The swatching love continues

Posted on | November 7, 2007 | 6 Comments

Swatching soothes the savage mel – When life is a little topsy turvy, they are the perfect knitting escapism. I can focus my entire energy and brain on a particular technique or learning a new skill or just let it all go and mindlessly knit for a small span of time – then come up for air and try something else!

Swatch for Spun Stitches:

Laceweight spinning, the Ocean/Allison yarn which is currently in progress, swatched from my sample made back in July. At this point the silk is finished, and there are a couple more ounces of the merino tencel to go! I think that the average weight of the actual yarn might be a tad heavier than this, but we will see.

Results: At first, I wasn’t sure about the variegation of the yarn when used in this stitch pattern (Frost Flowers from Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns – one with which I have had a long standing infatuation). But last night as I approached the table where I had laid it, it caught my eye, and from a small distance rather than up close, it becomes slightly more cohesive and shimmery rather than the stripey-ness that I see at closer range. What do you think?

Learned: Do a sample swatch before digging into the spinning. When I started on this project, I was fresh off the excitement of the finished Fire Yarn (which I already knew I’d love, because I sampled, AND swatched!) and eager to be spinning something else. I did a sample skein, and went directly back to the spinning. Now, I’m impatiently looking forward to my NEXT spinning project so I can slow down and actually use what I’ve learned!

Swatch for Mermaid Gloves:

I couldn’t resist the temptation of a skein of Gryphon’s lovely sock yarn at SAFF (Eidos 100% Merino in color Meno), and after finding my hands freezing in this finally fall-ish weather, I knit this plain jane swatch for a pair of Mermaid Gloves (first I wanted to knit Pomatomus – funny, until just now I always translated it to “Potamus” in my head! – anyway, with the desire for mitts, this seemed a natural progression).

Results: Cast on and knit a couple inches. Now I’m not too sure. I’ll sit on it for a bit!

Learned: I learned a Tubular cast-on, a la Fluffbuff!

Festejakket swatch:

This swatch is take two. I never showed take one, but I decided after starting it that I wanted to actually steek the swatch for practice, so the stitch count and steek placement were a little off, and I wanted a bit more practice. Here it is, in the round, with appropriately placed steek stitches and picot hems!

Results: Casting on soon, and so excited about this project. There will be mods for fit and preference and I need to do a little calculation before I begin – My preference would be a fit more like Becki’s Bridal Cardigan, than the fit displayed in the pattern picture. It will be a very slow knit, I’m sure, but I’m thrilled to have finally completed the first step!

Learned: Knitting small circumference on two circs, and I learned to do a picot hem from the cast on edge w/ no sewing (now I’m suprised I had to look for that one! It makes perfect sense!); and one leading up to the cast off edge, but sewn without casting off (is there a way to do it that avoids both casting off and sewing? I had thought for some reason there was, but couldn’t find anything on doing a search.

Phew! I think I am (just about) done swatching for a bit!

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