Knitting Status and the Manicure of the Week

It seems that I've spent the bulk of the past two months waiting on people to get back with me about various things, mostly job related, which has lead to a lot of anxiety knitting. Mostly, this has been on the livingroom afghan, which has had several rows added this week as Missouri and I work our way through season two of The Murdoch Mysteries. Of course, being that it is a massive project done almost entirely in stockinette, you can't really tell.

I've also been attempting to finish the Christmas socks, but have hit that point of knitting purgatory where they don't seem to be getting any longer, no matter how much I knit on them. I've decided that they have until April 1 to reach the desired length, and then regardless I'm doing the cuff, casting off, and then going back for the afterthought heel. Really, four months for a single pair of socks is far, far too long.

Since I've been concentrating on the socks, I haven't been working as much on the cardigan as I would like. I did start over, and have finished the three-ish inches of ribbing around the hem (I actually don't remember how much ribbing the pattern calls for, but it was in that neighborhood) as well as the first cable repeat. I'm staring at it right now, fighting the desire to work on it some more before I have to leave for my day job.

The Mario nails seem to have gotten me hooked. I've been giving myself decorative manicures every couple of days. Currently, it's a deck of cards inspired by watching Missouri play Alice: The Madness Returns. I did these a couple of days ago, so they're not as fresh and clean as they could be (my sock needles rubbed off part of the thumb). I also discovered that my clear coat seems to cause the other colors to bleed. It's not as noticeable on a darker base color, but you can really tell on the white. I do have a typewriter themed manicure planned in the future, but I'm sure I can do lettering with my left hand. I might try a stencil of some kind. Maybe contact paper would work.

____
Anyone know anything about Photoshop? I keep getting an error message every time I try to save, and it's the only software I have that will let me resize images.

Pretty Stuff

Remember this?

Well, it's finished now.




In the comments for my last post, Bill M. asked what the difference between embroidery and needlepoint is. Embroidery uses a variety of stitches to create a single motif to embellish a piece of fabric. Needlepoint uses a single stitch type to create an image on a canvas, covering the entire material (which is usually much heavier than the fabrics one would hand embroider on). This is an example of what needlepoint looks like, and in some of these macro shots you can see a few of the stitch types I used to embellish the fabric Missouri provided.



Think of it this way: Embroidery is like pinstripes and decals on a typewriter, while needlepoint is more like going for full on silver surferdom (is that a word?).
















Another thing I finished this morning:



Mario Manicure! Because I am just that much of a geek. And no, I did not do the above needlepoint myself, but since I know someone will be wondering, I just had to use it since it was the first image that popped up when I Googled "needlepoint" for an example.

Loose Ends

1. It's official: I will be attending the Steampunk Symposium in Cincinnati next month. Costumes are mandatory, and I suspect that a typewriter and possibly my spinning wheel will be tagging along.

2. I have become addicted to a Canadian series called The Murdoch Mysteries. As far as I know, it doesn't air here in the states, so I've been watching it on Netflix, but only season 1 is available on streaming. I might just break down and buy the boxed sets, though I was rather unhappy to discover that even though 6 seasons have aired, only 3 have been released on DVD and season 4, for some reason, is only being released as a region 2 DVD set. Frustrating.

3. I finished Missouri's embroidery project last night, but have not been home during daylight hours, so I haven't gotten a good picture of it yet. Maybe this weekend.

4. I really enjoyed doing that series on writing. As you might have noticed, it made it easier to for me to focus my thoughts. So if there's something else you want to hear about, let me know.

How do you write? Part IV, Excetera (Conclusion)

To wind up this series, I thought I'd mention some of the other legwork that goes into my writing process.

Just about every story I have on my computer has a file to accompany it. In this file are all of my internet research notes, deleted scenes, first drafts, and other notes. Some examples:

1. Never, ever delete your old drafts. If rewrites require severe deviation from the original, copy it into a new file and work from that. Listen to the voice of experience. Don't delete anything. Ever.

ETA: I should also note that for archiving purposes, I also print off a hard copy now every time I finish a manuscript, usually the first draft and the final.

2. Internet research--This goes for book research as well, but doubly so for the internet. Always save the webpage so you know where to find the information again. In fact, if you can, hit ctrl+s to actually save the entire page as a file on your computer, which can be viewed offline. This way, you'll have all of the information and images in context, and won't spend hours combing through your notes trying to figure out where that Norse symbol you used in chapter two came from and what the hell it was called. (Again, learn from my mistakes and save yourself the trouble.)

