Oh. My. Gauge.

While I certainly understand the concept of gauge and it's importance, it is something that, up until recently, I've been able to blithely disregard.  Since nearly everything I've been making is flat, it's not nearly as important as it is when you are making something to wear.  

Since making something I can wear is my latest goal, gauge has become more important, and I've had to do a lot of reading.  Is gauge something you get when you knit a swatch before it's been blocked?  After it's been blocked?  Do you need to use bigger needles or smaller ones, and which direction does that send the gauge?  Does it increase it?  Decrease it?  

And if that weren't confusing enough, there was the question posed by a woman whose gauge was off half a stitch, and she wondered how that was going to affect her completed project.  Believe it or not, it was going to make a large difference by making the item larger.   It's one of those things that make sense when you read the explanation, but leaves you scratching your head when you don't have the explanation in front of your face.

My current project is the Multnomah shawl.  In trying to obtain the proper gauge, I've knit the first bit of yarn off the ball nearly to pieces, and once again, I've thrown the gauge out the window.  I'm using the needles that got me closest to it, and I'll simply eyeball the rest.  However, my next project is a sweater, and I've got to get this matter figured out.