Monday Miscellany for November 26

An unrelated mix of information in response to recent comments and questions.

Fluffy Knitter Deb asked . . .

Couldn't you knit a smaller size in the bigger gauge and still use the yarn of your choice?

Sure I can although it's usually not as simple as that. For the Set-in Sleeve Aran, it's important that the center cable end in an attraction position, but I'm willing and able to plan ahead and do the math.

I haven't found the perfect yarn for this sweater yet. When I do find it, I may surprise everyone and cast on without a gauge swatch. But probably not.

Kathy and Dorothy both made nice comments about the Vesper Sparrow picture.

Dorothy asked . . .

Are you sure you didn't work for National Geographic in another life?

The camera (Canon S3 IS) does it all. I only turn it on, extend the zoom lens the amount I want, point, let the camera focus, and click.

It works better when my windows are cleaner. Need to address that soon.

The bird pictures on my blog are cropped using the software that comes with the camera. Super easy.

Marie asked about this picture . . .

Did you have much waste? And how did you know you would have enough yarn for sock #1 before breaking the wool for sock #2? By weight?

The amount of waste depends on length of the color repeats and where the sock starts in the color sequence. It's usually minimal.

I wind the balls before starting the socks and I know with yarn like Opal I'll have plenty of yarn, even when knitting for my large footed son. Should I ever run out of yarn (which has never happened unless I'm trying to eke out a second pair), I have a small stash of solid color leftover balls to finish the toes.

I divide the balls into equal balls using a kitchen scale I bought cheap at Target. A skein of Opal weights about 3.4 ounces, so each ball is approximately 1.7 ounces.

Another big big benefit of pre-winding the yarn is finding knots and other upsetting flaws before spending hours on knitting and then reaching the unpleasant surprise in the skein.