Kamikaze Frog

I had to put Bobbi on hold for a bit until I get more stuffing (who would have thought that a "baby" bear would take so much stuffing?). So last night night I pulled out my poor neglected Ribs and Lace Tank. I had finished both of the lace patterns, and had moved on to the ribbing that goes around the bust.

As I knit, I kept thinking to myself that the tank was going to turn totally lame because the ribbing was very holy and didn't look like it would be fitted at all. In a fit of desperation this morning, I decided to check my gauge. The first gauge was for the lace - no problem there (the final measurements are almost perfect). Then I took a closer look at the second gauge - for the ribbing: 20 stitches per inch *using smaller needles*. Smaller needles? Who said anything about smaller needles? Sure enough, buried in the instructions to increase a couple of stitches and place a new side marker was the dreaded "switch to smaller needle". How much smaller? From a size 10 to a size 4. Yes, a *lot* smaller. I'd been using a size 9, but since I don't have a size 3 circular (Knitpicks interchangeables only go down to a 4), I decided a 4 would be fine.

I had already done about 1 1/2 inches of ribbing, so I had to decide how to frog back to the start of the rib pattern. Option 1 - Knit Backwards - was not considered because it would drive me insane. Option 2 - put in a lifeline - was also not a great option because I find it difficult enough to thread a lifeline in stockinette, much less ribbing. So that left Option 3 - take the needles out, rip out until I get to the proper row, and carefully put the needles back through the live stitches. ... so I did it and it worked without one dropped stitch!! I had a coupld of twisted stitches, but those are no problem.

Lesson learned: play closer attention to instructions.