Rhombus texture
In my spare time, i.e., when I’m overly bored of finishing the sleeves on the current jumper, I am going to work up swatches of the patterns I’m considering. I have lots of lovely colours to use, since I came to my senses and knit a solid colour. I expect the final list of swatches will be much different from this initial list.
Here is swatch #1, the rhombus texture in Merino Magic 8-ply, shade 218, 5mm needles, 30 stitches cast on.
The motif is a lot larger than I expected from the picture with the instructions. I should have predicted this, because the repeat was twelve rows and I know about how big twelve rows is in this yarn. D’oh! I need to consider this when choosing other swatches to evaluate. Anyway, all in all, I don’t think this one does much for me for the new jumper.
The other thing I was evaluating here was the use of garter stitch instead of ribbing for the edges. Two ridges is probably not enough to prevent curling.
I am happy to say that I really liked the Zing IC needles when I used them for this swatch. When they first arrived, eagerly anticipated, they were a bit of a disappointment. Made worse because they took forever to get here from the UK (because the only thing Australian about LoveKnitting.com.au is the domain name and the customers who mistakenly think they are supporting a local business).