Swatch-ya Doin'?

When I was younger and learning to sew from my step-great-grandmother (long story), she ALWAYS required that I baste stitch EVERYTHING together before I could sew it. This always seemed like poor time management to me. Why would I want to sew it twice? Then one summer I went to visit my grandmother in the valley who decided to sew me some clothes while I was there for two weeks. She did not baste one single stitch. She just laid it down and stitched it together. I was converted!! I wanted to be a rebel like her. However, since we actually lived with my step-great-grandmother (another long story), I had to continue to baste until we moved out. And I never looked back.

It occurs to me that this forced basting is the reason that I don't swatch to check my gauge when I knit. It would also be why I have never progressed beyond scarves and items that don't require exact dimensions. I guess I should have known my day would come where I would have to revisit another one of my issues (why, oh why, does the universe insist on self-improvement?).

I have started working on a blanket that my local yarn store calls the Simon Bebek (SIx MONths to BEcome a BEtter Knitter) blanket. Basically it is a piece-meal blanket with squares that you create using different types of knitting for each square.

Well in order to make sure that the squares are the correct size, you HAVE TO SWATCH. Crap...I have two options forget about this blanket...continue on my scarf-y path and not look back. Or grow up and swatch.

Well, we know I am all about the self-help...so here goes...

This is the pre-washed swatch...coming in at just over 5 inches in length...

And here is the washed and blocked swatch...

So now that I have completed the swatching to check my gauge...I have started the first square which is an Embossed Square. We will see if the swatching paid off...