so somehow my swatch (why did I bother??) was perfect but when I actually started knitting, my row gauge is off…. so, added one extra cable to get to my first 9” mark and spread the remaining increases to this point among the last 2 1/2 cables instead of the last 1 1/2 cables (this is the point that I measured and realized things just weren’t right)

swatched on a US 6 & got gauge so ready to cast on (used long-tail and a US7 just for cast on to make sure neck hole is big enough)

Retreat project Oct 2011 ~ there are A LOT of things going on at the same time in this knit so it’s a little slow to get started but once you see what you’re building it gets much easier and logical (thank goodness!)

I think with the shape of this knit I may just look like a mushroom….