Epic, ASJ: I'm Increasing!

There is no point in trying to get a decent picture because it's a rainy, miserable day here in NH.

I didn't move to NH to get rained on. Where is my snow!? I was promised snow!

Anyway. I finished the decrease section much more quickly than I anticipated. Or maybe it's that I reached the increase section sooner than anticipated. Either way, I'm working my way back out to my original cast on number.

I can't decide if I'm actually progressing as quickly as I think I am or if it is just an optical illusion because of the stripes. "Oh, look, I must be knitting fast because it's time to change colors again!"

Yarn Hurdle Surmounted
I know you're just dieing to hear how I sorted out the issue with the off gauge yarn yesterday.

Well, I did a little bitty swatch with the yarn doubled. Really, it was so small it was an insult to swatches everywhere. For this reason it seemed like I got 3.5 stitches per inch with the yarn doubled. That made no sense at all, but I figured I roll with it. (Or would that be knit with it?)

I worked two rows and decided it was time to stop lying to myself. I didn't have enough rows to measure the gauge again, but I knew something was wrong. The new rows felt much bulkier than the previous rows. They were also a little more firm. Basically, they stood out like a sore thumb.

Before the situation could escalate to catastrophic proportions I put down my knitting and made a move.

I dragged all the bulky KFI yarn out onto the porch to find an appropriate substitute.

Now, like I said, I had that blue and red Sandstone which would work, but I really prefer it with the red top down sweater yarns. However, I did through the brownish Sandstone into that mix so it could marinate.

I was back to square one.

Then I stumbled across the swatches I'd made from the Louisa Harding Millias which I was going to make into a blanket. Well, I decided several days ago to stop fooling myself on the blanket front. So I frogged those bad boys and reallocated them to the ASJ!

I already knew I liked the yarn since I'd swatched with it. The purple one was a good color sub for the purple Silky Wool XL and the greenish black one works toward the end of the line where the yarns go all blue and green. Things were a bit bright down there anyway.

And the yardage of both balls is about equal to what I lost removing the Silky Wool XL.

Huzzah! Back on track.

As I started knitting I realized another reason the Millias is a better fit is because the construction is similar to the yarns I've already used. It has an open, fluffy feel to it where the SWXL is a dense, crunchy yarn. That might have been another reason it wasn't working for me in this project. Especially coming right on the heels of the Mist yarn.

Which is a good reminder that texture is as important a consideration as color.

More Reallocation
Since I was being all energized and efficient, I also moved the three balls of SWXL to the worsted weight bag AND moved them on my spiffy yardage spreadsheet as well.

There's something to be said for this being organized business.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my knitting!