Fists of Gauge

Hello blog,

Once again my nemesis, gauge, has foiled my knitting plans. And I'm still sitting here scratching my head as to how. In july I knit the pattern treads, Bernat satin, US 2 5 1/2 sitches to 1" gauge. The gloves fit....like you'd expect, all snug like except the tread pattern was maybe a smidge t0o long in the hand section.....but they were the right size everywhere else. My brother wanted a pair and so now.... I'm knitting the same pattern, same yarn, same plastic double pointed needles..... and you guessed it.

Noticeably bigger. Roomier. But this is where gauge has really blown my mind....when I measure it, I get the same gauge as my other pair. 5 1/2 stitches to 1". Now, I know that I'm not a math person. I'm so far from being a math person that even reading a ruler is sometimes out of my range of ability....... But seriously? No matter how many times I double-check, I still get the same gauge on both gloves, the gloves are still significantly different sizes, and I'm *still* scratching my head. I've checked over the pattern, I've cast on the right number of stitches, I'm doing everything correctly...... I just don't understand how this is possible.

In circumstances like these, the only option is to go to another knitter for advice. My knitting informant also checked my gauge, and she says that there is actually a 1/2

stitch difference between the two gauges....... which seems like a really inconsequential difference until you try the two gloves on.

Nemesis, you may have won this time, but I promise you; My day will come.

Violetly WIP-ing

Dear Blog,

It is fall. I know this not because the air has turned crisp and sweet-smelling, or because of the changing colors of leaves, but because of the even more deeply and intuitively derived senses that are common to all knitters. What's on our needles? Hats, scarfs, and mittens. What is the fiber of choice? Wool, or to those not inclined, at least something decently warm and cushy.

Something not universal to knitters, but no less a dead give away to the return of Autumn for me is the color of my knitting. For fall it's undeniable that purple is my preferred color. Purple is definitely to be found in my current WIPs.

First a hat, my second go at a beloved pattern : Laural

Second, some glorious spinning

Spinning progress;

The bad : Validating the drop-spindles' name by ubiquitous dropping, continued irregularity of spinning, difficulty in attaching new bits of fiber

The good : Spinning is slowly but surely becoming more consistent. The thick-and-thin sections are mostly clumped around the places where I have to join new bits of fiber. In my head I've worked out a perfect solution to avoid this problem that involves judicious pre-drafting. Perfect in theory but as-yet to be tried successfully under lab conditions.

Slowly slowly WIP

Hello,

there's a bit of a back log on my knitting, I finished the Penny wristers

I only knit the one glove because there wasn't enough leftover yarn for two.

And I cast on Tswirl using the reclaimed yarn from Hey Teach. This project so far has seen nothing but smooth sailing, however progress is slow. There are many reasons;

- my only US3 needle is a 16" circular, so the stitches are all bunched up tightly on the needles, which is no fun at all

- the pattern while visually appealing is dead boring to knit

- it's fall now, honestly all I want to knit is wool and cables. This project is a cotton tank top so it'll probably hibernate until summer.

In my next post, I'll tell you what I'm *actually* knitting!

FO: Rivulet

Hello blog,

Admittedly, both knitting and blogging have been a *little* slow lately, but I did recently finish my rivulet scarf!

Rivulet is a very pretty, yet simple lace pattern. I wont do specifics here on my blog, since I knit it with my own handspun (love that feeling!) Once again, it's a scarf not really long enough for wrapping around the neck. I did have some yarn left over, but I decided I liked it at this shorter length.

I really like the combined texture and feel of the yarn - it's got a bit of silky feel to it because of it's tinsel content, but there's also a rough 'homemade' feel to it as well because of my level of spinning ability. I really enjoy the juxtaposition of the luxury feel of the fiber and the variation of the spinning, and the wide diamond pattern really balances the whole thing out visually.

Another thing I liked about this fiber; the clear difference after blocking. Before blocking the lace felt bouncy - like there was a bit of extra tension going on in the whole piece, but after a good half-hour soak and a two-day block, it feels smooth and flow-ish ^__^

Cheers!

BTW, thanks to my sister for taking such good FO pictures for me, you really do deserve a raise ;)