For the love of swatching

I am between cardigans. With Something Blue off the needles, I find myself in the lovely position of contemplating what to knit next in terms of garments. Socks are on the go, a shawl is obviously still going but I'm ready for a new garment.

So I swatched for gauge. Just as an aside, growing up with an English knitter mother, I spoke of tension squares. I guess we don't say that anymore, do we? Anyone? I love our American knitters and all that they've contributed, but we, outside the US, do seem to have adopted pretty much most of the US terminology, haven't we?

So I dug out a ball of Grignasco Tango, which is basically Rowan Felted Tweed rebranded, so I'm told. The make up is certainly identical. Wool, alpaca and rayon.



I'm not entirely smitten with the feel of it yet. Scratchy is how I'd describe it but then my other project at the moment is the silk Myrtle Leaf shawl. Anything is going to feel rough next to that stuff, right?



I'm learning more and more to love swatching. I don't see it as delaying the joy of casting on. Well, it is a delaying tactic in a way, but not for the obvious reason.

For me, starting a new big project is a bit scary and I'm happy to hover for a while in the joy of anticipation.

I'm a bit nervous about what I'm planning to do with this yarn. It feels like a reasonable committment, not in time so much but in effort. So I'm happy to put off starting just for a bit. Here's what I'm building up to.

Tangled Yoke by Eunny Jang.

I didn't get gauge first go. I'm one stitch short. Ordinarily I'd accept that, go down a needle size and get going but I think I'm suffering from performance anxiety, so maybe I'll swatch again, just to be sure.

Or maybe I won't. Maybe it's time to just jump right in?

Bells

That's Crazy Talk!

Last night, I sat down to swatch some beautiful blue cotton polyester blend (Nico, by Lana Grossa) which found its way to me all way the from Germany, via George.

It looks like this.


I was loving it, pausing to stroke and admire it every few rows. I was a happy swatcher, which was nice, because the night before, I hadn't been so happy. Remember I said I was going to swatch for the Gathered Pullover? I swatched with my beautiful red Drops Alpaca and was really quite unsure of the results.

It looks like this.


It looks better than it did before I washed it. Unwashed/blocked, it looked a lot more uneven and lumpy than that but it's a fairly open fabric. The Gathered Pullover is knit on larger needles than you'd think you might use for 5ply yarn like this alpaca (or alpacky, as someone we all know is fond of saying). A lot of ravelry reading on the thread devoted to this garment (17 pages!!) revealed that gauge was a bit of a sticking point for some. 

And the thing is, I'm not really a large gauge kinda gal. I like my stitches neat, small and tight. I make allowances for lace, but even then, I err on the side of small. 

So I have to think about the Gathered Pullover and the Drops Alpaca before I decide if it's really a match made in heaven. I wonder if straight alpaca might not have enough structure to it to really make the Gathered Pullover really sing?

So this is why I moved onto the blue Nico last night. It was calling my name and I started thinking about the Sitcom Chic cardigan I tried making earlier in the year but couldn't get the right weight cotton to make it.

Then, I had a thought. If I were to make the blue Sitcom Chic some time soon, that would be odd. Can any observant readers figure out why? Think about it.

In June I made the dark blue cutaway cardigan.

In July I made the light blue eyelet cardigan for my sister.

Now I think of making the mid blue cotton cardigan.

Huh?

As my lovely nephew is fond of saying, 'That's crazy talk!'

Three cardigans back to back is one thing. Three blue cardigans? In the space of three months? Definitely Crazy Talk.

I'll do something else first. If only I knew what. Maybe finish one of my countless WIPs? Now there's a novel idea.

Lastly, if you're up for a bit of music nostalgia, check out Button Beauty, where Jess is having a contest. 

To qualify, you simply have to travel back in time and remember  your first music purchase and first concert. I've been reading all the entries and drowning in nostalgia. Check it out! As a recipient of a previous prize from Jess, I can guarantee they're worth it.

For the record, my first album was a cassette, in 1983 when I was 11 - Women of Rock. A compilation featuring Joan Jett, Kate Bush and heaven only knows who else. My first concert was (I'm cringing here) Amy Grant at Bruce Stadium here in Canberra in 1989. I was 17 and very much in the midst of my happy, clappy Christian years. I still kinda like her, in a nostalgic sort of way, not that I ever actually listen to her!

Bells

Sunday morning photos and a hangover

Anyone got a great cure for a red wine hangover? I'm not sure how many glasses I had last night when our friends came for dinner. I think maybe four or five? Not to mention a few whites beforehand and a dessert wine afterwards.

I don't remember feeling particularly drunk, but red wine ALWAYS does this to me. I swear I've been smashed around the head during the night with a cricket bat, or something.

So what do I do? Get up, make tea, and blog. I'm not one for sleeping in at the best of times and laying in bed feeling sandpapery in the mouth and focusing on the stampede in my head isn't my idea of a nice lie in. I'd rather take photos of WIPs.

Here they are.



First up, the swatch for the vest I'm designing for my friend. She's rather fond of all things Celtic and so I thought this cable, lifted from The Harmony Guide to Aran Knitting, would be perfect. She loved it. I love this wool - Merino and Silk from NZ - it's really soft and delicious to work with.

So once it's dry, I'll take some measurements and start figuring out the numbers for the vest. After the last time I tried that, when preparing for the steeked jacket, I think this time it'll be a doddle. No pattern repeats to fit in, except for one cable down the front). Julie, you'll be so proud - I hope!

Next, the near completed pair of socks, the first of which featured in the Sox and the City post of last week.




I've really enjoyed these socks. I got the pattern here, and it's been a lovely way to introduce something other than rib or stocking stitch into socks. The problem is the size. I was initially making them for my sister, who specifically requested pink socks. But once finished, I could hardly get the first one over my heel and she's got a slightly larger foot than I have. Where the cable stops and the heel starts, it's so tight! I'm thinking of going up a size in needle when I get to the heel on the next pair, or maybe just making the heel flap bigger and therefore picking up more stitches for the gusset. Not sure yet.

Here's a close up of the pattern detail.



So these are instead going to a friend who is due to give birth to baby #1 in the next few weeks. She has tiny feet (although I believe they're swollen to buggery at the moment) and they should be perfect. I'll make a little baby pair of socks for the new arrival, too.

And finally, just so you know it's still a going a concern, the steeked jacket.



With the sock deadline looming (I still have to make another pair for my sister before her birthday in mid-March), the jacket has been a little neglected of late. I still love it. I haven't strayed far. In fact, as soon as this post is done, I'm going sit down in front on Sunday morning TV with a fresh pot and the jacket. The sock will probably be finished this afternoon at SnB where there is someone coming who, wait for it, has actually met the Yarn Harlot!!! I haven't met her yet (the new SnB member, not the great Yarn Harlot), but when I do, I may just touch her hand, or something. Ugh. I'm pathetic.

Ok. Enough rambling. Off to make that pot of English Breakfast.

Bells