Monday, September 8, 2008

Hanna and Henley

I'm happy to report that we survived a quite weak Tropical Storm Hanna none the worse for wear. We stayed inside most of the day Saturday and let me tell you, all of the extra reading and knitting I was forced to do to entertain myself was a tremendous suffering. The only real storm damage was perhaps to my garden, which is now something of a mucky mess due to poor drainage. Even though it's late in the season, I did plant a few fall crops, so I hope they're able to bounce back.

My Grape Henley still isn't much to look at, as I'm working on the back, but you can still check out the way the Silky Wool is knitting up:


I've knit a few more inches since taking this photo, and am soon to embark on a few sets of increases. So far, so good, except I already managed to forget to keep the 1st and last stitches in garter stitch. Sigh. If that's the biggest mistake I make I'll count myself lucky.

I knit up a gauge swatch for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan using Kathmandu DK, and alas, for the first time in a while, I didn't get gauge. 24sts and 36 rows should equal 4 inches, but my swatch is nearly 5". It is a slightly heavier yarn than the called for Rowant Felted Tweed, so I guess this isn't really a surprise. I can try moving down a needle size, but the fabric knit up quite stiff on the 5s and I'm concerned a smaller needle will make it worse. I've soaked my swatch and it's laid out to dry now, so hopefully when I revisit it tomorrow I will find a nice bath made the fabric a little more pliable.

1 comment :

Mrs. Homesteader said...

Oooh, I can't wait to see your Henley!

I'm going to have the same problem for Tangled Yoke - I bought worsted instead of DK by mistake, and I'm worried about getting too stiff a fabric in order to get gauge. I'm thinking of just doing some recalculations and knitting a smaller size at the bigger gauge. Not sure yet. I think that sweater is next on the needles though to do some stash busting.