Scientific Experiment

So it’s like this. I should have spent last night getting ready for a waffle party with 11 ten year old girls here Saturday morning, and instead I conducted a scientific experiment with my knitting.
Hypothesis – That knitting fair isle is indeed magical speed knitting in which the time/space continuum is warped and socks get done darned fast. Is it the pattern that just makes it “seem” faster, or is it actually faster?
Experiment – I cast on two socks, one fair isle, one single colour. They did not have the same number of stitches because there is only so much I was willing to sacrifice in the name of science and I want to have actual useful socks at the end of this. One (solid colour) had 84 stitches, and the fair isle had 70. I knit on each sock for 45 minutes, and was interrupted by life crap about the same number of times.
Results (as shown by our lovely studio model…Millie)
milliewool
15 rounds of fair isle at 70 stitches per round is 1050 stitches.
10 rounds of solid at 84 stitches per round is 840 stitches.
Conclusions
1. Fair isle is faster. (I told you so)
2. I am out of my mind for actually thinking this much about this.
3. If there are about a thousand stitches in about an inch of sock knitting…am I the only one being shocked at how many stitches I’m knitting for a whole sock?
Tonights Experiment – do I knit faster with a Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon?
I hope everyone in the Maritimes is warm and cozy today. Canada’s Atlantic Provinces were blasted by the biggest Nor’easter in one hundred years yesterday. High winds and a full meter of snow. That’s 100 centimeters. For a frame of reference, I’m 152 centimeters tall. That’s a lot of snow. To my cousin Michael in Halifax: happy shovelling dude. To My Sister-in-law, buried in Sydney, Nova Scotia: I told you to get two movies at the rental place.
Finally, just for Kathy. When I asked my Father in law in St. Johns, Newfoundland yesterday if the storm was bad, he replied in a classic maritimes understatement. “Well, there’s some snow”.

13 thoughts on “Scientific Experiment

  1. Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon?
    I see some methodological issues here. If you start with one wine and then have the other one, how do you know if the effect is due to the TYPE of wine, or QUANTITY of wine?
    Willing to try myself,
    Linda B., in Ottawa where we’re supposed to get 15cm (6″) of snow over the next day.
    BTW – I learned the Imperial system of measure; and sometimes have difficulty with the metric conversion. How many other knitters do the metric conversion of height/length of anything based on a 10cm/4″ gauge swatch? OK – so 10cm of snow = 4″.

  2. i live in halifax too. Let’s see, the van in the driveway isn’t visible. the street was plowed last night and the wall of snow at the bottom of my driveway is about 6ft high and 3ft across. My 6’1″ son was walking in the backyard today and was sinking in up to the top of his very long legged thighs. I believe that we got about 90 cm of snow, near to 3 feet and it was windy so lots of drifting. This is really not at all fun. We also lost power and phones for about 12 hours.
    I did get knitting done yesterday and a friend and her son are coming over later for knitting and a playdate for the younger crowd.

  3. We’re experiencing spring-like temps. here in Kentucky – low 60’s (degrees). Wish I could send some warm weather up your way.
    Your research project is brilliant! Next we’ll be pairing complimentary wines with each knitting project. I’m a klutz, so mine would have to be white wine, I can just see red wine stains on my knitting!

  4. Linda, I suppose I’ll have to drink one wine tonight…and the other tomorrow to remove “quantity” variables.
    Diane, we have no idea what kind of cat Millie is. We got her from the shelter and she was already two years old. If anybody knows what kind she is I’d love to hear it!
    Susanna, lord girlie, happy diggin’ out. My hearts with you…did you at least find the van today?

  5. Well, I feel much more normal. I once did a similiar experiment with fair isle, only on two circular knit sweaters. I worried about my sanity, but if someone else did it with socks, then I am okay! (my results were the same as yours)
    Re: measurements. Yeah I do the same thing. Sometimes the calculations take awhile…10cm = 4inch so 6 km =?
    Merlot would be my pick. And if you’d spilled some on the cotton barn sweater you’d have had no problem, it would have been long gone!
    Barb

  6. I had actually wondered how many stitches in a sock. Hadn’t gotten around to testing it. Now that I know, I don’t think I want to know. thank your for your words and for sharing your life. Makes me think that I can manage to get more knitting done than I do.

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