Non-Standard

One of the things I love about knitting is its infinite variety.  Like Shakespeare's Cleopatra, age cannot wither nor custom stale it.  No matter how tired I am, how stressed, how sometimes overwhelmed with all the littleness-es it sometimes takes to make life work, knitting is a refuge. Even if I can't get to it, I find comfort in knowing it's there and hope in that knowledge.

Enough of philosophy, because that infinite variety can also come back to bite you if what you (a tight knitter) are trying to replicate is the work of another (self-described "very loose") knitter.  The present object of my ire is the Embellished Squares Afghan.  That bit where I ran out of yarn is the first repeat of the final pattern section.  Now I only have two more repeats in the main color, then about 12 ridges worth of garter stitch border. According to the pattern, I will then have something that will measure 44" unblocked, 50" if when I block it. 

Now, I freely admit, this pattern is stretchy.  Further, neither Spudsayshi nor I have any idea of how our gauges compare - except for that assumption I'm making about her loose and my tight knitting.  I've taken steps. I've upped two needle sizes to, I hope, bring my gauge up to a reasonable facsimile of hers.  I like the look of the fabric - it suits the yarn, the needles and the pattern. Yet I cannot see how what I've got is comparable in size to what is pictured on the pattern page.  I think I'm going to end up with a very heavy, very dark knitted doily.  Too big for a wash cloth, too holey for a trivet, and much, much too small for a blanket.

Yes, I am aware that the nature of a square blanket knit in the round is that it increases by 8 stitches every other row.  I'm further aware that, for this particular blanket, each section is 12 rows wider (3 repeats, additional 4 rows per repeat). That means it's increasing at merely an arithmetical rate, though, not at a geometric one.  The deep, dark question looming ever larger in my mind is: will it grow enough? Or will I have to get clever and gerry-rig the pattern to accommodate my inability to meet the standard?