Free from the pattern

In the past couple weeks I've felt freed from patterns. As much as I generally use them, I'm getting more excited about just working with general shapes and then makin' the rest up. I'll probably extend (ok, pretty much steal) J. Strizzy's adaption to the Shapley Tank by inserting an occasional motif on it. Some of the yarn from Webs is destined to be a self-designed cardigan with some sort of fair isle design. Sure, I'm no Ms. Starmore, but I can do some stuff on my own.

The Armwarmers

Look everybody, no pattern! I started with Kim Salazar's doodle cable, went with a simple 3-across-2 cable for a while, then consulted Interweave Knits for the gusset and Barbara Walker for a fantastic back-of the-hand pattern. I tried it on a lot and wrote down what I did as I went along so that I could do it twice, and it seemed to work fine. No pattern, no problem.

The Dale top...

This isn't really about no pattern, but rather generally ignoring it. I used it -- to the letter -- up through the first two pattern sections. I tried it on occasionally to decide where the armholes should go, then followed the armhole shaping from the pattern. I decided where the necklines should go by putting it on or holding it up, and when it's time to pick up for the neck edging, I'll just make sure I have a multiple of the stitch pattern. Eh, it's all close enough, and it fits me. No need to stress about exactly how long until the neckline, the shoulders, and whether I really have as much torso as the tall, skiny Norwegian girls in the photo.

And some new stuff

I bought this fabulous ribbon yarn from Sakonnet Purls in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Gauge: 2 sts/inch, on size US 15 needles.

I bought a pattern for a shell in the yarn. Right, like I haven't made a half-dozen shells and tanks (Um, is there a difference?) and couldn't just do it again. The pattern is in a traveling slip stitch that I'm not excited about, so I'm going to do stockinette instead. The pattern comes in the following sizes: 32", 35", 38", 41", and 44". I want 36" -- not an included option. Look, I'm an engineer. Am I going to make a 38" shell? No way! I can do the math to adjust to 36". I didn't have needles as big as 15's and I knit a little loosely, so I bought a pair of 13's. The next thing I have is 10 1/2. So if I don't achieve gauge with the 13's, what am I going to do? Adjust the pattern.

So now I'm changing the stitch, the gauge, and the size. Why did I spend $4.50 on a pattern? Because I wasn't thinking. I don't need this! Maybe I needed to know how many stitches to bind off for the armholes, that I should decrease one stitch each side about three times, lest I expose everything at 2 sts/inch, and how to to shape the neck. Heck, since I'm disregarding the rest of the pattern, maybe I'll change it from a high scoop neck, same front and back, to a lower v-neck in the front and higher neck on the back. I can throw out the three rows of garter stitch neck finishing and come up with something else. Perhaps the $4.50 was for humor value. I'll be sure to bind off "in full fashion," as it says in the pattern, and stick to the final and brilliant finishing instructions:

Sew seams. Put on shell and look at armhole and decide if length is ok. Crochet 1 row of Slip St. if necessary.