That’s a lovely vest. ♥️♥️I might have thrown swatches and sketchbooks away! 😅 I also fairly regularly, consider their relevance in my life and save the ones I need. I don’t know where that puts me in the spectrum between artists and non-artists but it works for me now. 😃
Sandi, since Sam hinted at learning to knit socks, I see an opportunity of a lesson swap! Think of something you might like to learn to cook! A video or two would be grand!
Love both your and Sarah's swatch collections. They both make mine look pretty dismal. I do have one way of using them one or two swatches at a time. It is to make pockets of them applied to any garment you choose. My sister started adding a single large pocket center front of my mother's favorite sweatshirts for her to keep her glasses handy. My mother who had become rather child like in her later years, loved these pocket!!! Your swatches with the ribbing would be perfect.
I know that Warm Up America takes knitted or crochet squares, ENDS WOVEN IN, and uses them to make blankets for the homeless. If you don't have a use for your little swatches and don't really want to keep them I would send them there.
Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately, Warm Up America specifies that knitted or crocheted pieces should be 7" x 9", and should be made with machine-washable, acrylic yarns. These parameters aren't surprising, since they are assembling the pieces into blankets and want to be sure they are easy-care. But none of my swatches fit these requirements.
And please, do not send a non-profit such as Warm Up America items other than what they ask for. Sending them a box of random swatches just creates a storage and/or disposal problem for the organization.
I’m a proud member of the I Never Swatch club. But, that’s not 100% true; I swatch for garments other than socks, mittens or hats, which I try on as I go. I’ve only made three sweaters, and that was so long ago that the swatches are long gone to swatch heaven.
Going to make a lap rug or a cat blanket, I think. I do love the swatches I actually finished and blocked, but it is still so HARD to swatch - every - single - time - I want to make a sweater, gloves, hat, or socks.
I always say "you only need to swatch if you care how it turns out". I love the experimental nature of swatching - a low-stakes way to play with yarn and needles.
Gosh thank you Sandi for your lovely words! Also for all the thoughts you've unleashed, not least about art and craft. Devoted as I am to life on the art/craft prairie, where one invisibly smooshes into the other, I love your words about the saved sketchbook quality of swatches. I also wonder if some of it has to do with when a person does a particularly thing. Tapestry, for instance (which I have long thought of as my primary job/medium), takes place in discrete periods of time when I am alone--very specific "work time," which which makes it a little harder to remember just which bit of work time was devoted to this tapestry, or that. Knitting, on the other hand (flexible as it is), comfortably squishes itself into all parts of life-- and especially the parts filled with people and memorable events --so now I wonder if the swatches, on purpose or accidentally, have absorbed and stored those times and people in the stitches?
But whatever the reason, it fills me with glee to imagine your swatches (and everyone else's), having the chance to shine in whatever way. Thanks!
For me, I think the finished sweaters absorb the memories and stories because so much more time is spent with them. For example, I recently finished a commission for Farm & Fiber Knits (not yet published) which will forever be associated with my knee replacement surgery because it is what I knit when I was in the hospital and acute rehabilitation after my second surgery. My "work time" is spent at my desk in front of a screen editing and grading patterns, researching and writing articles, and doing all the things that pay the bills. While knitting is also my work, it is my constant occupation, keeping my hands busy whatever else my mind might be up to.
Your vest pattern is lovely. I admit to being a haphazard swatcher. If I’m knitting from a kit, using the recommended needles and yarn, I might forego swatching. It depends, of course, on what I’m making (shawl vs cardigan) and whether the garment is for me or someone else. Currently I AM swatching for an intarsia shawl because I don’t want to find myself short of any of the many bits of yarn required for the pattern. I keep a notebook when I knit but I haven’t consistently recorded when and to whom I’ve given some garments. My notebook is mainly because I like to check off rows. My process is tedious and I do have row counters and other technology at my disposal, but I’ve learned the hard way that I’m more successful with my projects when I copy instructions and then check off the rows as I go. As far as the swatches I have knitted, I’ve either thrown them away (which I don’t like doing) or ripped them out in the hope of finding some purpose for the yarn.
Whatever process helps you get the results you want is the "right" process. I now row counters are essential tools for many knitters, but I haven't used them in years. I simply can't be trusted to move or click or check off at the end of each row. It works better for me to count pattern repeats. If it's a long expanse of stockinette stitch, I'll put a removeable stitch marker on every 10th row. Yes, I sometimes blow past the 10th row without placing a marker, but it's a simple matter to count 10 rows past the last marker and put it in after the fact.
We each find our own path to completion, and I love that there are so many tools to choose from. I've never kept a knitting notebook, but I do print out patterns so I can write all over them while I'm working (or print out the relevant sections of my spreadsheet if I haven't yet written the pattern). Knitting from an electronic device isn't for me.
That’s a lovely vest. ♥️♥️I might have thrown swatches and sketchbooks away! 😅 I also fairly regularly, consider their relevance in my life and save the ones I need. I don’t know where that puts me in the spectrum between artists and non-artists but it works for me now. 😃
I like the framing of considering their relevance in my life!
