A Little Birthday Knitting

Yesterday was my birthday, and I decided to celebrate by casting on a new sweater for myself.  Being down to a svelte 15 WIPs, I felt I could splurge a bit.

I have been lusting after Alice Starmore patterns for years, and last year's reward yarn splurge included yarn for one of her sweaters, so I dug out my yarn and book and settled down to do a swatch
--not something I am normally smart enough to do, but when a pattern calls for size 2 needles, I thought it best to check.  And, as luck would have it, my 4-inch swatch was easily 4 and a half inches, so I need to go down a needle size, which means I would need a size ONE circular needle.  I don't own a size one circular needle, as I have always maintained that any knitting that would require a size one circular is behavior that should not be encouraged.  I almost made a trip to the store yesterday, but rational thinking (and the desire to stay in PJs just a bit longer) prevailed, and I decided to look for another option.

Starmore pattern 2:
No size 1 needles here!!!  Again, I found it best to swatch....and AGAIN I found I needed to go down a needle size, but this time I was in luck.  I have several size 4 circular needles.

.....and here they are:
This might discourage a lesser knitter--or convince a smarter knitter that perhaps she should finish some WIPs to get her needles back--but insaner minds prevailed, and I decided to work on the green vest long enough to get it switched to the bigger needles for the body (and worry about whether or not I needed those needles as well at some random date in the future).  So, there I was, happily knitting away, when I discovered the ribbing for the vest which is NOT for a really big man, could double as a jump rope:
Oops.  I'd like to say that I wisely thought, "Wow, I really must check gauge on all my knitting."  Of course, what I actually thought was "WHOO HOO!!!!!!  Free size 4 needle!"
So I cast on happily and started the pattern.  Not that I'm doubting Ms. Starmore in any way, but if the ribbing is [K1, p1, k1tbl, p1, k1tbl, p1], is there really a reason for that lone K1?  I can guarantee that about 2/3 of the first round is correct, but then I got a bit muddled and decided that no one would ever be able to tell the difference and just did the twisted rib the rest of the way.  Which is why I ended up spending my day making
 birthday socks!!!!!

Comments

Gaidig said…
If I'm reading it right, the k1ends up next to a k1tbl, right? So if you just leave it out, then you're shifting the ribbing over, right? So maybe that helps the rib line up well with the cable pattern. It may flow into the cable.
September 14, 2011 at 8:56 AM
Jane said…
I'm using a stitch pattern that has one row of ktbl, ptbl, but the first and last stitches are k1. And that makes sense (since the other row is not twisted, you might not want a twisted selvedge). But if you're repeating the K1 every six or seven stitches... well, I'm with you. Birthday sock!

And happy belated birthday!
September 14, 2011 at 10:20 AM
Meredith said…
Happy Birthday Toni, glad you had a good knitting filled day.
Meredith
September 14, 2011 at 3:47 PM
Julie said…
Happy Birthday for yesterday!
September 14, 2011 at 11:15 PM
RobinH said…
What, you didn't want to knit half the back of a sweater on size 2 needles and have to frog it? Whyever not? (You might want to check the gauge on the sweater piece *before* it's 14" long. Just in case your swatches have been IM'ing with mine. Gah.)

Sounds like a lovely crafty birthday! May the coming year be filled with yarn and fabric and FOs galore.
September 15, 2011 at 10:40 AM
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