Yummy yarn

I went to JoAnn tonight for two spools of thread. Yeah, right, like I'd come out of there with just two spools of thread.

I found this neat yarn, Sensations (the JoAnn brand) Thick N Thin yarn. The scan really doesn't do it justice. It's warmer and more tactile in person.

So now I'm thinking that I must do a sweater for myself out of this yarn. Hmm, how the heck do you figure out the gauge??? Yeah, it says 8 sts and 11 rows is a 4" x 4" swatch, but I'm not sure I'm even close to that. Where exactly does one count the stitches? I think I might just knit up the whole skein, then measure it to figure out the square inches, then divide that by the 85 yards per skein and maybe get an approximate idea about how many skeins I'll need....

I also bought the coordinating Angel Hair, which is 12 sts an 16 rows for a 4" x 4" swatch. It'd be neat to combine them, and originally (in the store) I was thinking about a capelet with a band of the Thick N Thin and the remainder of the Angel Hair. But then reality set in and I thought "when do I EVER wear something like THAT??" So now I'm thinking just the Thick N Thin for a sweater. Maybe with the Angel Hair as the collar and cuffs or something. Who knows...