ETA: For more complex stories, I also tend to have a notebook going with handwritten scenes, lists, and research done from books.

3. Family Trees--I generally don't include these for shorter works, but Cassie and Evie both have them. This helps when your referencing obscure relatives that become unexpectedly important later, or in the case of Cassie's love interest, who have large families or obscure middle names that you won't remember in another thousand words.

4. Notes for future volumes--this happens a lot with Cassie. I'm working on a really exciting scene, or an intriguing villain, or, with Evie, I'll have a loose thread that just won't tuck neatly into to ending I'm working up to, so I'll make a note for a future volume. I keep a running list of potential titles, characters that should pop up again and events that might need referencing later.

Well, that is it for me. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments. I hope you found this a refreshing break from the usual typewriter/knitting posts. More knitting pictures and maybe even a typecast coming soon.

How do you write? Part III, Crafting a Plot

This is probably not something I should admit as a writer. Don't tell anyone, but plot is usually the last thing I think of when developing a story.

Combine that with my trouble with setting, and you have my two greatest weaknesses when it comes to writing. In both cases, I've discovered that the solution is simple in theory, and more difficult in practice: preparation.

For me, the general writing process can be broken into two parts: the easy part, and the hard part.

The Easy Part
This is the beginning. It's that flash when the idea comes in the middle of the night, the new character that walks into my head brandishing a sword and demanding to be put on the page immediately.

Sometimes, this phase only lasts a few paragraphs. Sometimes, it lasts most of the novel, like it did during the marathon that was the writing of the second Cassie Tanner novel (ten weeks, the fastest I've ever written anything longer than a school essay). During this portion I write quickly, passionately, using up every spare moment to get the ideas out before they get scared away by things like my day job or sleep.

The Hard Part
This is where the research and the planning take place. Once that initial burst of creative energy wears out, I turn away from the computer and usually go to either a notebook or the typewriter to work out the next phases (I've also been known to switch the fonts on my computer temporarily to something period or story appropriate. Currently, Olivia is being written in Pages' Kokonor, an italic serif font that borders on script).

Sometimes, I start with research, trying to find out more about the historical or geographic setting I've chosen (or that the characters have chosen, as the case might be). Other times, the problems lie in the actual construction of the story.

Somewhere on this blog, there is a photograph of a flow chart I created some time ago for Threadbare, back when it was still Fortuna Mulibris, or possibly even before. I can't find it now, and I usually throw out my notes once I've either written the sections they cover or made such drastic edits that the manuscript no longer bears any resemblance to the notes, so I don't have anything recent to show you.

Anyway, the flow chart is my basic form of plotting out the actions of a character. It's usually sketchy and brief, and takes up no more than two pages. It frequently does not reach the end of the manuscript and more of a stream of consciousness outline of what I would like to happen than an actual route for the story to follow.

More recently, I've begun using an outline. Just like you learned in school, I start with a chapter heading and move chronologically through the events that should happen in that chapter. I've been writing long enough that I usually have an idea of how long each of those scenes should be, and have an idea of where to put the chapter breaks in advance. In most cases, I'm pretty accurate. Sometimes though, the story decides to take a wild left turn and I end up being way off. But again, these are only guidelines.

As I'm working on the outline, sometimes I think of things that need to happen, and I'll add them in the margins. If the notation needs to go in a specific place, I simply draw an arrow from the note to the proper place in the timeline.

Once I have the timeline worked out, I can go back to the manuscript and continue following my bullet points to construct the story.

***

I have one more short blog planned on this subject to cover the miscellany I haven't talked about yet, but if there is something specific you would like to know, leave a comment and I'll try to work it in.

Out Sick, or, Fueling the Writerbeast

Other than writing, there is one thing that writers frequently excel at: procrastination.

Case in point: I should be working on one of my ongoing projects (two of which need written and two need editing), or one of my knitting projects (two of which are so far past the deadline it's not even funny anymore), or finishing the library book that I've exhausted the renewals on and am still less than half done with, or refreshing my memory on The Hanged Man's Ghost so I can write that review I promised Missouri ages ago, or working on the next "How do you write" blog post that should have gone in this space instead.

But instead, I thought I'd talk to you all about tea.

