On Gauge

By which I mean 'on' as in, 'regarding'. Like, 'On the Rights of Man' or 'The Wealth of Nations'. Because 'on' as in, 'correctly using', I am not.

So, I had yarn ordered for after christmas, so I could start on me-stuff, after the christmas rush. If you're ravelried, you can see my profile here, although it's still pictureless because the photos? On my camera.

I started the Phyllo Yoked thingy from knitting Nature, which is Love love love. It is done in Rowan Clamer, which is a 'DK to light worsted' weight yarn. The gauge is pretty much Dk wieght. The thing is. Either the cotton I'm using is really thin, or my gauge hates cotton. My gauge is massive. I went down a needle size, and it's still a bit loose. Only, I didn't have any smaller needles with me, so I plunged in. Now, second thoughts are bubbling to the surface. It's cotton. It'll stretch. It's a bit big, anyway. You'll never wear it. Aaaargh! I'll need to go home, reassess the gauge/size issues, and think about what I need to do. If I end up ripping, I'm gogint o start it again in the round. Maybe I could knit the next size up, but, like, three needle sizes down? I hate gauge issues.

The other one is this. I started Bryant's Slipover, which I have been eying off for months. (It's not actually fair isle, it's a slip stitch pattern. It's sooooo easy) It's done in Alpaca, and dammit, I wanted alpaca. So I ordered four balls of Bendigo Woolen Mills Alpaca, since that was in my price range. Except it's DK weight - 8 ply. Not 5 ply, or whatever the hell that is in American. So I've gone down a needle size, and probably should have gone down two, except the only needles I had that were that small were DPNs. For socks. So, the needles are small. The gauge is tight. It's alpaca. That thing is going to be WARM. It's going to be so warm, I don't know if it will be wearable. I also need to reasses the size issue on that, because the gauge is still a little off. Although given how compact the fabric is going to be, a little extra room might eb a good thing.

So my choices with this one is this: keep going. Or, rip it, put the alpaca in the stash and do god knows what with it, and buy new yarn (in 5 ply) for the project. It won't be as nice, though. The only 5 ply yarn in my budget is bendigo, and all their 5 ply yarns are... not as nice. Not as pretty. Certainly not as... alpaca. Well, maybe I could try Elann, but then the postage will be extreme.

Cross. That's what I am.

Anyway, in conclusion, I hope you all had a good break (if you had one) and a fantastic whichever-celebration-you-celebrate. Mine didn't suck, and I'm happy with that. I will get my act together and resume proper blogging, with photos and everything... shortly.