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tropeIt’s a lovely sweater, this Rogue. I’ve wanted to make it for more than a year now, finally shelled out the little bucks to buy the pattern, and picked up some reliable superwash wool/acrylic from a clearance sale, knowing that skill and design would carry this sweater and it wouldn’t need designer yarn to make people say “oooh.” I also know I’ll love it so much I’ll want to throw it in the washing machine from time to time.
Since I’m working on my future masterpiece, I decide to do everything right. I swatch to make sure my gauge matches that in the pattern and I don’t make a sweater too big or too small. After a deep breath, I decide to knit it in the snug Medium size, instead of the bulky Large size, since all my previous sweaters have mysteriously grown wider than my body will ever possibly be, unless I decide to take up rugby or start shoplifting mixing bowls. I swatch three times, both knitting flat, and in the round. (Does that count as six swatches?) I finally make gauge, on itty bitty size five needles. Size five in the Denise kit is almost as small as the cord, and so I go out and buy (!!) new circular needles, along with a stitch marker/row counter device which ensures I will never forget a twist. (For knitters that don’t use Denise, it’s a kit of circular cords and detachable needles which allows the knitter to make circulars with any needle size and cord length he would like. This becomes important later.) Yes, I love this sweater enough to count every row. I love this sweater enough to check my row gauge. That’s the kind of sweater it will be.
I take the Rogue to Ohio and knit a hem facing on size threes, abandoning the trusty Denise kit altogether. I take it to New York and eagerly begin the side cables in the airport terminal (cable 5 left! Who knew it was possible?). I burned half a ball of yarn in swatching, so I begin the next skein, and then add a third as I begin my kangaroo pocket. We’re somewhere over Pennsylvania as I approach the end of the pocket, crowing over the lovely rolling hem and looking forward again to my cables.
We hit turbulence. I drop a stitch, and on picking it up I look closer at my pocket-to-be. What’s this? Is the fabric somehow wavy? Does it look a little… bluer than the rest of the sweater? A little lighter? I check the dye lot on the skein I’m using: 25380. The dye lot on the second skein: 25254. Looking closer at the hem facing, it seems to have found its own Third Way, and does not precisely jump into either color camp. Damn you, Jo-Ann clearance sale!
Elwood notices the rolling hills and valleys in my pocket, and points them out to me again. (I haven’t finished swearing about the dye lots yet.) This skein is unusually textured, it’s true. Almost like I was using two different needles, even though I’m on another circular. A Denise circular, since we’ve left the body stitches on the other needles. A small Denise circular with needle tips size five… and size eight. In my rush to pack, I threw a random-length cord and two needle tips into my bag. The funny light and sleepy white noise of the airplane allowed me to knit for almost TWO HOURS with this discrepancy, and not notice it. Damn you, Denise kit!
The honeymoon is definitely over on this project, but it will still be my masterpiece. I put it away for a day or two while I’m in New York, but I can’t get it out of my head and so I abandon the pocket and decide to keep knitting the body with color 25254, which I have named Close Enough for Government Work. I “pick up 57 stitches from underside of pocket,” as the instructions say. I pick up 57 stitches three times, along with plenty of extras. I swear and start again, with lots of safety pins to aid me. Finally I achieve the magic number and magic length. The join between pocket and body looks wavy. I blame it on the size eight needle and keep going.
Returning home, I check the other five skeins of yarn. They are all the same dye lot, and don’t match either skein 2 or skein 3. (What dye lot did I start with? I don’t know because I threw out the ball band. Of course.) I’ve not yet decided whether to take heroic measures and blend the different lots (either three or four of them) together. I haven’t laid it flat to check on the pocket underside. I haven’t ripped back the pocket yet, because who knows? The stitches may yet relax and quit being wavy. I’m curious about all these things, but for the moment it’s better not to know. I spent some time knitting up the sides, pretending our problems didn't exist, but that will just make things more difficult in the end. We need a little time apart. Perhaps it will help us both to grow.
