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Even the inside with the floats makes me happy.
My notes - chart, cheat sheets - are helping tremendously. I learned that the contrast colour changes every three rounds . Demonstrating great brilliance, I have written that down, in large letters, on the bottom of the cheat sheet. It tips me off so my easily distinguished marker doesn't fly by in a blur. That makes me happy.
I have settled into a state of cautious confidence regarding gauge. Gauge is the inviolate rule of every pattern, by every designer and knitting guru. Some knitters do teeny, tiny gauge swatches. Nothing that has enough width or depth to represent an accurate count. Me, I'm a conscientious gauge swatcher. I swatch at least a 6x6 piece. Big enought to measure easily and big enough - or so I always thought - to be accurate.
But, with Waterloo, I went one step further. My swatch was 100 stitches and knit in the round. Still it was off. Then I used the sweater itself to check gauge. Still it is not 100% accurate. So, my question is " Do I know any more now, having swatched well, than I would have known if I had just started knitting? I can't say that I do. That makes me not so happy.
The sweater is moving along faster than anticipated . All credit to Elizabeth Zimmermann. Her circular, no purl method makes for much faster, not to mention neater knitting. That makes me happy.
So overall, I am happy. I just wonder how much I can get done before I have to lay it down to participate in the Knitting Olympics. Or before my arms give out.
5 comments:
That looks terribly difficult to knit. Never in a hundred years could I do it. I have to stick to socks :-) Good luck with the rest of it.
I have to beg to differ with Vera...that looks terribly FUN to knit - anyone who can knit and purl can do it...that gauge thingy though??? Not so much with the fun in getting there but now your gauge has come over from the dark side to your side and its nothing but fun after that!
Gauge really is capable of ensuring or sucking all the joy and accomplishment out of the act of creating knitted garments!
Enjoy enjoy enjoy! (just remember not to enjoy so much you forget to make dinner!)
It looks just lovely. Like banked coals, toasty and warm. I'm glad you're able to keep going on it and I hope no further obstacles dog your steps.
Gauge is the foundation of sizing every garment but it's also the hardest thing to get hold of. It's a slippery devil which howls with laughter when it gets in our way. For me the cap as gauge swatch wouldn't work either because I knit tighter on smaller length circular needles than I do on the longer sweater sized ones. Why? I have no friggin' idea. So I just dive into the sweater knowing I might have to rip it all out. It does make non-knitters wonder why we persist doesn't it!
It's just beautiful. Keeping my fingers crossed for you on the gauge thing.
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