If you've been watching the Olympics, you'll appreciate the amount of work that athletes put into their sport. While we knitters have very little to compare with a successful bobsled run or figure-skating routine, we can do some simple daily exercises to improve our skills.

It begins with a cast-on row. Then, we work a fresh row of stitches, then another, then another. Soon we have a lovely square of fabric in our hands.

The swatch serves no functional purpose. But it does teach us many things about gauge, technique, tension, yarn construction, fibers, and more—if we let it.

In honor of all those fine athletes, and all you fine knitters, it's time to celebrate the swatcher's manifesto.

Coming Up
The Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat takes place this weekend at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Washington. The following weekend, Stitches West fills the Santa Clara Convention Center with a full roster of workshops, demonstrations, and a marketplace.

In the Forums: Wash that Swatch
Many years ago, Ceil knit her husband a beautiful vest. She dutifully knit her gauge swatch, but she failed to wash it. The results have been haunting her every time her husband donned that vest. A few days ago, she frogged it and cast on a new sweater. She called it an emotional frogging, and the relief was immediate. Has this ever happened to you?

Need help logging into the Forums?

As always, I thank you for letting me be a part of your knitting life.

We'll talk again on February 27th!

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On the Cover

Some swatch doodling

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