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April 26, 2005

Reality

Here's how I see it.  There's something wrong with my Phildar zip cardi.  It just isn't looking right and I'm trying to figure out what to do.  Frankly, the tension sucks.  It's too loose or uneven and I'm really not happy with it.

The picture on the left is the blocked back and the picture on the right is the blocked ribbing on the back.  See how the stitches are uneven?  It's getting worse on the front pieces.  Adele is working on this pattern as well, but using a different yarn.  She's actually using the recommended yarn, rather than substituting the Rowan 4-ply cotton like I did, she's using bamboo needles and isn't having a single problem (but she's a lot more talented than I).  The gauge is right when the tension is right, but it isn't consistent.  I think it might be the addi turbos.  Maybe they're too slick with the cotton.  To test this theory I did a little swatch last night on my size 1 lantern moon dpns.  The wood seemed to help a bit, especially on the ribbing, but it didn't totally fix the problem.

The rib definitely looks much better, but the stitches still have that weird tension thing going on.  The top 6 or 7 rows I knit with the combined method, which really evened out the tension, but I still think I ought to be able to fix this with my regular continental knitting.  Am I kidding myself?

So, these are my thoughts.  I'm going to call the LYS (if you can call it that) and see what they have for bamboo needles (I think they have skacel).  I'm also going to try to figure out what the f*&$ I'm doing wrong with my stitches.  Any ideas?  I can either leave it as is, which I'm not inclined to do, or frog the whole thing and start over on the bamboo needles and if necessary use the combined knitting method to get the correct, even tension.  I really like this pattern and want to wear it and am afraid that if I don't make it right, I won't wear it and the whole thing will be a waste.  What would you do if you were me?  Any suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks for your help.

OMG!  I just called the LYS and you're not going to believe this, but she doesn't have any sraight bamboo needles.  None.  No straight needles at all, unless you count dpns, which I don't.  What kind of yarn store is this??  Not a very good one.  So now I must order them from Knit Happens and pay express shipping because I'm too impatient to wait for them to come regular mail.  Lovely, just lovely.