Sifting Through The Stash

The overwhelming urge to pour through old photos in order to clean up some disk space came over me at 4 A.M. this morning. While going through my files, I was surprised and inspired by what I uncovered. If it wasn't for my insomnia, I may have never given some of these photos a second thought.

Some time ago, (pre-life-of-a-full-time-editor) I used to document my works in progress, or projects that I'd like to revisit later. I would often take a photo of specific stitches, or balls of yarns, and in this case, 4" x 4" swatches, arranged by color for a future blanket I had in mind.

The Power of The Swatch
About 15 years ago, I first learned the importance of swatching is relation to knitwear design. Taking the time to swatch with several different kinds of yarns, stitch patterns and needle sizes is the imperative first step in determining a design. Everything you need to know about that yarn is "programed" on that perfect little square: stitch and row gauge, drape, texture. Deborah Newton, the "queen of the swatch" encourages this elementary process in her book: Designing Knitwear. I will always hold this book near and dear to my heart, because it gave me my first "Ah" moment about designing. Reading her book helped me to learn and apply new methods, and helped me gain a greater understanding about how to design knitwear.

I just so happens that Deborah has also authored a new book by Leisure Arts: Warm Weather Knits. As the title implies- this book is a compilation of knits to wear during the warm months of the year. Deborah reviews the types of yarns suitable for warmer climates, such as cotton, bamboo and other natural fibers. She also discusses how versatile warm weather knits can be no matter what time of the year. As a former Floridian, I can say safely suggest that light-weight knits can certainly come in handy during the cool Florida winter months!