Annoyance

Despite that forecast I mentioned, yesterday was kind of sunny. I seized this opportunity to get some pictures of the finished Bee Fields Shawl. I blocked the thing a couple of nights ago, using every single T-pin that I have.

Despite the fact that I made the "petite" size, this is a sizeable shawl. Still not sure what I'm going to do with it.

The pattern called for US 5 needle; I used US 4, and mine is still bigger. Which brings me to a realization that's been reaffirmed for me over the past couple of days: I'm a loose knitter. I wouldn't believe this to be true, but I've been trying to do a gauge swatch for my next project, and I had to go down 2 needle sizes, and even then I don't quite get gauge. But any smaller and it hurts my hands too much to knit. The reason I have trouble believing I am a loose knitter is that my knitting doesn't look loose. Of course, my perspective is not impartial. But even if I try, I can't seem to get my knitting much tighter.

And I'm a little bit annoyed by this. It kind of feels like an inadequacy. Though I know I shouldn't think of it this way. I just wish I could get gauge with the prescribed needle size. Oh well.

Tomorrow is my big exam. Then game night to (hopefully) celebrate my success.