Jofrog is Knitfrog!
November 17 2003
When Gauge Swatches Go Bad
I did a wonderful swatch for my Purple Ox sweater before I started...
calculated the number of stitches I would need to make it the right
size, not too tight, but still figure flattering... can you see where
this is going?
I had also decided, though I've never knit continental before, that I
wanted to knit this sweater continental, especially because it is in
the round. Quicker, smoother, great idea... Friday night I
decided that my stitches were too loose in some places above the
patterned section and I would rip back to there and start over being
more aware of my tension... I removed the needles, started to rip
back a bit and then tried it on... HUGE, not big, HUGE. Way way
too big. I checked my gauge and sure enough, I'm getting
5st/inch, not 6! A bit more ripping, a bit more calculating and
now I've started again. The current Purple Ox looks just like the
one from Friday. I'm almost at the same point again.
There wasn't much knitting this weekend because it was my birthday!
We had friends over for a wonderful dinner and evening on Saturday
night, and I got to see everyone at Knitsmiths yesterday. How
wonderful to have knitting group on my birthday! Yeah happy
day! I worked on my pink opal sock yesterday and hope to finish
the first one this week so that I can start on this...
I picked up this pattern and yarn for it this morning from Wild and
Wooly in Lexington MA. Click on the picture for the designer's
website and to order the pattern yourself. I'm going to buy the
beads on Wednesday (hopefully they will have what I want) and then I'll
start them soon too! Woo hoo, new and exciting socks. Check
out the designer at Heartstring Fiber Arts. There are many other cool designs that I'm thinking about doing in the future, especially the thong sock!
Happy Monday, happy knitting!
