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Thursday, August 24, 2006

Money I'd Rather Spend on Yarn

Sigh. Money can go so quickly with one little swipe of the credit card. Case in point:

My new tire. Apparently it wasn't possible to patch the hole in the old tire, as I had driven on it just enough that the side of the tire was (as the service center guy put it in all his eloquence) "busted." So, nearly four Knit Picks free shipping orders later, we are set for the road trip. I suppose it's also fortunate that I placed another Knit Picks order last night, before paying for my new treads.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on what I should bring for my car knitting. Unfortunately there wasn't much of a consensus, and I'm indecisive enough that I'm going to take the easy way out. I'm just going to take the two projects I already have in progress -- Seraphim and my Steelers socks -- plus the yarn for the second sock. We'll see how far I get. Of course I've already scoped out the Ann Arbor-area yarn stores on the Internets, so perhaps a visit to one of them will inspire a new project. I will wait until we return to start Sizzle, which I think should be my next project since I'd like to be able to wear it this year.

And here's where I ask for you help again -- especially those of you who are good with gauge and the maths (because I'm not). Here's the situation: the Sizzle pattern jumps in its sizing from 34 to 38, and I'm a 36. Ordinarily I'd just do the smaller size, but there is a gauge issue as well. I'm substituting Knit Picks Main Line, and I'm getting 19 stitches over four inches, while the pattern gauge is 20 sts/4 in. Also, Holly found that her Sizzle turned out much larger than she expected. So, what do I do? Please share your wisdom!

My final bit of knitting news for the day is that I've signed up for Sock-ret Pal, which seems to be a new thing and is sort of a mix between Secret Pal and Sockapalooza. You send packages to your pal bimonthly, for a total of three packages, one of which is to include a pair of hand-knit socks.

We are off to Ann Arbor in the morning. Stay tuned for a report on Sunday or Monday, depending on what time we get back. Happy weekend, everyone!

2 comments:

  1. Trust me, as someone who has driven on a "busted up" sidewall, be glad you replaced it, I found that out the hard way by having a blow out and having to walk to a phone (in my pre-cell phone days).

    I have no advice on the sizing of Sizzle. Very helpful, yes?

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  2. Anonymous10:39 PM

    Well on a purely mathematical basis - knit the smaller size. If you're getting 19st/4" and the pattern is 20st/4" then over 34" you would have 170sts at the pattern gauge but at 19sts per inch 170sts - 35.8" And if you've been told it comes out big that should be fine for a 36"
    Does that make any sense????

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