I was putting away my blocking the other night, so I checked my gauge on the newly blocked Gauge Hat. It did relax just a bit, and where I had 20.5 st and 26 rounds/4 inches, I now have 20 st and 26 rounds/4 inches. I can work with that! The row gauge is spot on. The prescribed stitch gauge is 19 st/4 inches, so I’m choosing a size (43.75”) that will give me the size I want (41.6” at my gauge).
And since I did the math for the sweater, I accidentally cast on. I wasn’t planning to start yet, but you know how it goes. I used the German twisted/Old Norwegian cast on, for a little extra heft (but still flexible) at the neckline. (Little plug for my HiyaHiya interchangeables: I now have this on a combination of the 40” cable plus the 16” cable. It grew too big for the flat lay picture before I realized it! The yoke includes body and sleeve stitches, which makes it bigger than 40 inches.)
So here’s hoping my gauge swatch hat didn’t lie to me! But I can always adjust the body circumference up or down 8 stitches, after the yoke is done. (8 stitches because of the pattern that goes before the bottom ribbing is a multiple of 8; you can see it on the hat.)
This is a reminder: Put down your knitting and stretch! I knit a lot on this last night (just one more, one more, one more round of patterning, so seductive) and realized that my forearms were feeling a bit achy due to tendinitis. Something about the way I hold this particular project, I guess. Knitting with fairy lights bothered my elbow after a time. Kay Gardiner of Modern Daily Knitting shares her thoughts, via shoulder injury, in a post this week, too. It’s going around. Listen to your body, so you don’t get an injury that takes a long time to heal!
I’m about to start the last contrast color on the yoke. Not right now, though. Break time!
PDXKnitterati 
So you accidentally cast on, eh ?
I laughed. 🙂
That must be the weakest excuse for obsessive behaviour I’ve heard !!
It’s looking WONDERFUL ! – and I’m loving that beautiful neckline and the way it sort of sits into where the pattern begins.
Complimenti bella !
I really wasn’t planning to start it until I finished Katie’s Kep, but the yarn was already wound for the hat, and it just happened!
Right .. Right.
Thanks for the reminder to stretch and take breaks. Last year and most of this year, I was dealing with right and left medial epicondylitis in my elbows from knitting and dyeing yarn.
Your sweater looks nice so far.
Just catching up on my email, finally! And still needing reminders to take stretch breaks. I finished the colorwork yoke on DH’s sweater, and now it’s all stockinette for a while…after I do some short rows. I’m saving the straight stockinette for a Zoom knit/chat tonight. Charted knitting isn’t very good for chatting!
So pretty. I love that color combination.
That’s a good reminder! I often sit and knit until I’m super stiff when I go to get up. Stretching – it’s a thing 🙂 Your gauge swatch hat and the start of your DH’s sweater both look great!