Fortunately, it’s Sox sock season. I’ll have something to do during our separation. I just hope that Rogue doesn’t get jealous.
Since I’m working on my future masterpiece, I decide to do everything right. I swatch to make sure my gauge matches that in the pattern and I don’t make a sweater too big or too small. After a deep breath, I decide to knit it in the snug Medium size, instead of the bulky Large size, since all my previous sweaters have mysteriously grown wider than my body will ever possibly be, unless I decide to take up rugby or start shoplifting mixing bowls. I swatch three times, both knitting flat, and in the round. (Does that count as six swatches?) I finally make gauge, on itty bitty size five needles. Size five in the Denise kit is almost as small as the cord, and so I go out and buy (!!) new circular needles, along with a stitch marker/row counter device which ensures I will never forget a twist. (For knitters that don’t use Denise, it’s a kit of circular cords and detachable needles which allows the knitter to make circulars with any needle size and cord length he would like. This becomes important later.) Yes, I love this sweater enough to count every row. I love this sweater enough to check my row gauge. That’s the kind of sweater it will be.
I take the Rogue to Ohio and knit a hem facing on size threes, abandoning the trusty Denise kit altogether. I take it to New York and eagerly begin the side cables in the airport terminal (cable 5 left! Who knew it was possible?). I burned half a ball of yarn in swatching, so I begin the next skein, and then add a third as I begin my kangaroo pocket. We’re somewhere over Pennsylvania as I approach the end of the pocket, crowing over the lovely rolling hem and looking forward again to my cables.
We hit turbulence. I drop a stitch, and on picking it up I look closer at my pocket-to-be. What’s this? Is the fabric somehow wavy? Does it look a little… bluer than the rest of the sweater? A little lighter? I check the dye lot on the skein I’m using: 25380. The dye lot on the second skein: 25254. Looking closer at the hem facing, it seems to have found its own Third Way, and does not precisely jump into either color camp. Damn you, Jo-Ann clearance sale!
Elwood notices the rolling hills and valleys in my pocket, and points them out to me again. (I haven’t finished swearing about the dye lots yet.) This skein is unusually textured, it’s true. Almost like I was using two different needles, even though I’m on another circular. A Denise circular, since we’ve left the body stitches on the other needles. A small Denise circular with needle tips size five… and size eight. In my rush to pack, I threw a random-length cord and two needle tips into my bag. The funny light and sleepy white noise of the airplane allowed me to knit for almost TWO HOURS with this discrepancy, and not notice it. Damn you, Denise kit!
The honeymoon is definitely over on this project, but it will still be my masterpiece. I put it away for a day or two while I’m in New York, but I can’t get it out of my head and so I abandon the pocket and decide to keep knitting the body with color 25254, which I have named Close Enough for Government Work. I “pick up 57 stitches from underside of pocket,” as the instructions say. I pick up 57 stitches three times, along with plenty of extras. I swear and start again, with lots of safety pins to aid me. Finally I achieve the magic number and magic length. The join between pocket and body looks wavy. I blame it on the size eight needle and keep going.
Returning home, I check the other five skeins of yarn. They are all the same dye lot, and don’t match either skein 2 or skein 3. (What dye lot did I start with? I don’t know because I threw out the ball band. Of course.) I’ve not yet decided whether to take heroic measures and blend the different lots (either three or four of them) together. I haven’t laid it flat to check on the pocket underside. I haven’t ripped back the pocket yet, because who knows? The stitches may yet relax and quit being wavy. I’m curious about all these things, but for the moment it’s better not to know. I spent some time knitting up the sides, pretending our problems didn't exist, but that will just make things more difficult in the end. We need a little time apart. Perhaps it will help us both to grow.
Fortunately, it’s Sox sock season. I’ll have something to do during our separation. I just hope that Rogue doesn’t get jealous.
