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I had a bit of a cast on party this week, most likely because of how little I knit last week. I’m still a little caught up in my second read through of the series from last week. (See Sleep? Nonsense) So I have still had my nose buried in a book for most of the week, but some knitting did happen. First, I cast on My Cup of Tea wristers in a hot pink colorway of Clark County sock yarn by the Yarn Studio in Casey, Illinois. These will be going to Morgan’s sister whose favorite color is, surprise, surprise, hot pink.
Second I cast on the another Braids of Jade hat in yak/merino blend yarn. It has a grey brim and a lavender body. Maybe I’ll call it Braids of Lavender… Third I have cast on Morgan’s Christmas cowl. It’s out of the Knitted Wit Victory DK in the Creepy Crawlers colorway. I am doing a provisional cast on into a herringbone stitch pattern. I had cast on 90 stitches originally. It was waaay too small (**not that he has a big head, says his MIL**).
So I ripped out the two rows and re-cast on at 120 stitches. I really thought I had it this time. It looked about the right size and the stitches look beautiful with the yarn. I’m about 8 inches up and it’s too small. I’ve been telling myself “it’ll be fine” since it was 4 inches long. Yeah well it’s too small. Not terribly small but not comfortable. Morgan likes tight neck warmers which makes sense in Chicago. You don’t want the wind blowing right around it.
Last year the one I made him ended up being a little too big. It looked great but wasn’t tight enough around his neck. This time I think I over-compensated. It’s a little tighter than a comfortable turtleneck mostly because it is quite thick.
The real problem is that the herringbone stitch pattern is throwing off the stitch gauge. I am going to cast on an additional 30 stitches which I hope will give me 3-4 more inches to work with. The yarn works so extremely well with the stitch pattern. The yarn is also lovely to work with. It’s soft but strong and the color is marvelous. I never would have picked it out. (**Yes, that’s because I picked it out (said Mary**)
Sometimes it’s good for me to let Morgan make my yarn choices. He’s really excited about it. Which makes it so rewarding. I love that he loves what I knit for him. He always tells his co-workers about the things I make for him. It makes me happy that I always get to claim a piece of his clothing for the day. On the winter, he is always wearing a piece of me no matter where he is.