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January 11, 2006
There Was This Thing
...this litle tthing about gauge. After I posted my dismal progress pictures yesterday I thought I'd see if the mitten fit. It didn't. Not by a long shot. Why? The pattern says my gauge should be 6 stitches per inch. Do you think 12 might be a bit tight? Yeah, I thought so too. So, while this project is strictly for practice and I'm cutting myself a lot of slack, I'm not going quite that far. I ripped the mitten. And then I started over. For awhile I thought it was going much better. I went up a needle size and thought my stitches looked smoother and more uniform. Now I've decided that I was just kidding myself.
Wonky stitches abound. However, I've used floats and I think it's going better. I'll have to try weaving again after I get the hang of this two handed stuff. But not on this project.
My gauge is better, but it's still a bit tight. More like 7 stitches per inch than 6. I'm debating on whether to rip and start over or just hope that my knitting loosens up a bit more. And since I didn't knit a swatch and block it I'm not sure how that will affect my gauge. I'm wondering if I can block it out a bit. What's your opinion?
I am finding that knitting with my right hand isn't as torturous as I originally thought. It's getting easier all the time. Not good, but easier. At least I don't still feel like I've never held a knitting needle before. So, I will continue to plug away on my mitten and will have to make some time to work on Ombre - like maybe this evening. Have a great day.
Comments
I don’t see wonky stitches…I think they look great! Glad to hear that right-handed knitting is starting to feel better for you. As for gauge – do the mittens have sizes? If it’s a one-size-fits-all type of thing, then I don’t think I would worry too much about it (unless you have a gigantic hand). Plus blocking should help. Good luck with Ombre tonight.
Posted by: caitlyn at January 11, 2006 10:54 AM
I think blocking it will do wonders for it. So I'd just go with what you've got. It's looking good!
Posted by: Purly Whites at January 11, 2006 11:22 AM
You can only block it out as far as the floats will allow. It's one reason I like weaving as my tension is better than with floats. It all, however boils down to practice and you are doing a good job of sticking with it.
Posted by: margene at January 11, 2006 11:39 AM
I think its looking good. Ditto what Margene says about blocking and floats - if you think you've got a little room in them, then blocking might help, if they're pretty snug then what you see is what you get.
Posted by: PumpkinMama at January 11, 2006 11:58 AM
I think for a practice, it looks great. Shoot, even for "for real" knitting, it looks pretty darn good to me.
I'm teaching myself stranded knitting, and let me tell you, it will be a sad day when I put up a picture of my most recent efforts.
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Kim at January 11, 2006 12:14 PM
That looks good! A small project is the perfect start to fair isle.
Posted by: claudia at January 11, 2006 12:37 PM
I can definitely see a difference in the stitches this time. And I also agree with Margene on blocking, but I don't think a 1 stitch difference should be too bad. Can you get your hand in?
Posted by: Rebekah at January 11, 2006 12:55 PM
I'm sure it will be fine after you block it. As long as your hand will fit in there now, I think you'll be okay.
Posted by: Angela at January 11, 2006 1:15 PM
Blocking will help - a serious wetblocking and aggressive pinning might be in order. The stitches look GREAT!
Posted by: eunny at January 11, 2006 2:54 PM
Since I don't have a clue about knitting all I have to say is remember if it doesn't fit you it will fit me most likely. Plus I like those colors.
Posted by: Stacey at January 12, 2006 10:57 AM
First of all - it looks great! You're looking WAYYYYY too close up to see any kind of wonkiness. It looks great.
Second- what size are you knitting? I knit the Large and mine is big enough for a Norwegian mountain man named Sven. You may be happy you're getting 7 to the inch. The way big oversize in mine, btw, came in the length of the mitten. It fit fine around the wrist and hand, but was so dang long it's being considered for a very lovely oven mitt.
Posted by: Kathy at January 12, 2006 1:39 PM
i think it looks fantastic..and i am struggling to see the wonky stitches you are referring too.
go the folk socks next..then butterfly!
Posted by: jacqueline at January 15, 2006 5:33 AM
