Knitting Dragonflies

How many times have you bought all of the supplies for a project to knit, and then changed your mind about the yarn, or pattern? This seems to happen to me all too often. The above was a purchase several years ago. Somewhere along the line I decided I didn’t want to use the pattern I bought. I think it was due to the fact that I detest knitting a sweater in separate pieces and putting it together. I love to knit in the round. I discovered this after finding my first Elizabeth Zimmerman book, Knitting without Tears ! Her techniques and insistence on swatching for your gauge, turned me into a super sweater knitter. Her patterns were the first I could actually wear! Usually I would have to gift my knitted sweater to someone, anyone that was the size the sweater was. And while this had a certain excitement, and drama, I actually wanted a sweater for myself. Elizabeth's in depth explanation of gauge and how to calculate your size, finally made me realize how important gauge was, and...

I was rereading the DomiKNITtrix book the other day. (by Jennifer Stafford, also see DomiKNITtrix website ) She does have a number of free patterns available, as well as patterns to purchase. One of my favorite tricks she has is her technique for knitting the gauge. She suggests buying only one skein of the yarn you are considering for a project, now I don’t have that much self control. But it sounds like a great idea. Use the needle size recommended, or the size you think will give you gauge (I am a very loose knitter and usually go down two sizes). Cast on the number of stitches that the yarn label recommends for 4 inches square, plus add a few stitches. Knit garter for 3 to 4 rows,  now knit the stitch that will comprise the majority of your pattern, (lets say that is stockinette stitch). Knit in the pattern stitch for an inch or two, now switch to stockinette stitch, (if you are not already using that stitch) and in the middle of the swatch knit the corresponding numb...