On swatching. And ponies.

Just as I was lamenting the demise of my knitting mojo, I was inspired. This is what my very blue, very not Central Park Hoodie, Beaverslide worsted weight yarn wants to be. The knitting is plain and simple, letting the yarn do the work.

So I eagerly cast on for my swatches, growing ever increasingly dismayed as I realize I just can't get gauge. As in, if I knit this patten in the smallest size, with yarn the recommended weight, and needles *4* sizes down, my cardigan will still be *6 inches* too big. Something was majorly wrong.

And yeah, it was.


See the problem? (I cast on the same # of stitches, but knit only as many rows as I had to on the blue.)

While supposedly these two yarns are exactly the same except for color, the red is obviously not worsted weight. Maybe it got mislabeled?

Whatever the problem, I no longer care.. my blue swatched perfectly. I'm in love, and my mojo's back.


The body is done up to the yoke thus far. And I got most of the first sleeve done yesterday when the power was out. Unfortunately, while a wide sleeve might look good in yarn with some drape in it, it definitely does *not* look good in a relatively stiff wool. Especially one someone with toothpick arms. (cough, cough) So I frogged the darn thing, calculated and recalculated #s, and cast on again.

And since I haven't posted any pony pictures lately, here are a few I dug up from the files.


Dragon's Lair Bogart, Welsh Cob (Shenandoah Ensign x DL Uppercrust, Bristol Valiant), with an itchy hock. Yes.. he's the dreaded D x B cross! Fear not - he's a gelding and is embarking on a promising dressage career.

And here is the little Ferrari - DL Pjoey (Bristol Valiant x Arabian mare). Valiant's kids are known for being smart and sensitive.. not unlike Arabians. So you can imagine this guy...


Word is that this flashy fellow is going to kick butt in upper level dressage someday. He's not a kids pony, and not a training level pony either. But he sure is fun!