I have another of those quandaries created by poor planning. In this case, I bought 100 grams of Fleur de Coton at La Droguerie, a knitting shop in Paris. The pattern assured me that I needed 100 grams, and the ladies at the shop measure off the precise amount for you and wind it up, so I have precisely 100 grams.
I also have quite a bit more width than is called for to make the 3 month size of the little sweater I'm knitting. I have in fact the correct width for the 12 month size.
I will therefore require 300 grams of the yarn to complete this sweater, rather than 100 grams.
Obviously, I didn't swatch before knitting. But since I couldn't swatch before buying the yarn, it might not have helped.
But I'm working on size 1 needles, and the fabric is perfect, so just frogging the whole thing and starting with a smaller gauge doesn't seem like the solution. Ordering more yarn from France with ruinous shipping charges also doesn't seem like the perfect solution.
I could frog it and use the yarn to make a bonnet and booties, for which I almost certainly have enough yarn in that 100 grams. Then I could make the little sweater, "Chantons et Bambous" or something like that, from some lighter weight yarn.
Note that most of my solutions require frogging all the knitting I did in Paris. Granted, it's not a whole lot of knitting, and there's nothing magical about knitting completed in Paris.
It might just speak to the basic need for planning and preparation. Making choices on the basis of feelings, responding to the charm of the setting, failing to consider all the possible consequences… when have these ever been the building blocks of a good decision?
And yet, at least when we're only talking about yarn, there is a place in life for frivolity.
I think I can count this imperfect baby sweater back piece as a swatch, can't I?
I'm still faced with a choice between ruinous shipping and starting over, but I think I can live with either of those choices.