Ms. Marigold: Revisited

Last summer I knit Ms. Marigold using elann Sonata. This is what she looked like:

Hi, I'm Ms. Marigold. I'm too short (see Amanda pulling my sides down?) and too tight across the middle.

To make a long story short, I ran out of yarn for this project twice, which means the little ruffle was not very ruffly, and well, that's what I like about the project. In the end it took me 4 balls of Sonata, though I could have easily used 5 to make it longer and rufflier. So the total cost of that project was about $7.92 in yarn + who knows how much in frustration.

What was the fate of Ms. Marigold? Well, she was placed in a bag to be donated and may be in the land of misfit knits for all I know. I figured since I could buy a sandwich combo meal for what she cost to make, it wasn't worth frogging. It felt good to send her away and start over.

I bought some Berroco Touche in a yummy bubblegum color (and bought LOTS of it, no running out of yarn this time!) and have re-started my new, improved Ms. Marigold:

A few changes this time: I cast on for the 36" version and followed instructions to the point where the armholes are formed. At this point, there are no stitch counts. This section was tight on me the first time, so I took a tape measure and measured myself around where the front section would join. I estimated I wanted it to be 30" around, so at 5 sts/in, I needed 150 sts total on the needles after increasing and casting on the center 10 sts.

I had my problems with the pattern, but mainly I thought it was kinda half-a**ed. For $5.50, or whatever it was, I don't necessarily need a schematic, but this pattern was just poorly written, not to mention the underestimate of yardage! Anyway, I know the Zephyr Girls have improved their patterns since, as I purchased a copy of Wicked, which has schematics and stitch counts. Usually I like figuring things out and designing a little when I knit, but I don't want to feel like I have to make up for what a pattern that I purchased lacks.

Now I just have to go round and round til I reach the bottom hem. AND! I bought some fun beads to try decorating the neckline. More on that later.