A Beast relief expedition: It's a BSJ day or two

I promise I'll figure out a way to get photos up here. Until then, let's chat shall we?

Back in December I cast on my first big project, Susan Pandorf's In Dreams  shawl for my daughter so that I had plenty of time to complete it for her wedding in October. It has come to lovingly be nicknamed "the Beast," for a few reasons. It is my first expedition into knitted lace (brilliant of me, eh?) and has 9 charts, and 2 are always worked at the same time. I love the beast, but it's a big honkin' thing worked in cobweb silk with a bad attitude.

So to maintain my sanity, I go on beast relief expeditions.  Simple projects in larger yarns with at most one chart.  One is another big project, Totally Autumn by Anne Hanson, a gorgeous lacy, leafy afghan in bulky yarn. But I get the "completion urge"  monkey on my back from time to time, so until the Beast is completed I'll always have a third much smaller project going. Which brings us to the BSJ day or two.

I just love Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ).  It's an origami baby sweater and a beloved marvel of knitted engineering by the baby knitting brigade.  All garter stitch and only two seams for those of us who'd rather have a root canal than sew up an itty bitty baby sweater. Definitely an attraction for me... the two seams, not the root canal.

The BSJ was my first EZ pattern to knit up. After I saw it for the very first time, it became my very first "I MUST knit this" project for my great nephew. During the knitting, I became convinced it was a trick project she pulled from a topography textbook. You know, that geometry stuff where spheres are really donuts? All I could think as I worked was "How will this turn into a baby sweater?" and "If the knitting gods are kind, they'll turn this sweater-thing into a donut, I can't drink wine and knit at the same time."

But, it turned out to be the smartest pattern decision I ever made. From the shaping, I learned much about just what can really be done with knitting. And the sky and your imagination are the limit to what can be done. From Elizabeth herself - and I paraphrase her here, it may look odd but press on - I learned to TRUST THE PATTERN.

I so fell in love with the BSJ that I made two for my grand nephew, and I just cast on #3 for one of Husband's co-workers who is expecting his 6th child.

What's your favorite go-to pattern for your beast relief expeditions?

Portuguese Knitting

I learned to knit English. And yes, I was grateful to be able to do it, still am. Tortuous, slow, and limiting as it was for me. Knowing that I could do English led me on a search of other ways for me to knit faster and easier. Continental was out (and yes, I tried) because I can't manipulate my right fingers or feed stitches down my right needle. So I kept looking, and am I ever happy that I found Andrea Wong's Knitting Daily TV spot on YouTube. If you're willing to explore new ways of knitting, take a gander at it and give it a go. I think you'll be more than pleasantly surprised.

I sing Andrea's praises to all who will listen.  Visit her at andreawongknits.com for more information. She's a really nice lady. Thank you Andrea!

Lions and Tigers and Knitting Gauge, Oh My!

The gauge swatch, speaking frankly, is the bane of new and not so new knitters everywhere. We knitters chat incessantly over making gauge, not making gauge, whether or not we have to make a swatch. I hear groans from new knitters already - UGH! Do I REALLY have to do that? Can't I just start knitting? 

Well, yes... there are no Knitting Police. But I generally recommend that you start knitting your project with knitting that swatch. Especially if you're new to knitting. Few of us are Elizabeth Zimmermann's, though many of us (myself included) are EZ wannabe's. 

Gauge really does matter

Knowing your knitting gauge (usually quoted in patterns as X sts and Y rows per 4" or X stitches per inch) can answer a multitude of questions that likely never come to mind until you cast on and start working. Until you've worked with a yarn enough to have a feel for how many stitches per inch you'll likely get with a certain size needle as EZ did, a gauge swatch is your playbook for your project. Want to know:

How many stitches should I cast on?
How wide will my project will be? 
How many rows need to be knitted? 
Can I skip that repeat? 
Can I use a variegated yarn to make this?
Will the sweater fit?
How much yarn should I buy? 
Do I even like working this pattern stitch? 

Your gauge swatch gives you these answers. And for a new knitter, the swatch gives you more time on task, and therefore more experience knitting. More time on task and the above list are the pro's of the gauge swatch. The biggest con is that a gauge swatch isn't really usable for anything other than that project, and who wants a bunch of little 4" squares all over the place? Even if you can make a blanket out of them, how many blankets do you really need anyway? The other con is that for slower knitters, knitting gauge swatches to try and make gauge takes time away from your project.

I've picked up a couple of helpful hints over the years to get around the cons that I'll share.

Cotton is King!

To answer the "do I even like working this pattern stitch?"and "how will a variegated look?" questions:

Work your swatch in cotton yarn and make a dishcloth out of it. A ball of cotton worsted is much less expensive to try out a new stitch pattern. If you like how that comes out, the sweater you planned using the stitch pattern will be an enjoyable knit even in a different weight yarn. And you have a nice twofer freebie in the dishcloth.

I will add one caveat here. The colors in variegated yarns pool, sometimes in odd ways. Unless you're using the same cotton yarn for your project and swatch, do your swatch in the yarn for the project. You can always rip it out and reuse it, especially if the yarn is expensive.

Garment pieces can be a gauge swatch

If you're committed to the 'I just HAVE to make this!' sweater, use your sleeves as your gauge swatch. (Thanks, EZ! You were a smart, smart lady...) No little 4" squares cluttering up your place. This works especially well for baby garments, which are small. For larger garments, it can be fairly easy to quickly see if you're even approximating the stitch count per inch you need. In that case, its much less to rip back and start again.

Should I or Shouldn't I swatch?

My general rule of thumb is that there is a difference between having to make gauge and having to know my gauge for a project.

Making Gauge

To knit fitted garments such as socks, sweaters, gloves, mittens, for example from a pattern and have it fit correctly, I have to match the designer's gauge, or "make gauge." If I have to make gauge I always swatch. If I can't make gauge, and still want to do the project, I'll have to break out the calculator and adjust the pattern.  That's an UGH! for another day.

Knowing Gauge

Most other items, such as dishcloths, scarves, hats, afghans, and toys for example, have more leeway. They don't have to be a particular size to be used and loved. For these projects, I measure my gauge in the project pieces themselves, if I even bother.  Sometimes it really doesn't matter. Knowing my gauge is useful if I want to change the dimensions of a project such as making a blanket longer/shorter,  narrowing a scarf, or adding more ribbing to the cuff of a sock. And that can give me enough idea of whether or not I need to buy more yarn, and if so how much.

'Nuff said on gauge. I have some knitting to do today. You probably do too. As EZ said, "Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises." Words to live by.