This is partially because I have only left my bed to go to work this week, having been laid up with a fever and sore throat that necessitated a lot of tea and ice water drinking. I've spent most of this week writing and knitting and need a bit of a break--a tea break, if you will. I'm also in the middle of sampling a new tea I picked up at work, and, well, I thought I might warn you all.

This is the tea corner of our little apartment:



Into that cramped, awkward space we have no less than fourteen varieties of tea, plus three different kinds of hot chocolate (this is what comes of having two writers/anglophiles in the house).

One might argue that this is an awful lot of hot beverage options. After all, don't most people just buy a bag or a can of their favorite coffee and leave it at that?

Like a woman and her shoes, never come between a writer and her tea, unless you want to hear a justification of every single one (but I'll be nice and just give you the highlights):

One of my favorites is this vanilla creme spice I bought at work and have not seen since. It's very sweet and just perfect on it's own. I like to have a cup before bed sometimes, or when I want something sweet without resorting to junk food.

Around that same time I bought a can of pumpkin spice. This one I drink mostly in the fall for obvious reasons, and with a little cream and sugar it tastes like pumpkin pie.

Inside that blue tin is a selection of green teas, my favorite of which is the mint green. These were a gift, and I don't drink them often. There is a packet of oolong in there though, that I've been wanting to try.

Most of what is left is the result of our Never Ending Quest for True British Tea, which is difficult to find in our corner of the world. For the uninitiated, let me explain:

While traveling the UK and Ireland in college, Missouri and I developed the habit of stopping every day for a cup of tea at various cafes around London, Bath, Dublin, and Edinburgh. It's a wonderful tradition that we happily took up, sampling the various treats that afternoon tea entails. On our return to the States, we were devastated to find that none of the teas available in the grocery store were up to par, coming out bitter when allowed to steep, and too weak when the bag was removed early. Thus began our quest.

Thankfully, I work for a retailer that gets a lot of imported snack food, and that allowed us a chance to sample several varieties. For a while the favorite was Oxbridge Afternoon Tea (for which I cannot find an online purveyor), until Missouri was gifted with a box of Ahmed by a client, and it is amazing. Our one remaining concession to American black tea is the Luzienne, which is reserved only for iced tea. (Missouri's recipe, which is WONDERFUL: 1 kettle boiling water, poured over 2 trays of ice, 4 tea bags, and 1.5 cups of sugar. Stir until everything melts/dissolves. Slice 2 clementines in half, squeeze the juice into the pitcher and drop the halves in. Put in the fridge, and serve chilled).

Whatever you do, don't let that box of London Cuppa fool you. It does not taste like the English tea a know, and has the bitter aftertaste of teas from this side of the pond.



My favorite way to drink tea? Black tea with two sugars with cream, if you please, or just honey for an herbal or green tea out of one of these cups. They're imitation, but the pattern matches an heirloom set of my mother's almost exactly. I found the set of six, plus two creamers and sugar bowl at a local thrift store for $10.

How do you write? Part II, World Building

I have a confession to make: I have a LOT of unfinished manuscripts on my computer. I used to have a lot more, until we discovered that the backups from my first computer had been corrupted and there was no way of salvaging the severely outdated documents.

It actually was not until recently that I discovered one of the major reasons why so many pieces I began went unfinished. A college writing assignment pointed out the error to me. The subject was "A Sense of Place," as was basically about identifying key points in our surroundings and how they affect us as people.

You see, as a younger writer, I focused mostly on character development, adding layer upon layer to the backstory of my main characters and creating histories and motivations for the lesser players, but I never took took the same care with the set and the props. Since I write mostly fantasy, my stories frequently involve alternate or parallel worlds. I might have a rough idea of what this world with mermaids and mages looked like, but some of the details were frequently lost even on me, because it wasn't the focus of the story.

The end result of this carelessness was that one of several things would happen:
1. I'd write myself into a corner I didn't know how to get out of. My characters would find themselves in the literary equivalent of a darkened room with just a flashlight and no idea where the exits were. Until I found a way to shed light on the rest of the setting, I was going to be left with a very boring story.

2. I would skip certain aspects of the world altogether (such as government, politics, and social problems) because I didn't feel adequately equipped to write them in an interesting, effective manner.

3. For one reason or another, I'd walk away from the manuscript for a few days, come back, and then have no idea what to write next because the world the story existed in was so foggy that I didn't know where they should go next.

Obviously, this was quite problematic. You see, settings are something I'm just not very good at creating. There are so many nuances that have to be just right, so many tiny things that don't seem important, but that really are.

