And: I started Samus last night. In the end, I am using size 6 needles for the cable-braid and size 5's (I think; I'm going to look at my swatch again) for the body. The pattern calls for 8's but there was no way, no how I was going to get 19 sts/4" with that big of a needle size. So I kept going down a size. Finally, the fives got me close enough - I think I'm at 18 1/2 sts on them, 18 on the 6's. (I'm using 6's for the braid because I know my cable knitting is always tighter than my stockinette.)

The thing would have been GIANT on me if I had just merrily gone on using size 8's - I was getting 16 sts/4 inches on them.

So, what does this mean? Everyone repeat after me: Make sure you do a swatch!

Just as "people people" differ in how tightly they knit, "designer people" do, too. I'm guessing Samus' designer is a tight knitter. (That, or the Brown Sheep yarn she used is a different diameter/compressability than the Elann Highland Wool I am using)

It looks good so far. I got the first of the nine repeats done while watching a Law and Order rerun and then Numbers last night.

I think I'm going to swatch Otis today while doing some journal article reading. (Yes, I know, that's a direct countermand to my Lenten "you will multitask less" thing but many journal articles are kind of like medicine: they need the proverbial spoonful of sugar to make them go down.)