There are a million-and-one crafty things I want to be doing RIGHT THIS MINUTE, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about, planning, and starting another project:  the Peacock Sweater.

Technically, I've been dreaming about making this sweater for a while.  But, if you've been reading since then, you'll know I frogged those swatches and ended up using the yarn to  make/frog the Icelandic Turtleneck.  

This shiny Paton Grace yarn is so much better for a stitch pattern where you want the stitches to be well-defined and highlighted.  For the turtleneck, it just looked chain-mail-y.  But the shiny really makes the peacock pattern POP.

And, since I already have this yarn and I'm still trying to make a decision about the cardigan's yarn, well, I just couldn't resist the siren call of a new project.

I made these three swatches using (from top to bottom) a 3.75mm, 4.5mm, and 5.0mm hooks.  Then I weighed them.  I was seeing if the size of the hook helped maximize the amount of yarn you use.

OK, I thought the the bigger your hook, the more yarn you would use.  Is that your guess, too?

Well, that's not what happened!  I did 43 stitches across and 7 rows of the pattern in each of the hook sizes and the weights of each swatches were 11 oz., 11 oz., and 12 oz.  

OK, so the last one was an ounce more, but the most dramatic size difference was between the 3.75mm and 4.5mm hooks and they weighted the same amount but are much different swatches.  The larger hook produced a more loose, stretchy fabric, which is great for a sweater.  That means using a larger hook will give me more coverage with the same amount of yarn.  Yay!