Which Needles With What Yarn?

My tiny pattern swatch.

   I am making a serious attempt at reproducing (in my size) the sweater I blogged about last August. The sweater, from a pattern published in Women's Weekly (an Australian women's magazine) on July 13, 1940, was made available by the Victoria and Albert Museum on their website a while back, and I really like the design--a long-sleeved, V-necked cardigan in a lightweight yarn with lots of cables.
   I did some work on redacting the pattern last August, but didn't get very far because I didn't have the yarn on hand for swatching. I gave the yarn some serious thought: I wanted something soft, relatively sturdy, and not too expensive, as I need a lot of yarn (about 22 ounces). DROPS Baby Merino wasn't available in colors I liked, and Cascade Heritage 150 just didn't "feel right." I finally settled on an old friend--KnitPicks Stroll sock yarn--in the "Indigo" colorway--a soft, dusky blue that looks a bit like worn denim, and a lot like the old sweaters from the 1940s that I remember from childhood.
   Once I got the yarn, swatching was in order. I started with the needles recommended by Cyberseams.com's needle conversion chart, and the gauge was off--either I now knit loose (not likely after a lifetime of knitting tight), or the chart is wrong.
   Time to break out my prized Walker bell gauge. I have a beautiful, brass, bell gauge from just after World War I that is wonderful for redacting old British knitting and crochet patterns. According to the Bell gauge, a "number 8 pin" is the same size as a modern US#5/3.75mm needle, while a "number 12 pin" is the same size as a modern US#1/2.25mm needle.

A close-up of the swatch. The cables are pretty cool.

   I created a second swatch with my yarn. In stockinette, I came up with 27 stitches across 4 inches--a bit larger than the "8 stitches per inch" recommended in the instructions. But wait--could the gauge in the instructions be in the pattern? I started working the pattern--a 6-stitch cable surrounded by ribbing--and by the second repeat, it was pretty obvious that, in pattern, the #5 needle was right on gauge.
   So, now I have my yarn and my gauge, and I'm going to order a couple Addi Rocket circular needles in #1 and #5 for my knitting. Why Addi Rockets? I like the super-slick nickel-plated finish and the lace points. I got a set last year for sock-knitting, and love them, so knitting this sweater, with all its cables, will be a lot more fun on really nice needles.
   OTN: I'm on the last square of the stash-buster afghan. Once it's knitted up, I have a lot of crocheting to put all the squares together, but the first quarter of the afghan is assembled.