Back from Bmore

Munchkin and I got back from Baltimore on Friday. I did a wee bit of knitting down there -- I started a wool/angora sweater for Baby Cashew. I have an issue in that since I switched to a Continental style of knitting my stitches are way loose. I had to go down 3 needle sizes and consciously knit tightly to get the correct gauge (I didn't have any smaller needles.) I'm not quite sure how to handle it. I can't imagine knitting everything with needles 3 sizes smaller.