For example, architecture. What kind of house does the main character live in? Is it a rambling Victorian, an old farmhouse, a cookie cutter suburban development or an ultra-modern mansion? Or something else altogether? What about the neighborhood? Is it full of these older homes? What kind of people live in them? Is it near water, or farmland, or a forest?

Things get trickier the further from reality the setting is removed. Legality was always tricky for me. If your main character lives in kingdom run by wizards and guarded by knights that ride dragons, what kind of laws to they have? It's been my experience that in fantasy novels, even the good guys don't exactly follow the law. What happens when they get arrested? What do their police look like? Are there trials? Are they fair? Would they appear in front of a judge, or would their crimes require an appearance in front of the king?

As they say, realizing you have a problem is the first step to finding the solution. Becoming aware that I was crap at writing effective backdrops for my stories was one thing; fixing it was something else entirely.

Over the last few years, I've developed four stages to writing good settings.

To start with, I cleared the decks, so to speak. When I began working on Threadbare, I decided for the first time that rather than using a generic setting (up to that point I hadn't specified any locations in my stories, preferring to use a trick taken from many young adult novels that allows the reader to imagine the story takes place in his/her hometown) I knew very definitely that the story was set in Montreal. I chose the city for several reasons: I was in Montreal at the time, I loved the city, and it was just far enough removed from my own small town experience to feel like an adventure every day.

I wrote a little last time about how I developed Evie as a character. In creating the physical world she lived in, I based it heavily on the world I was experiencing. The bus route she she takes is the same; she lives at the end of the street where I was staying, and I worked my favorite land marks and hang outs into the story.

After many rewrites, the first full draft of Fortune's Fight (Threadbare's initial incarnation) was finished in 2009. Though the story would see many changes after that, I had the bones down and was able to build on them for the most recent draft. Though some of the plot points changed and characters were added and removed, the basis of the story is the same, as is the setting.

The second stage involves taking what you know and creating a world that is slightly removed from it. I did this for my Cassie Palmer series. While her address would read Plain City, Ohio, I've made some adjustments, adding many things that can't be found on any map of Union County.

The third part is to write a place you know exists, but have never seen. For A.J. Marshall's story, I chose 1920s Chicago. A.J's world is very different from true history (for one thing, her world is powered by clockwork and steam, rather than diesel and electricty, and I made a few minor adjustments to Al Capone's timeline). This gives me a basic framework to go from, but I can add buildings, politicians, and historical events as necessary to further the story.

The last step is creating a world from scratch. I've started to do this with my newest character, Olivia. I began by creating the building that she lives in, her family, and her friends. From there, I can work my way out to their political connections, which helps define the political and economic structure of her world.

Basically, what all of this boils down to is thinking of the world you're writing as another character. There are the physical aspects to consider. What does it look like? What kind of architecture are the buildings? What are they made of? Why? What resources are commonly found in the area? If they use stone, then it follows that they probably have a lot of quarries or mines. Wood buildings are generally cheaper, more flammable, and surrounded by forests. If everyone lives in a circular tower, why? Do the circles conduct magical energy better than squares? What kind of furniture to they need to compensate for the awkward angles? What about property lines? Are they circular, too? These are all key things to consider, and your characters and your readers will thank you for it.

Is there another aspect of writing or development that you want to hear about? Leave a comment and let me know.

How do you write? Part I, characters

Over on her blog Caps, Lock and Stock the lovely Missouri has been talking about her character development process. I thought this was a good topic, and since I am trying to blog more and am too lazy to come up with my own topics, I thought I'd put my own take on it here. :) If you're a writer, feel free to post your take. I thought this discussion might make a good meme.

In her blog, Missouri states that the last thing she usually comes up with is the physical description of the character, but that's normally where I start.

I'm a visual person, so most of the time I see the character before I being writing them. Once I get their physical image, I can peel back the layers. For example, one character I'm working on right now is named Olivia. She's tall, with long blonde hair that has several small braids in it, and she tends to wear a lot of layered clothing, especially skirts.

Once I get a feel for the character's outfit, I can start peeling back the layers. Why does she wear skirts all of the time, instead of pants? Why so many layers? Why braids? Why are her nails bitten down? What type of jewelry does she wear, and why? Are her hands calloused or smooth? Where did the callouses come from?

