knit parade: yarn chicken

if a game of chicken is one in which someone dares to you to face your fear factor fears, than it follows that yarn chicken* can be defined as a game in which a knitter isn't exactly sure whether or not she or he has enough yarn to finish a project and forges forward by casting on anyway, yardage (and gauge) requirements be damned.

that's how i've been playing it, anyway. yarn chicken, that is.

for example, i played yarn chicken with my owley flugel sweater for the summer sweater kal and lost.

sweater front

sigh. although the yarn is rather reasonably priced (and so, so worth it the extra shipping and potential customs charges), my yarn budget is stretched to the limit at the moment and i've decided i'm going to fight back the tears be an adult about all of this and just let the sweater hibernate until i can get off the yarn diet. which may be awhile, because life happens.

there's the whole front left side still to do. then i'm supposed to pick up stitches for around the collar and then 8 rows of 1x1 ribbing. i think i'm gonna need 2 more hanks just to be safe.

sweater back

but isn't the sweater going to be so cute and awesome? it really, really is. 

wanna see the inside of my sweater? 

(see what i did there? i distracted you from the visual effects of my clumsy seaming. all i can say is, don't look back. don't. look down, it's even scarier.)

i know. when i shared this seaming predicament with the sskal ravelry group, the reactions i got included sincere sympathy empathy, cold sweats, racing hearts, and pure relief that although their project had some necessary seaming involved, their sweater did not look like it had been gutted from the inside.

after all was seamed and done, a pet fuzzball!

clearly, intarsia is not my strong suit. i tried many messy things seaming this sweater. and while i'm okay with the things i've done inside my sweater, i am not inclined to show anyone my gutsy seaming job. nope, you cannot make me. okay, maybe in exchange for the yarn i still need to finish this sweater. but nothing else can make me.

i digress.

because in the interest of full disclosure, i apparently play yarn chicken all the time. okay, 3 times, including above sweater. 

because in the interest of trying not to buy yarn, i turn to the stash. and i don't gauge swatch. 

because in the interest of living a life that is not motivated by fear, i like to live dangerously.

in the end, what i get out of each yarn chicken experience is another finished accessory or 2 and um,  spawn of the yarn i was trying to use up in the first place. ahem.

in my defense, i didn't buy the shibui stacatto yarn that i only needed 2 feet of, to finish this rae scarf (which i love). my cousin and now converted knitter (yes, i've been recruiting) bought it for me because he is a sweetheart.

i have no defense for buying more madelinetosh dk (lovely plied yarn). it's not even the same yarn as i started knitting these rathrevor gloves with. i originally used madelinetosh merino dk (single ply heaven),  the yarn shop isn't getting any more of it in the victoria gothic colourway. but about 5 feet into finishing a pair of gloves, i caved.

so, to conclude: i suck at yarn chicken and intarsia. but since all 3 knits were meant for me, it matters not. and i still have the yarn that i started with. that is, except for the yarn i need to finish my owl sweater.

good times.

*i did not coin the term yarn chicken. i saw it in a comment on instagram. i can't remember who posted it or for which photo but it was yarn harlot's. lots of people comment when she posts a photo. i have no idea if yarn chicken actually a thing outside my own definition.