This Is Epic (to me)

Here's the thing. I've been knitting for many years now, and I feel as though I've really advanced- especially during the past couple years. But I still have this problem with stockinette stripes... I thought it would go away with experience, but so far, no luck. My purling is just super loose, no matter how much I try to tighten up the tension. Well, perhaps it's time for a change.

I started a swatch with some (rather unforgiving) cotton left over from Cass's sweater. On the first half of the swatch, I knit and purled my usual way- continental. After a couple inches, I tried something new. I knit continental, then instead of purling, I knit backwards, English style. Anyway, just look at the difference:



I'm pretty amazed. I can't believe the massive difference, and I only wish I had done this sooner. Now here's the downside: Knitting 4 rows the old way took 2 min, 57 sec. 4 rows the new way takes 5 min, 16 sec. That's a lot slower. But look how much nicer it looks! I think it's worth it.

I'm also going to use this swatch in a little experiment: I'm going to wash it every time I put in a load of laundry, and see how long it takes for the stitches to even out (if they ever do). Science!