As I begin to answer these questions, I start to find out more about the character and the world that she is from. In Olivia's case, each braid in her hair contains a protection spell. Why? Because there are people trying to kill her, of course. Who? Why do they want to kill her?

Each physical trait can be traced back to something in her personality or her past, from the type of shoes she wears to the fabric her skirt is made of. I use these visual, physical clues to tell me about what the character likes to do, what they eat, and where they go. What do they carry in their pockets? Will I find a bus pass or a magic lamp? How did the magic lamp get there? Where did they go to find it?

Once I start to see the character, they usually run around in my head for a few days before I decide if I want to commit them to paper. The characters that make the cut usually have an unusual past, or some quirk in the present. This is usually about the time I decide on a name. Olivia practically named herself, but sometimes it's a little harder. I had a horrible time naming Cassie, who is a Nordic Shaman. Initially, she was supposed to be a psychic--hence the name Cassandra. Then her story took a dramatic left turn I wasn't expecting. This turned out to be a good thing, since without that left turn, she would have been dancing on the fine line between heroine and Mary Sue. On the other hand, Evie was named after one of my favorite movie characters (Rachel Weisz's character in the Mummy movies, though I spelled the name differently). For side characters, I usually start with a letter and an idea of how I want the name to sound (male, starts with an M, 1-2 syllables, Greek in origin: Micha. Female, an old fashioned name with a more modern, girly nickname, starts with a G: Rogena, "Gina").

Evie is the exception to all of this, in that she had a personality before she had anything else. When I began working on her, I was trying to work through a difficult event in my own life, so I created a character similar to myself to see how she would handle it as a way of working through my own problems. Over time however, she took on a life of her own and has evolved a great deal. I'm quite proud of who she's grown up to be, and it's very different from that first uncertain incarnation.

From here, one of the last things that I look at is the character's voice. Once I've seen them, gotten to know them without words, I start to listen. Sometimes, they don't talk much at all, like Evie. She's more introverted and prefers to keep her own counsel, but when she does say or think anything, it's usually sarcastic and self deprecating. Cassie is from a small midwestern town, and therefore speaks very much like the people I saw every day growing up. However, she has a degree in English and tends to use a slightly broader vocabulary, and a mix of proper grammar (such as the proper use of "whom") mixed with a tendency I've noticed around here to leave off words such as "the" and "at". Olivia was raised in a school and spend most of her early years around people much older than her. Most of her spare time is spent reading, and she has taken on a much more formal, old fashioned way of speaking than those around her.

Like their clothing, voices can say a lot about where a person is from, even when the specific location isn't voiced aloud. Next time, I'll talk a little bit about how I do world building (or the lack thereof).

In Passing

It is late. I have to be up early.

Since we have virtual type-ins, how about you guys join me for some virtual breakfast tomorrow morning?


My only problem with this is that in the project description, they describe a typewriter as "useless object."

(click the image to go to the origin page)

Life Keeps Getting in the way of My Life

I have things I want to make, do, and see. Places I would like to visit, chores that need done, books that should be written (more that need read), groceries that need bought and bills that need paid. But as of late, it seems I mostly have knits that need designed.

This is the current work-in-progress pile, or the PhD pile (Projects Half Done). I am ashamed to admit how long most of these items have been on the needles, though in my defense I have lost two of the last six months to tendonitis, and then there were the holidays, too. So it's not all my fault.

Though come to think of it, maybe having a little focus in my work would be beneficial...

Let's examine the damage, shall we?

In excavating the layers of my knitting basket, the first striation we come across is a basic stockinette afghan, cast on at the start of the winter months as much for variety of knitting material (i.e. size of needle; see tendonitis above) as for warmth, since the moron who built our apartment complex obviously did not know what insulation, double pane windows, or general weather sealing are. What could be better than a blanket that keeps you warm as you knit it?

I don't remember the name of the yarn for this, but it's a generic aran weight I picked up at Michael's for $9.

Progress: 20%

The next level is The Socks. I started these around December 7, having had to wait for funds to clear before I could order the supplies, and then as soon as I cast on the brand new needle I'd ordered for the project broke. When the replacement came in, I discovered that the join between the needle and the cable was sub-par, and ended up switching to one I already had. These were supposed to be done for Christmas. Right now, I'd be pleased to finish by Easter. (When is that again?) These are toe-up knee highs knit on one long circular needle, with an afterthought heel (to be added) out of KnitPicks Comfy.

