Massachusetts gnomi and the Quest for the Elusive Gauge

I set out on Monday to do the prep work for a sweater I plan to make for myself, and my first step was to knit a gauge swatch (I don't swatch for all projects, only the ones where gauge actually matters). But using the needles and yarn recommended by the pattern (a pattern, I note, from the company that produces said yarn), I could not get the swatch to come out at the correct gauge (my gauge was too tight). As I have a track record, as long as I'm using bamboo or other wooden needles, getting gauge on the first shot, this was frustrating. So, using the same yarn, I pulled out the next size up of needle and tried again. And, again, I had too many stitches to the inch.

To add a complication, the yarn I bought for my sweater is black, so I was having a hard time counting stitches. So on Tuesday, I went out and bought identical yarn in a different color, and last night I resolved to keep trying until I found the combination that will give me gauge.

( Eh, it keeps me off the street at night )

So here's the thing. The ball band on the yarn says 18 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches. So why does the pattern say 16 inches and 32 rows = 4 in inches using the same #8 needle. I'm glad I figured out the combination I need to get gauge, but it would help if the yarn and the pattern didn't contradict each other so wildly.

A Poll, Inspired by lordavon

As I eat my lunch, I ponder. And thus, I poll:

[Poll #1195795]

Stuck at the Intersection of Math Geek and Knitting Geek

As I was working on my current travel-project-sock this evening on my commute home, I figured out what I want in my knitting tool kit: a binary row counter.

Actually, I lie. I want a row counter for which you can tell it in which base you want it to count. Working on an 8-row repeat? No problem. Twenty-three rows? Again, no problem.

If such a thing existed, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.