Got gauge? Or I hear voices in my head

When a pattern tells you to get gauge. I only wish it were that simple. Practically every fitting problem can be due to gauge. Go to you LYS and ask them for help with a pattern fitting problem and what are they going to ask you? Got gauge?

I started a sweater recently, and knitted my gauge swatch at work during my lunch break. Big mistake, evidently I’m a uptight knitter at work (you think?).

I dutifully knitted, washed and measured my swatch, calculated my gauge and started off. Have you ever been blindly knitting along thinking, “this looks a little big”, but you keep knitting? (Because you know you have gauge). Listen to that little voice in your head, that’s your knitter’s intuition speaking to you. Get your ruler out and measure, your gauge is a fluid number, a force of nature, ever changing, like the wind. (especially during stressful times)

Here is a great in depth article from Knitty and Jenna Wilson about gauge and yarn substitutions.

Watch out when you substitute, a slightly heavier yarn, will produce different drape and flow of your item. For example the Knitty pattern above called for cotton yarn at 150 yd at 100 gms, I switched it to wool that is 440 yd at 220 gms, Dividing the gms by yds we can get the weight. Cotton yarn 0.66, Wool yarn 0.5, this looks pretty close but tells me the yarn I’m knitting with is 0.16 lighter. This will affect my bulk (underarms) weight and drape. Think about this when you are substituting yarns. This is an especially helpful tool when deciding on yarn for lace knitting, in which a little change in drape may alter your desired look.

I found an excellent article from the Knitting Curmudgeon about swatching and gauge.

Fuzzy Galore explains it this way

Read Knitty’s Knitting patterns 102, it will help you avert knitting disappointments, by Jessica Fenlon who blogs here at JessieKnits

If you are feeling adventurous, and who isn’t because we all love to create. Here is a Excel gauge adjustment calculator from Con-fusion in glass and string, thanks Helena!

May you knitting needles fly as fast as dragonflies..

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Fibonacci and Knitting

Some time ago I learned that Fibonacci can be applied to knitting. If you are not familiar with Fibonacci, he was a mathematician from the middle ages. He figured out the relationship of proportions, now known as the golden ratio (or number), Fibonacci sequence or 1.618 or Phi. This sequence is seen in practically everything. I’ll link to several articles if you wish to learn more. From reproducing animals, to sea shells and galaxies, the human form and sunflowers. (Mona Lisa, Parthenon, and the pyramids of Egypt, just to name a few). This ratio is present in many, many more surprising things. The first time I used this was in my felted bag. I loved the random look of it. This pattern is The Big Bag Pattern (free on Ravelry) by Maia Discoe (link ) Below are a couple of links if you wish to learn more.. Fibonacci Numbers and Nature The Wiki and Fibonacci Mona Lisa -- Da Vinci's Use of Sacred Geometry (you tube link) In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers or Fibonacci...

Review of a Kick Spindles Or Mother Marion to spin

When I made the decision to buy a Kick spindle I could find very little info on it, anywhere. Below is what I gathered, bought and my experience with mine. I could only find two being marketed, since I purchased mine I have found a third. Below is my views on the Kick spindle I purchased (Little Meggie from Heavenly Handspinning), and some info on all of the other Kick Spindles that I could locate. Links and costs are included. Review: Things I like about my Kick Spindle. 1. Long spin time, I like the addition of the ball bearing. 2. Leaves both hands free to draft 3. It's my "wheel" 4. I like using my foot, I am moving around and don't get stiff from one position. It's a very "active" type, rhythmic motion. 5. You can actually stand and use it also. 6. Great price point. 7. I have never spun on a wheel and when I sat down at one the first time, I could actually spin (some) I think this action of foot/hand coordination helped. 8. ...

Hills and Valleys Cowl/Hood (free pattern)

I was searching for the perfect cowl that I had in my mind to knit. Trawling on Ravelry, I wanted one, just the right size around, only once around my neck and not too tight, loose enough to pull up around my face and tall enough to get it around my ears during a windy dog walk, but able to squish it down into my collar of my coat and not be too thick and bulky. About a third of the way into the pattern I decided to make it long enough to pull up as a hood also. I finally just un-vented this one, as Elizabeth Zimmerman would say. Add caption This is a simple stitch textured cowl/hood (you decide the length). Suitable for beginning knitters. Purl ridges make the cowl easy to scrunchy down or pull up. You can wear the ribbed end on top if you are wearing it as a cowl to make it snuggie around your neck or, wear the purl ridges on top if you are pulling it up as a hood. If you have any questions or find an error please let me know so I can correct it! I’ve added some tuto...

Knitting Dragonflies

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