It even feels like fall! Which is kind of rare for this time of year where I live. And when it feels like fall, I want to craft. What is it about cold weather that makes me want to make things? I have no idea, but here we are.
And I said it was going to be a No-Buy fall. So, as of November 1st, I'm on a yarn/fabric/craft supply diet. It's time use what I have. Not that I didn't buy up until the end of October...I did. Mainly because there were sales. THREAD sales. Fancy Tiger put their Cotton + Steel Sulky cotton thread on sale for half price, and that stuff is wonderful to work with. 100% cotton but it has a shiny finish, like Mettler silk-finish cotton thread (which I can't find in town any more). And 660 yards on a spool! Gutermann from Joann is $3+ now for 110 yards. So, for half price, I bought one of every color they had. It was a bit of a splurge but I'm all set for a while. And I go through so much thread, it was a good investment.
But now that's all done. Time to try again for a No-Buy situation. Prices are going up, and I have plenty of supplies to last. So, if I actually need anything, then I'm going to try to thrift it. We have a wonderful Re-use store here that specializes in craft items. And I've found that, if I'm patient, I can find almost anything in there. Also, I desperately need to work through some of my stash, of both fabric and yarn. Watching Retro Claude creatively use her stash has been inspiring. The link is to her first video but she's posted a few since then.
So, with Retro Claude in mind, I decided to start my first 40's sweater pattern. The Bestway Bed Jacket, Pattern A2535. I found it here. I'll have to resize it a bit, so I had to do a good gauge swatch, something I never seem to do. I generally end up doing a "full size" gauge swatch...aka I start knitting the sweater and hope I get lucky. A bad habit for sure, but it is what it is.
But here it is, an actual gauge swatch!
I had to tweak the color on the photo a little bit to capture the blue of the yarn (I have a terrible camera on my phone), but this is much closer to the actual color than the original photo.
Hopefully, I can take the next one in the sun so I can capture the color, it's a beauty of a yarn. A special color from Hazel Knits just for the 15th anniversary of my local yarn shop. I'm using their wonderful DK, which my yarn shop stocks regularly. It's a favorite of mine.
This one is a recent purchase, but it works perfect for the gauge on this bed jacket.
The pattern lists the gauge as 1 pattern repeat measures 1 3/4 inches. One pattern repeat is 13 stitches. So I did the math and figured out that, to fit me, the gauge would need to be 13 stitches to 2 3/4 inches. So I used this lovely DK weight yarn on a 4.5 mm needle (US 7) and the swatch came out to 2 1/2 inches. Then I realized that when the pattern says "M1", it really means yarnover. The picture shows clear holes, so that's definitely a yarnover. And with that little adjustment, I've got the gauge. No need to change yarn or needles.
Time to cast on! (to be continued)
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