I have mended a few of the socks Sandi has given me. They make the best socks to wear on chilly nights. I feel my daughter sharing her warmth with me.
I should have asked you to write to Sam Sifton!
Sandi, since Sam hinted at learning to knit socks, I see an opportunity of a lesson swap! Think of something you might like to learn to cook! A video or two would be grand!
Love both your and Sarah's swatch collections. They both make mine look pretty dismal. I do have one way of using them one or two swatches at a time. It is to make pockets of them applied to any garment you choose. My sister started adding a single large pocket center front of my mother's favorite sweatshirts for her to keep her glasses handy. My mother who had become rather child like in her later years, loved these pocket!!! Your swatches with the ribbing would be perfect.
Using swatches to make patch pockets is a grand idea!
Coasters for drinks
Clever!
I know that Warm Up America takes knitted or crochet squares, ENDS WOVEN IN, and uses them to make blankets for the homeless. If you don't have a use for your little swatches and don't really want to keep them I would send them there.
Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately, Warm Up America specifies that knitted or crocheted pieces should be 7" x 9", and should be made with machine-washable, acrylic yarns. These parameters aren't surprising, since they are assembling the pieces into blankets and want to be sure they are easy-care. But none of my swatches fit these requirements.
And please, do not send a non-profit such as Warm Up America items other than what they ask for. Sending them a box of random swatches just creates a storage and/or disposal problem for the organization.
I’m a proud member of the I Never Swatch club. But, that’s not 100% true; I swatch for garments other than socks, mittens or hats, which I try on as I go. I’ve only made three sweaters, and that was so long ago that the swatches are long gone to swatch heaven.
Thanks for representing the Never-Swatchers here!
Going to make a lap rug or a cat blanket, I think. I do love the swatches I actually finished and blocked, but it is still so HARD to swatch - every - single - time - I want to make a sweater, gloves, hat, or socks.
I always say "you only need to swatch if you care how it turns out". I love the experimental nature of swatching - a low-stakes way to play with yarn and needles.
Gosh thank you Sandi for your lovely words! Also for all the thoughts you've unleashed, not least about art and craft. Devoted as I am to life on the art/craft prairie, where one invisibly smooshes into the other, I love your words about the saved sketchbook quality of swatches. I also wonder if some of it has to do with when a person does a particularly thing. Tapestry, for instance (which I have long thought of as my primary job/medium), takes place in discrete periods of time when I am alone--very specific "work time," which which makes it a little harder to remember just which bit of work time was devoted to this tapestry, or that. Knitting, on the other hand (flexible as it is), comfortably squishes itself into all parts of life-- and especially the parts filled with people and memorable events --so now I wonder if the swatches, on purpose or accidentally, have absorbed and stored those times and people in the stitches?
But whatever the reason, it fills me with glee to imagine your swatches (and everyone else's), having the chance to shine in whatever way. Thanks!
For me, I think the finished sweaters absorb the memories and stories because so much more time is spent with them. For example, I recently finished a commission for Farm & Fiber Knits (not yet published) which will forever be associated with my knee replacement surgery because it is what I knit when I was in the hospital and acute rehabilitation after my second surgery. My "work time" is spent at my desk in front of a screen editing and grading patterns, researching and writing articles, and doing all the things that pay the bills. While knitting is also my work, it is my constant occupation, keeping my hands busy whatever else my mind might be up to.
Thanks so much for the mention. I really appreciate it
Your vest pattern is lovely. I admit to being a haphazard swatcher. If I’m knitting from a kit, using the recommended needles and yarn, I might forego swatching. It depends, of course, on what I’m making (shawl vs cardigan) and whether the garment is for me or someone else. Currently I AM swatching for an intarsia shawl because I don’t want to find myself short of any of the many bits of yarn required for the pattern. I keep a notebook when I knit but I haven’t consistently recorded when and to whom I’ve given some garments. My notebook is mainly because I like to check off rows. My process is tedious and I do have row counters and other technology at my disposal, but I’ve learned the hard way that I’m more successful with my projects when I copy instructions and then check off the rows as I go. As far as the swatches I have knitted, I’ve either thrown them away (which I don’t like doing) or ripped them out in the hope of finding some purpose for the yarn.
Whatever process helps you get the results you want is the "right" process. I now row counters are essential tools for many knitters, but I haven't used them in years. I simply can't be trusted to move or click or check off at the end of each row. It works better for me to count pattern repeats. If it's a long expanse of stockinette stitch, I'll put a removeable stitch marker on every 10th row. Yes, I sometimes blow past the 10th row without placing a marker, but it's a simple matter to count 10 rows past the last marker and put it in after the fact.
We each find our own path to completion, and I love that there are so many tools to choose from. I've never kept a knitting notebook, but I do print out patterns so I can write all over them while I'm working (or print out the relevant sections of my spreadsheet if I haven't yet written the pattern). Knitting from an electronic device isn't for me.