Swatches are for wimps!

Isn't this pretty? Hours of work. I did substitute a different yarn. Different fiber. Different gauge too. And guess what !......I have now frogged it. The gauge is so different that it cannot be repaired. I knew it. I knew it as I knit that it was looking too large. But I just kept on knitting. Some sort of brain-fart? Or is it a symptom of yarn fumes addiction? I just knit. And knit. And knit. Finally as I approached the top shaping my brain re-engaged. Then I measured it four times with a ruler. And twice with another ruler. And once with a tape measure. There was just no way I could manipulate this into the correct size.






But it was pretty.