I usually try to suggest several alternative yarn choices for each of my patterns.

I decided to knit myself a Plaited Tam, but I want

I've been doing a lot of swatching in the past few weeks, both for unbloggable projects and for this capelet (thanks,

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Sto ripensando il tweed...

So bene dove ho sbagliato....

I took this photo a few weeks ago, at a moment when I was surprisingly happy, considering that I was sitting in a car

because it was a gorgeous day, because I'm still waiting for yarn for a project for the spring 2009 issue of Twist Collective, because it was more appealing than the idea of sitting down and writing out the patterns for this jumper and that hat (although I did a little of that, too). It's kinda tricky using the self-timer and getting the right things in focus and the light levels in the right ballpark; it would be a lot easier with a shutter release cable, or a wireless remote control. Or a photographer. Or a model. *Sigh*. Jack (or Jill) of all trades, as they say....

For some reason I really enjoy figuring out how to work decreases and increases into stitch patterns: witness all of my hats (Beaufort, Maple Seed, Rose of Sharo

(I'm having a blast!)In spite of the fact that I've ripped back the sleeve I'm working on twice already, I find this working from the top down to be somehow more magical than from the bottom up. Maybe it's because I just finished reading the last two Harry Potter installments (late to the party, indeed), or maybe it's just something about being able to pull on a sweater and see it growing from the shoulders down.... Growing slowly, unfortunately. As intriguing as I find this stitch pattern, it just doesn't want to cooperate with any of the other stitch patterns I've put next to it. I was originally planning a slightly belled cuff with a stitch pattern with an arched effect, but it just didn't work. I think the combination of the wavy cable and the slight openwork is complicating matters-- I want to keep this pullover solid enough that it can be worn without an underlayer, so I've been avoiding any lace with too many eyelets. I'm running out of ideas, but I do still have one or two up my sleeve (ha ha). (These photos are all of unblocked work, by the way; judging from the swatch, I think the effect will be quite different after blocking.)

I think this should be the knitter's counterpoint to the carpenter's mantra of "measure twice, cut once."   The reason the photos show an item with the bottom edge of loose stitches hanging free is that I didn't math twice-- not even once, real