(note: these look a little funny because when I'm knitting from the toe up, I keep the yarn inside the foot of the sock. Keeps it clean, neat, and out of the kitten's mouth.)

Progress: 40%

As we dig deeper into the project bin, we find the Evie shell, so named because it is based on the main character of my novel Threadbare, which is currently making the rounds to various potential publishers. Also made of KnitPicks Comfy, this is the project that brought my knitting to a halt last fall.

This is my first time delving into the world of actual lace, rather than the Cheater's Lace I usually do, which mostly involves using really big needles and doing yarn over, knit 2 together over and over again with no real pattern in mind.

This project has been on hold since Christmas, because I can't seem to work on two major projects on size one or two needles at the same time without risking my limbs, and really, those socks are more important at this point. Though it's disappointing, because I found a magazine that this pattern would be perfect for submission. Too bad there's no way I'm finishing before the deadline.

Progress: 10%

We have now reached the point were it becomes embarrassing to look at things.

For example: This is not a pair of socks. This is just a sock. Just one. One sock, which has been in roughly this same state since...uh...September? What's worse, the pair was supposed to be finished in time for Missouri's book release. With photos. And completed pattern.

Part of the problem with this sock is that I'm bored of the pattern. The prototypes were knit, ripped, and re-knit about five times. Then I had to make a second pair because I discovered an extra set of ribs in one of the socks, and the sizing wasn't quite right. I corrected that problem in the pattern, but simply can't get up the motivation to finish this pair.

Other reasons/excuses why it isn't finished: I'm not over fond of the yarn. It's okay, it's just...meh. Really nothing exciting. I would tell you what it is, but again, can't find the ball band (I swear they are all around here somewhere). I do know it was el cheapo sock yarn from Michaels, which kind of explains the problem right there. I'm a yarn snob when it comes to socks. I should have remembered that when buying this.

Additionally, this is one of those smaller-gauge projects that risks mobility and limb for me, so it's been on hold while I try to finish other things.

Progress: 25%

When I pulled out my TKGA binder for this photo, I thought I had three or four of my Master Handknitting swatches complete. Turns out, it's just two. I'm also behind on my questions.

When I got my packet back in July, I thought, "Knitting! Tiny swatches! Writing about Knitting! I'll be done by Christmas!" In this case, life happened. Other projects took precedence, and once again, I had to put this on hold because of physical challenges. See, I knit...weird. Not like a lot of other knitters. It's a side effect of being mostly self taught.

Then there's the carpel tunnel/tendonitis issue. I normally knit much looser than most instructions call for. Doesn't really bother me, but to meet the standards of the program, my stitches have to look a certain way. So instead of using a size 8 needle as the yarn recommends, I have to use a size 5 and knit as tightly as humanly possible.

But I still don't think that's a good excuse. I should be further with this. Especially since my 1 year deadline is in July.

Progress: 15%

Forming the bedrock of our dig site, we have the London Calling Cabled Cardigan, from Vogue Knitting...Fall 2010. Yes, this sweater has been on the needles for about a year and a half now.

When I pulled out this piece (which is only one of the fronts; there is more done), I had a brief moment of panic because the panel that was actually in progress was missing. I didn't panic because I'd lost all that work. I paniced because I thought briefly, "Oh, I'll just start over. I've been thinking it would be better seamless." Yes, you read that correctly. I considered ripping the whole thing out and starting over again, even though at about 50%, this project is the furthest along of them all.

I've kind of been avoiding this project. I like the pattern. I like the sweater. I even kind of like the yarn (even if it is just some basic Red Heart). My problem is that I am concerned about the shoulders and the sleeves. I'm afraid they won't fit. Part of the temptation to start over is not just to create a seamless body (knitting the fronts and backs together as one long flat piece, then separating at the underarm to finish the rest) but also because I'm considering going up a size. My stitch count is for the small, though my measurements actually match the large (like I said, loose knitter). When I whip stitched the completed pieces together to give it a test thought, it just didn't have the ease I'm looking for, especially in the bust and shoulders.

I think I just talked myself into starting over. ¬_¬

See, this is what happens when I try to get things done.

ETA: I was going to finish the last few inches on the cardigan. I started knitting, and working on the decreases, and realized that for some reason, it didn't look like the other front. And then I held all three pieces up together, and realized that somewhere along the lines, I'd made an error in the cable pattern and none of those cables lined up. If I were to finish it as is and wear it, I would look lopsided because the fronts are offset by half a repeat.

So. Starting over it is.