pepperknit

I did a proper gauge swatch for my Union Sq Mkt Pullover, and I’m pretty close. Using Addi Turbos size 3, I get 27 sts to 4 inches if I spread the stitches out by the smallest amount. The row gauge is off in that I get fewer rows to 4 inches, so my pullover risks being too long. But it shouldn’t be a problem to keep an eye on that (that is, for any straight work, I could go by measurement and not by row count, but it’s close enough that I can leave shaping the same and not worry).

So I started it properly. Well, marginally properly, since the only size 3 circular I have is a small one–16″. So all the stitches are squished onto the needles. But they don’t seem to be at risk of falling off, and they move around pretty well (ok, I need to push them along).

The pattern calls for a provisional cast on that I’ve never done before, and some people in the KAL found it was difficult to get consistent tension on the cast on. So I used some scrap yarn and did a single chain crochet, then worked into the backs of the stitches. I’ve used this before when I wanted to work back off the cast on, and it works nicely for me. What’s funny is that I used the same yarn as the Garter Stitch Baby Bootees and Jacket, and I’ve fallen for the color combo! The cool, minty color and the brown makes me think of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Almost makes me wish I’d gotten a blue to go with the brown! (Too late!)

I just finished the 9 rows in the brown, and am about to start in on the orange. I have to remind myself how much I love deep burnt oranges, which I do, and which is why I chose the color combo in the first place! Once I get it on the needles I’m going to be thinking about pumpkins and fall and crisp cool days and hot apple cider, and I’ll be happy.

I got to work yesterday and no one said anything about the Tivoli. This, in some strange way, was the biggest compliment I could get. When someone asked me what I’d done over the weekend, I told the story of the party we went to, and then said, “and I finished this.” Then I got a “you made that?” and that, too, was a high compliment.

But then I went downstairs for a meeting, and when one person who hadn’t seen me yet that day laid eyes on me, she immediately said, “did you make that?” And I was kind of disappointed. Is that sad? I’m trying to remember, but I do think she’s asked me if I’ve made most knitted items I wear, even when store-bought, so I suppose it wasn’t her saying, “Damn, that looks totally homemade and like crap.” Still, it’s weirdly what I don’t want to hear–and yet, I want people to know that it’s my work. As people found out throughout the day, though, I got a slew of nice compliments (everyone loved that the shaping was visible).

Anyway, these are my own random psychoses coming through. I wonder if other knitters suffer them as well. I actually feel incredibly self-conscious wearing sweaters I’ve made (mittens and hats don’t make me self-conscious, even when they’re incredibly complicated or good, somehow). I’m going to have to get over this, as I’m currently in more of a sweater-knitting mode.