Well, shoot.

During my lunch break (which COULD have been longer, grr, the person who claimed he would show up to finish something did not), I looked at my yardage calculations again.

I am actually close to 250 yards SHORT (=2 skeins of the Sierra) of what the pattern says I need. (the size I'm doing calls for 9 skeins of Cascade 220 which is 1980 yards; I have 1744 yards). That would be like ONE whole skein of the Cascade 220 and I can't quite believe that the pattern would be that off.

I have three choices (maybe four), as I see it:

1. Feel really bummed about it, and rip out the couple of rows I have done. Suffer gansey withdrawal.

2. Keep my fingers crossed and keep knitting. Keep on believin' that all of the larger sizes are considerably fudged, and that I'll have enough yarn - I always have *more* than enough when I buy just the right amount. (Denial, denial - see my comment above). Keep close track of how much I use on the front and back. I have 16 skeins - if I use 5 each on the front and the back, I should be easily safe. If I use 5 1/2 to 6, I should still be safe. Maybe even consider making it one or more repeats shorter in the waist - the gansey, as written, should be plenty long. (I think that is the best route, although it will require planning-before-I-know-if-I-will-run-short).

3. Keep on knitting, if I run short, do the collar out of something else, unravel the bottom edges and sleeve cuffs (damn - I could have done a provisional cast on but didn't) and use that yarn to fill in. Use the wine-colored yarn for the neckband and cuffs and call it a feature instead of a bug. If absolutely necessary, do something annoying and insane like making the sleeve caps in a different color. Or rip the whole damn thing out with much cursing. Or figure out how to turn the thing into a pullover vest, which I really don't want.

4. (maybe) Beg, ask, plead, see if anyone out in cyberspace has a loose skein or two of the Elann Sierra (this is the light-worsted-weight, not the aran weight they have right now) and hope I can get it in a dyelot close enough to what I had. I can't remember if this yarn was a fall 2003 or a fall 2004 purchase, so I may be totally out of luck there.

I don't know. Like I said, right now I'm bumming. I really can't believe that what I have will be enough, I really, really don't want to stick stripes or something stupid on this (it's a GANSEY; stripes will LOOK DUMB. pout, pout, stamp feet). I can't make a smaller size (even though I'd have enough wool) unless I want to be the Lana Turner Gansey Wearer. (I'm already too boobtacular; something tight and wooly would only make things worse).

So I don't know. Perhaps I'm better casting this one into the Outer Darkness and starting on Samus instead. If I have enough yarn for that. Now I'm struck with yarn paranoia, that none of the "sweater sized amounts" I bought will be quite enough...