16-02-2024

Yarn is supposed to be DK, so couldn’t get gauge on recommended needles. Going smaller gave too stiff fabric, so I went with larger needles and swatched. This brought me needing the number of stitches closest to the smallest size. So I followed the directions of the extra-small, but used the measurements of the next size up. Completing the chart once as directed resulted in too short a sweater….or so I thought….so I added a repeat of the large heart. It looks really nice, but I didn’t realize that there was a fairly large solid red section at the end - even though I looked at the picture 20 times or more. So, it ended up a little longer than necessary, but it covers her entire back so that’s okay. I didn’t like the way the decreases were done in the pattern, so I just decreased at either end of the right side row until I had the right number of stitches for the finish. There was a lot of trial and error because of the gauge issue, plus errors in my stranding, so a lot of frogging. I used magic loop, and I crossed my yarn too tightly once between needs but didn’t notice it for a bit. I had to rip back about an inch of colorwork, so I was frustrated that time. Overall, I am happy with how it looks, but the legs are a challenge to get off and on. Luckily, my dog trusts me and lets me go slow so she doesn’t hurt her legs. The pattern is a good one, it was simply using the wrong type of yarn that created the problem. But I worked with what I had available, so I’m proud of overcoming the challenges.