Masters Progress - Week 2

Master's Monday, Week 2: Knitting Math & Swatching. Since a whole lot of the Masters seems to be getting gauge, figuring out gauge, and related mathematical things, I made up a handy excel chart to help convert ruler measurements to math measurements, since there's a good chance I'll switch digits betwixt brain and paper if I try to add or multiply in my head.


(My husband also got the KnitGauge app on his iTouch for me. And the NeedleSizer app. True love is letting your spouse put knitting apps on your gadget!)

Anyway, added this "project" to my Raverly WIPs and my giant list of UFOs, just to help keep track of it all. Bought two more reference books (I won't be getting the RR history anytime soon... a beat-up copy goes for over $50!), got some floor blocking squares, and totally doused my first swatch to double-check for curling and other potential oddities that might occur with this yarn.


First, make sure the top of the swatch is flat.
Because this is garter stitch, I'm not stretching it much,
just making sure it's square.


Sides are next.


Then, once it's all set up...


...drown it.
Since there's not a *ton* of shaping going on here, I wet it after it's pinned in place; for the eventual lace swatches, I'll wet first and pin later. (Plus, with garter stitch, I don't want to flatten out the stitches!) This first swatch didn't come out too bad, actually; the selvege stitches all look the same, the "ditches" all look the same, and the increases are relatively hidden in the ribbing. I'll see if I improve as I go, and if this swatch needs reknitting later, but it's actually waaaaaay better than what I turned in for the Basics class so it might actually pass muster. It will be Officially Measured once it's completely dry - probably later this evening or tomorrow morning.

I've also been prepping for the report, and it's really pretty amazing how much stuff my brain has retained about (a) the subject at hand and (b) writing reports. Since this one doesn't have to be 200 pages, double-spaced and end-noted, it's not all that terrifying. I'm actually worried that I'm going to write more than I should, so I'll have to be ruthless when editing. I need to get all my research for the question section organized this week, so I can find everything I need when I need it. Thank the powers-that-be for Montse Stanley and Knitting History Online!!

I think if I concentrate on the questions right now, I'll have a better idea of what, exactly, the goal for each knitted swatch is. (Does that sound like I'm trying to put off knitting? Maybe I am. The knitting is the scary part.)

So, goals for this week are:

1. rough draft of report;
2. roughs of applicable parts of questions;
3. at least one more swatch; and
4. study hat pattern.