Swatching

I'm another southern hemisphere knitter in autumn going into winter, so I'm hoping to get my Ester done sooner rather than later. I've been eyeing off the pattern since the Spring Knitty was published and when this KAL appeared I figured that this was the motivation which was required.
I've been swatching the last couple of days. This seems to be the goer - a smidge over 16 sts and 22 rows to 4 inches on 4.5mm Addi circs. I tried out 5mm bamboo circs first, but it was a tad too loose, and when I teamed the addis with the yarn, they felt like they belonged together (I realise that sounds a bit wacky - sorry).

This isn't the colour I will be using. My LYS didn't have enough of the colour (a tweedy red - with a hint of purple as a dip of the hat to the designer) I wanted in stock, so I will get it next week. This colour is a leftover ball of the same yarn [Patons Jet (70% wool / 30% alpaca)] from a cardigan I knit last winter. The Rowan yarn in the original pattern is just gorgeous, but it's twice the price here and I can't quite justify it in my head.