Monday, February 15, 2010

Solutions of Olympic Proportions?

So, my amazing boyfriend drove me to Brooklyn this afternoon to pick up a couple of spare sets of needles. I picked up my Knit Picks set (I really wanted the size 5 needle) and I threw in a set of size 3 needles I had lying round just in case.

We got home and the swatching began.

The 4 was too big stitch wise, but way too small row wise. So I tried the size 5. The size 5 was too big stitch wise (actually, they were identical stitch wise!), and still too small row wise.

So, I pulled out the size 3 needle. I'm used to knitting stuff on small needles because my gauge is looser than a woman in a red-light district. But honestly, I don't have any needles smaller than this with me, and even if I did, I'm not sure I want to knit a whole sweater on size 2 needles. So let's see the gauge comparison again:

Pattern gauge: 24 sts and 36 rows is 4"
My gauge: 21 sts and 33 rows is 4"

I'm moving forward though. I'm going to knit the small size, which, because of the gauge difference, should get me the right size. I just have to do a bit of rejiggering for the different row gauge and then I can start up again!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Problems of Olympic Proportions

I'm knitting the Tangled Yoke Cardigan out of Rowan Felted Tweed for my Ravelympics/ Knitting Olympics project.

I knit this project originally in 2008 on size 4 needles with the same yarn (red instead of the nifty green I'm working on currently). All of my project notes tell me that I knit this project with size 4 needles. That makes sense since I tend to knit rather loosely. Maybe I'm more stressed, but when I measured the project after row 29 when I was supposed to have 6 3/4" Instead, I have 5 1/4". I'm using the same needles. So here's the gauge comparison:

The pattern says: 24sts & 36 rows = 4" square.
My project says: 28 sts & 33 rows

This makes me think that I'm knitting entirely too tightly. I am kinda stressed, so maybe that's where this is coming from. I have a set of size 6 needles with me, so I'm thinking of (sigh) casting on again and going at it with the size 6 needles instead. But I'm wondering if I should step up to a size 5 first. I don't know, what do you folks think?

I was doing so well too, so I'm terribly bummed. :(

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Preparing for the Knitting Olympics

Ravelry is amazing.

I knew I'd done a few mods for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan (Ravelry link) when I made it the first time. I remember that I needn't have elongated the sleeves, however, I didn't remember the other mods I made on the sweater. So I looked the project up on Ravelry.

Finished TYC modeled


The plethora of information and its importance is amazing. :) In order to complete this project, I think the important thing is to avoid the snags. The pattern is pretty well written, but I remember making notes as to which rows I needed to increase or decrease on, and I think that prep work will make the whole sweater kind of of fly - which is exactly what it's going to need to do in order to get done by the end of the olympics. It seems like the only major mod is adding a full inch to the ribbing at the bottom, which will be fine and simple.

The yarn comes in balls, which is awesome because it means I don't have to wind up all the balls before I start on Friday. I also bought some buttons for some Hoots (Ravelry Link) I made last year that don't fit the hoots. I'm contemplating using them for the sweater. They're simple white abalone buttons. I might head over to M&J on Wednesday to see if they have another button I'd like to use. I'm thinking of using a kahki version of the buttons I used for the last TYC might be nice (I really liked those buttons).

So, I'm feeling pretty well prepared. Everything's all ready to go after I copy the pattern and make notations.

2010 Knitting Olympics Project



So I'm viewing this weekend as the trials.

I've got a bit more than half a sock left to go in these Spiral Sparkly Boot Socks from Interweave's Summer 2007 issue. I found that the chart for the instep is written totally backwards and makes the spiral go in the opposite direction. No one had noted this in their notes, which I was pretty surprised about. So I made a comment on the main pattern page on Ravelry and noted it down on my project page. Those kinds of things are so frustrating. There wasn't any errata or anything! I had to rip back 3"! Other than that, the pattern is fun and flies pretty quickly, even though they're knee socks! I can't wait to wear them! It's been pretty cold here. I'm hoping that I can get them done this weekend - and with time at the accountant and the Superbowl, I think I'll be able to get that done.

Maybe then I'll have time to knit a new hat for winter before the Olympics...