Pages

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

WIPW: An edge, a yoke and some swatches

Before diving in the heart of the matter, a big thank you to all of you who have left comments throughout my Try-it-out sweater adventure.  Yes, I will knit another sweater trying to correct all the problems I found with the first one, but not straight away.  I, maybe not surprisingly, needed a break from experimentation and wanted to knit something "real". without asking myself too many questions.

The Swatches
There was, however, something I needed to check first.  Perhaps the most enlightening lesson of the tr-it-out sweater was to realize that my gauge was not consistent throughout the garment.  The body gauge was much looser than the swatch.  The sleeve gauge was much tighter.  So, to figure out what was going on there, I made.... another experiment.  I knitted 6 swatches:  in the round on a small circular, in the round on dpns, in the round with the magic loop, flat with the Half-Loop method, flat with the Whole-Loop method and flat back in forth,  If you didn't think I was a nut bag after the try-it-out sweater, now, you're probably convinced.

I swatched keeping my gauge constantly in mind.  Even so, there were differences.  When I knit using the Magic Loop, my gauge is definitely tighter, both on the stitch gauge and the row gauge.  The swatch made flat, knitted on the right side and purled on the other side is tighter than the others, but on the stitch gauge only.  From this, I take that I do have to swatch using the Half-Loop of the Whole-Loop method when I am going to knit in the round.  And I also take that I should get properly equipped with dpns, because not only do I prefer them to the Magic Loop, but my gauge stays the same when I use them.

The Edge
I took one more step towards finishing the little cardigan for Gabrielle.  I knitted a rolled stockinette edge all around the cardigan and I am very pleased with the result.  Now I really need to make it to my craft store to buy the right zipper because it's the only thing that stands between me and a FO.

(That cartoon on television was so interesting that I couldn't get a smile or even a look...)








A Yoke
My Icelandic lopi is the last yarn that made it into my stash and it will be the first one to leave.  My fingers have been itching to get started on the Craftsy Top-Down Icelandic Sweater, mainly because I want to have a go at a steek.  The cardigan is intended to the godmother of my daughters - my best friend - to whom I promised a knitted something a long time ago.  I am almost done with the colorwork, which was incredibly fun and easy to do.  The yarn is very grippy, which I expected, but also very light, which somehow surprised me.


A Photo or Two

In the recent years, I've learned a lot about knitting but also about photography.  It all started after feeling ripped off by a photographer to whom we went to for pictures of my oldest daughter Gabrielle when she was 6 months old.  I felt very angry and it prompted me to buy a good camera and take some lessons so it would never happen again.



Of course, my daughters are my main subjects.  Here's my most recent picture of Sarah, 4 months old.  I am very proud of my little girl, but also very proud of this picture!  So proud, in fact, that I couldn't resist blogging about it.












If I post a picture of Sarah, I have to post one of Gabrielle too, no?









To see more great knits and other projects in progress, follow the links to Tami's WIPW, Ginny's Yarn Along and Nicole's KCCO.


8 comments:

  1. icelandic lopi is an amazing yarn - so pretty and you're working so beautifully with it. I hope you get your zipper organised soon!! Have a knitty wednesday xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have that craftsy class queued-- seeing yours makes me think I should start it already!

    I'm a bad swatcher because I hardly ever swatch both in the round and flat, but I've been knitting long enough that I can make an educated guess at how my gauge will change; in addition to round vs. flat, I've also found a not-insignificant difference between wood and metal needles...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your photo skills are wonderful! Also, Gabrielle's sweater is FANTASTIC. I love the stripes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great photos!....the Icelandic is going to be really pretty. looks perfect so far. I took a steeking class and have yet to steek anything. I'm a chicken!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The yoke of your Icelandic sweater is gorgeous! Eek a steek ... deep breath required, although grippy yarn makes this less terrifying. Lovely pictures of the girls.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The swatch point is so great! I'm working on a sweater for my daughter and I started it on wooden DPNs because they were close at hand and now that has committed me to finishing it on wooden circulars. The grip of the wood really alters my guage and after a little inspection I figured out they are actually a quarter of a millimetre larger than the comparable size in my Addi Lace needles. I guess sometimes a 6 is a 6 is a 6 and a 1/4? Lesson learned, swatch and stick to the same needles throughout if you can.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That Lopi is going to be gorgeous! Can't wait to see more of it. Love the distracted look of your model. LOL! And they both are dolls. Great photos! Wish I had retained some of the skills I once had when I worked for a camera store.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful knits. And the pictures of your girls are wonderful!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment. I love feedback!