Tuesday Troubles

 Well, not really troubles but annoyances!

The Love Knots Blanket test knit is over. 

The Baby Dungarees are almost done.

The next big project is a sweater for our daughter to hopefully use up the rest of the Hilda Yates yarn.

The number one thing to do after assembling pattern, yarn, and needles for a new project is to knit a gauge swatch.  This entails casting on quite a few stitches and knitting in the pattern you are going to use so you can measure and know if your stitch count is correct. 

 For example, if you are knitting in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl the next row, then repeat), and if the pattern calls for a stitch gauge of  22 stitches and 28 rows in 4 inches of knitting but you get 18 stitches and 22 rows in your gauge swatch (to be smart you would have cast on 40 stitches and knit about 6 inches of fabric so you could lay the swatch out flat then get an accurate measurement--and if you were REALLY solid, you would cast off the swatch, wash it, and block it and THEN count the stitches...this way you will know what your garment will actually be like)--if your gauge did not match the pattern gauge then you know you will need to change needles until you get gauge or you garment will not fit.  In my example, the garment would be way too big.

The other thing/maybe smarter thing to do is to take the yarn you want and the needles you want,  knit up a swatch at least 6 inches tall, then measure YOUR own gauge then look at the pattern schematic and plop in your numbers to know how many stitches to cast on, etc.  That does work.

Anyway, because I am planning to use Elizabeth Zimmermann's yoke sweater in the round and Elizabeth's Percentage System, I decided to cast on enough stitches to make a hat that would match the sweater then started merrily knitting along.  The bottom of the sweater will have a hem rather than ribbing so I knit a bit less than two inches for the hem facing, purled one round, then started knitting up. The plan being that when I got up another two inches I would start introducing color work.  (Of course, I am still not solid on the color patterns I will use so...I might have been getting ahead of myself, though being prepared for the colors is such a great idea. I thought!)

When I was halfway ready for the colors to start,  I noticed a funny thing.  Something I did NOT want to notice!  It turns out that I had a moebius on my needles, not a hat/swatch!  So annoying.  I do not know how I did it.  Every pattern in the round reminds you that you must NOT TWIST the stitches when you begin the actual knitting.  The only time you can fix a twisted stitch is at the beginning of the second row.  Even then it can be tricky.  Well, I would almost stake my life that I had it right at that point, but now....

All I can imagine is that when I began the purl round I somehow twisted the stitches.  Now I have a moebius, an infinite loop, on my needles.  This will NOT work for a hat though it might be fine as a neck warmer.  On a pretty small neck, or someone who loves snug clothing.  I do not.  

Now I will do something different for the gauge swatch.

Notice the twist right there on my knee?  You might have to follow it around clockwise to find that it really is twisted.  So annoying.  But I am NOT discouraged!!!