I knit like I cook.

As I think I may have mentioned, oh, every time I talk about cooking, I'm not the best at following recipes. Measuring is time-consuming (and it results in more dishes to wash, I would say unnecessarily), so I usually don't do it. I often don't have every suggested ingredient on hand, and depending on what the missing element is, I forge ahead anyway. Even when I do have all the right ingredients, I'm likely to use less of some (oil, for instance) and more of others (recipes never call for enough cinnamon, ever).

And yes, I approach knitting in much the same way. I'm about as incapable of following a pattern as I am at adhering to a recipe. Right now, I'm working on the Mirabella Cardigan from the spring 2008 issue of Interweave Knits (clearly I conquered the what-to-knit-next decision that had me stumped last week). I'm making a rough approximation of it, anyway.

First, I decided to use a finer gauge than the pattern calls for and knit a larger size to arrive at the dimensions I'll need. Next, as I always do, I opted for knitting in the round rather than knitting flat. At that point, I figured I might as well knit it as a pullover instead of a cardigan, and lengthen the short sleeves to full length. The jury's still out on whether I'll change the neckline.

Here's what I've got so far: