Tag Archives: knitting

A lesson in gauge

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Sometimes I get cocky and forget that I’ve only really been knitting for less than a year. And with that, I forget that each new knitting project I pick up teaches me something new.

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Cables aren’t new, I learned cables with my Hermione sweater. But the blackberry stitch was new. And the idea of alternating skeins when working with hand-dyed yarns. And (I feel sort of stupid about this one) the importance of gauge. That was new too.

I’m not exactly sure how I’ve been getting away with it, but up until now I’ve never knitted a swatch, nor have I ever consistently checked my gauge on a project. I would pretty much just buy the correct weight of yarn and use the recommended needle size and run with it.

When you spend $19.20 per skein though, it’s a little hard to just “run with” anything. When I had gotten to about the eighth row, I checked my gauge and realized I was knitting waaay too loosely and was going to end up with a behemoth sweater. So I ripped it and now I’m checking like a maniac every few rows and for once my gauge is perfect.

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My only question is, how the hell is anyone getting gauge on this sweater with size 7 needles?? I’m knitting super tightly on size 5’s and it’s perfect. I could probably even go down to a size 4 and knit normally.

In other news, I really love this pattern. And this yarn. And the color.

*drool*

When Big Kids Wear Warm Knitted Things

It occurred to me yesterday that the title of my blog is “When Big Kids Play Dress-up” and yet there’s hardly anything costume-related in here.

I’ve been sewing since I was about fourteen. I had gone to see Lord of the Rings with a friend and came home having decided to be Arwen when I grew up. Since then it’s grown increasingly dangerous for me to watch any sort of sci-fi/fantasy movies/tv shows because I will inevitably end up at the nearest fabric store picking out fabrics and notions so I can run home and recreate my favorite costumes whilst my bank account shrieks in pain.

In fact, I started this blog as a place to showcase and write about costuming adventures. Except then I learned to knit and since then pretty much everything has been about knitting projects. Whoops.

The point of all this rambling is, I’m going to have to remedy this. So expect some costumey-related posts in the near future.

Finished Project: Laminaria

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Pattern: Laminaria by Elizabeth Freeman
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Emerald, 1 skein
Started: October 20, 2011
Finished: October 30, 2011

Ravelry page

I’m pretty bad at gauging how much stuff I need for a project. When I shop for a sewing project, I’ll usually draw up some sketches and decide that I need three yards of fabric, but then when I’m at the cutting table at the store, I’ll suddenly decide to get an extra half yard just in case, and of course when all is said and done I have two whole yards of the material left over.

With yarn it’s different. It’s string. And quantities are measured in the triple digits as opposed to single digits.

Laminaria

But I’m equally as bad at gauging how much yarn I have left for the amount of knitting that hasn’t been done and whether or not I need to be panicking. Usually I end up being fine.

This time I was short by about ten yards (again, a total guess). I ended up doing a normal (tighter) bind off instead of the fancy loose one. It’s blocking right now, and if the little pointy ends look ok I’m just going to leave it.

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It should be fine though. I never wear shawls as shawls, and they always end up tied around my neck anyway so it shouldn’t matter.

Gahh.

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Progress Report

Laminaria: 50%, just started the last Star Chart repeat and then it’s on to the edging 75%! Halfway through Edging Chart #1

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Rae #2: 30%, I think I’m  somewhere around 50-something stitches

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Papers written: 3 of 4

I’d say we’re doing pretty well.

Oh, except:

Halloween costumes made: zero

Whoops.

Slightly obsessed

Yesterday I was introduced to the fact that I am probably more obsessed with yarn and knitting than I had realized.

During the day I took* my roommate to Windsor Button to oggle at the pretty yarns. She wanted some yarn for a sweater project and I needed yarn for Christmas presents and size 6 needles**.

Also this skein of Berocco alpaca looked like it really needed a home and I was too mesmerized to say no. I think it’s going to be Rae #2.

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After we got home, I cast on my first Rae and worked on that for a bit.

Then it was time to head over to the Brookline Booksmith where the Yarn Harlot was doing a book signing for her new book! Oh my lord, that woman is even more hilarious in person. I nearly peed myself twice.

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I also loved that nearly everyone brought a knitting project along and the whole room was knitting along while she read from her book. One woman even had a drop spindle and was making some gorgeous fall-colored yarn!

Afterward as we were leaving, it occurred to me that I had laughed at every joke and could identify with every anecdote she told. I only started knitting ten months ago. Before that it was a totally boring skill that I knew the basics of but could never be bothered to participate in. And now I have a yarn-purchasing compulsion, 284 projects waiting in my Ravelry queue, spend more time on Ravelry than I do on Facebook, and I secretly can’t wait for my friends to start popping out babies so I can knit teeny tiny baby things.

When did this happen??

*Saying “took” makes it sound like it was totally for her. A more accurate description would be that I dragged her along and made her wait for ten minutes while I agonized over two shades of Berroco alpaca.

**Can I just take a moment to express my surprise that I didn’t have this size already in any form of knitting needles??

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