Forget what I said before

Change is good. I tell myself this, more often these days, whenever things get turned around. After spending a few days mulling over the results of the Plaid scarf swatch (see previous post), I decided that change is, indeed, good. Although I really love the stitch pattern, I decided to ditch the project and save it for a different yarn, something less bulky and perhaps more variegated.

I then spent several more hours looking at stitch patterns, until I stumbled upon the Knitted Plaid design in Knitting for Dummies. I thought - brilliant! Knitted Plaid for a yarn named Plaid! With a few adjustments in the number of stitches (I decided not to double up on the ribs and moss stitiches), I swatched up a piece and it just kept growing:



As you can see, I'm using Denise needles - US 11 to be exact. I originally started the swatch on my beloved Clover bamboo circs, but it looked a tad loose so I started over with the Denise in the same size because they knit up smaller (am I the only one that noticed this?!). At first I was worried about the snag issue, but I'm having no problems with this yarn.

Oh, the snag issue? Yeah, it's the basis of my love-hate relationship with Denise. When I first got my Denise Interchangeable Needle set, I thought I'd never have to buy another pair of needles again... WRONG! I discovered that these needles often snag against loosely spun yarn. The culprit was usually the engraved needle size imprints. Yarn fibers would get caught in the ditch, so to speak, as the stitches slide across the engraving. This frustrated me to no end, and I'm still finding that I have to go out and buy needles (Clover bamboos, usually), especially for yarns that succumb to the snag. I look forward to the day where I don't have to explain to my husband, yet again, why I have to buy another pair of needles ("I thought that Denise set you wanted so badly meant you'd never have to buy another pair again?!). Yes, dear - that's what I thought too.