I'm Sure I Can Make It Stretch

There is something about the violet yarn that makes me lie to myself.  I think I may be in a destructive relationship with my knitting.  I keep telling myself that I can make it work if I'll just change.  Change my pattern, change my needles, change my rate of decrease.  I will make a sweater, damn it, I just have to try harder.  It's totally me, not the yarn.  It's certainly not the fact that there isn't enough yarn.  Nope.  That's not it.  I haven't struggled along this far, only to run out at the bitter end.  The Knitting Gods are benevolent and kind.  They would never betray my fealty that way.

I made the circular yoke cardigan from the bottom up, in spite of knowing that top-down would be better for a person whose yarn supply is dubious.  When I got to the armpits, I attached sleeves that were only about 1" long, with provisional castons.  Then I finished the upper part of the sweater, and all the placket business.  The yarn that was left (the better part of one skein) I weighed and divided in half.  Then I took out the provisional CO and worked the first sleeve about as long as I dared to, but here's the sick and twisted part:  I absolutely must match the lower edge treatment at the cuff.  But the lower edge is a lacy scallop which is made from the bottom up, and the sleeve, as established, is being worked from the top down. 

Without breaking the working yarn from the sleeve edge, I laid the whole thing aside and pulled the opposite end of the yarn out of the center of the ball.  Then I worked a cuff edge from the bottom up with it, knowing that if I ran short of cuff yarn, I could always unravel some of the sleeve at the other end of the strand.  Which, miraculously, I did not have to do.  I had exactly enough to make the cuff and graft it to the lower edge of the sleeve.  Although I will tell you that I had to kitchener that B@#^$tard on three times to get the graft right.  Did I mention this is all in the round, on DPNs?  Yep.  I grafted 2 pieces of circular knitting together, which amounted to 6 DPNs.  Three Times.

It worked perfectly.  Except that, as predicted, I didn't have enough yarn to make a full-length sleeve.  I have perfect 3/4 sleeve.  And I hate 3/4 sleeves.  This may not be my healthiest knitting relationship.  The sweater and I may have to go for counseling, but I'm sure I can change if it will just give me one more chance.