alright. so i’ve started knitty’s thermal. having read all about the physical and emotional trauma that the gauge has been putting people through, i approached this with the mixture of terror and sick excitement that people probably feel when they begin training for a marathon or something.
i’m also attempting to make this the first pattern that i actually follow; no serious modifications, no total departures from the concept of the garment, as has been my habit in the past. in that spirit, i actually did a gauge swatch, which is here with my hand next to it for scale. (that’s knitpicks’ gloss in burgundy, obv.) i didn’t actually, you know, get gauge, even with size 3 needles; but i’m just going to go with it, because that’s the kind of girl i am. i have washed it, and haven’t experienced any of the “growth issues” that i’ve read about with gloss, but i suppose they may crop up later.
so, the gauge swatch was great. fun to knit on the train, i love the yarn even if it is a little splitty, etc. but the actual sweater is looking like it may be the death of me. not because of the gauge – i’ll get to that later – but because i have apparently forgotten how to knit. not only did it take me four tries to start it in the round without twisting the stitches (i really know how to do that properly, i swear), but about 1.5 inches into the twisted rib i absentmindedly picked it up while chatting with a friend, and started knitting in the opposite direction. so, there was one more day spent ripping it out and re-knitting. now i’m finally on the waffle stitch; we’ll see what happens.
in other news, i’m thinking of countering my sock-yarn-sweater with some US-15 stuff; i’m trying to get my hands on twinkle’s big city knits. without paying for it, of course, so i’m waiting for a long-distance library loan. i’m salivating over twiggy; i hope it works out.
since the 90-degree heat here is too oppressive to touch wool, i’m going to go waffle some. peace out, yo.
rockin' out granny-style. 