Big Heap of Red Fuzz Redux

It may not look very different, but I think I am now halfway to the armholes, and the first ball of yarn is finally starting to shrink a little. And at some point last night it changed from being a project that I wasn't actually very sure about to one that I know is working and that I'm happy with.

I didn't swatch, you see. These days I normally do for jumpers (if anyone's on Ravelry, take a look at my Disaster Jumper to see why I do). But I don't swatch for lace. I pick what seems like an appropriate needle (either the one suggested in the pattern, or a size I've used for that yarn before), and start knitting. If I don't like the fabric I'm getting, and don't think it's going to get better when blocked, I change needle size, but I don't worry all that much about the exact dimensions of the finished item.

So this is lace, and I didn't swatch, but it is also a jumper, and I was convinced that it was going to be too large, because my work looked very loose and airy in comparison to the picture in the book (and I didn't know what allowances to make for blocking). Last night it finally got long enough to measure roughly, and I discovered that it is currently slightly smaller than the finished size quoted, which is good if it grows in blocking, but not so small that it would be unwearable if it stayed the same size. As long as it doesn't shrink I will be fine. And just as when I'm running out of wool I knit faster, as if getting to the end of the garment sooner will take less yarn, I found that when I'm unsure about a project, but need to knit some more before I can actually tell if it's wrong, I knit slower, to put off that evil day.