thwarted by my lack of faith in math

Well, poop. I finished the Jolly Rancher Shrug, and it’s waaaaaaay too small. I couldn’t tell that until I sewed it up; the construction of circular shrugs is such that I’m totally flummoxed by the sizing. Apparently.

I was really disappointed when I realized it wouldn’t fit, because I wanted to wear it! Now! Grr! Argh! But I’m getting over that. I’ll finish weaving in the ends and send it off to a good home with someone daintier than I am. Perhaps someone whose birthday, coincidentally, was today…

The thing I’m frustrated by, now that the initial disappointment has passed, is that I actually swatched this one, checked my gauge, and started knitting… and then as I progressed, I became ever-more-sure that it was way too big. Huge, never going to fit, going to be a waste of yarn and time, oh god, stop now and frog and start over. So I did. I adjusted the numbers, contrary to the pattern and my own swatch, and started over. And, lo, it’s too small. Who could have guessed such a thing would happen?

So. I wound half the Grawk into a ball (which took an age; those skeins are big!) and tried to decide what to do next. I really want a little shrug sweater with a soft collar. Should I try again on the Circular Shrug with new yarn, this time actually following the instructions? Should I, instead, pick a new pattern that I can do with some stash yarn? Should I abandon this idea for now and instead finish the two in-progress gifts and Drew’s felted piece for Novitas? Or should I endlessly wind Grawk and ponder my options?