My knitting for February has not turned out well so far. We are now over 10 days in and I have only recently settled on a plan. I lost a couple of the days at the beginning messing around with Baby Cables and then I started with a 4ply yarn with Fintry which is a Kate Davies design and next in the pattern book to Epistrophy (well the next design that I want to do).
The problem with Fintry has been getting gauge and sizing right. I mean you would think it would be easy since I am using the same yarn as I did for Corona Borealis (Drops Flora) but after 10 rows I had to rip it back as it was huge. Maybe I noted the needle down wrong I thought so started again with a 3mm but no, after 10 rows it was still coming out too large. So I thought time to take a step back, swatch again and then maybe start from the waist and come back to do the hips and hem later in the same way I have for Epistrophy. I can’t face starting with the hem again if there is any chance of having to rip it out since the first 10 rows are moss stitch which I loathe on a good day nevermind for the 3rd time in a row.
So being some 8 days into the shortest month of the year I decided that I needed a quick win so I am using Aran and knitting something I have done before the Mondo Cable Pulli. I know its fast, I know its easy, but I still had to rip it back twice because my swatch lied and it was knitting up too loose and too big.
This has happened so many times that I am beginning to wonder whether my knitting has got looser over the last month, whether swatches are lying more than usual or whether my needle gauge is wrongly calibrated ? Whatever the answer I think I’ve worked around the problem for now however I am still a sweater down so I need 2 easy wins for March to bring me back to where I hoped to be with the 12 in 12 projet
Being Frank... 