was a full size larger than intended. And I was already worried I was knitting it a size too big. A size too big is cozy, two sizes too big is just ill-fitting and a sloppy waste of time.
So frogging, and casting on for a size smaller seems like the right thing to do.
I frogged and I wound all my balls into pretty pretty yarn cakes.
I'm calling this my blue period.
You'll notice that in addition to the variegated yarn for my sweater, and the solid blue yarn for my sweater, there is also a large quantity of blue/green variegated yarn.
This is for Queen Bean's Halloween costume.
Cause I've got plenty of time to do that.
I'm knitting an adult size sweater, knitting an infant costume, I need to make a white tutu for Sweet Pea's costume, Bird needs me to sew her a full length pink satin princess dress "with laces", and oh yeah, I'm still trying to finish my white whale of a crib size quilt and matching twin size quilt.
Plus the usual Mom of five kids, wife to The Greatest, chauffeur for my teenage daughter duties (now I know why parents are so excited to let their ridiculously young teenagers get their drivers licence).
All the time in the world.
I am prepared to completely abandon the entire concept of sleep, and to start mainlining caffeine until sometime next January.
It seems like a solid plan.
P.S. Squishy baby is a nickname that didn't stick. What did take was The Bean, Beanie, and most of all she like to be called Queen Bean. Moving forward I will honor her preference.
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