When Knitting is Like Gambling

A gambler never makes the same mistake twice. It’s usually three or more times. --Terrence “VP Pappy” Murphy

I'm working on a project that is based purely on luck and on a lot of pieces falling into the right place. In short: I have no idea if this thing will work out. I'm just chipping away at it and crossing my fingers it'll be ok. I've been in this position before with my Stripe Experiment Sweater from a few weeks ago. It's not the most comfortable position to be in but having been here before, I kinda know where this is going and I'm actually quite enjoying it.

Here's what I know:

1. This is a sweater... or maybe it's a vest... or maybe I will call it a sleeveless cardigan.
2. I think I have enough yarn... or maybe I don't... or maybe I will have to be extra careful not to waste any yarn.
3. I'm quite sure it will be long enough... as long as I understand how this yarn will work and as long as I've used the right stitches and the right kind of cast on and bind off.

So yeah, I know exactly what I'm doing. It's a breeze.

This is based on a sideways construction. Normally, sweaters are knitted from the bottom up or from the top down. This one is being knit from side to side, which I think might be a first for me. I'm really enjoying the cushy roundness of the garter stitch rows and the apparent sheen coming from this yarn. Both colours are Malabrigo Arroyo, a superwash sport weight yarn. The lighter colour is called Sand Bank which has a subtle tonal quality that is very pleasing to look at as I knit it. The darker colour is called Chispas and is full of beautiful purple/plum/grey tones which give subtle pops of colour every few stitches:

I'm experimenting with making short-row leaf-like shapes joined by long vertical stripes of colour which go over the shoulder to join with its corresponding partner on the other side. I'm nervous about them because short-rows create extra height and you usually need to balance the fabric with corresponding decreases to prevent bulges. I'm currently banking on the superwash yarn stretching after I block it to prevent too many unsightly bulges. It's a big gamble, given that I have never knitted with this yarn before, but based on past experience and after reading pages of comments about this yarn from other knitters on Ravelry, I'm pretty sure I'm betting on the right horse this time.

Yes, I'm talking about knitting vs horses. You can see how much brainpower I've put into this thing.

So I've reached the point where I've cast off half of the stitches to create the right front side. I will continue to work the other half for a few inches to create the centre of the back, and then I will re-cast on stitches to create the left front side and finish the back:

Clear as mud? It's ok... I'm not sure I understand either.

It was supposed to snow today here but so far we have had a bit of sleet with mostly rain and drizzle. I'm really, really hoping I won't wake up to snow tomorrow, but based on past experience, I'm thinking the odds are definitely not in my favour for that one. If only weather behaved like knitting...

Or... maybe it's best it didn't. At least, I don't want it behaving like my knitting. That would be way too stressful.

I'll hopefully have more of an actual garment to share next week. Wish me luck. Have a great week.