change is good...

I got my new issue of Interweave yesterday. The first thing that I noticed was that there are more patterns written for smaller needles. This makes me really happy. I understand that items made with larger needles and chunky yarns make for quick projects, perfect for beginners but it's about time that era ended.

A couple of years ago, when I picked up needles for the first time in years I really like the patterns out at the time. They were quick, had easy shaping (if any), and made it easy to get back into the swing of things. The problem was that chunky sweaters make me luck really fat. I'm only 5'4" and not twig thin. So, the first sweater I made (on size 10.5 needles) was awful! Needless to say, it was never worn.

Since then, gauges returned to a comfortable worst weight. I thought I was in heaven last year when several Interweave, Rebecca, and Rowan patterns were written for size 6-8 needles. Things seemed stylish, yet versatile. For the first time, I was inspired to make summer knits.

So now, I feel like the last couple of years have been a good warm up for this summer's small gauge projects. I'm getting a good challenge (and workout). After Rosa, I might pick some other small gauge projects.