Not only have I knit a swatch, I knit three! This is really saying something since I hate to knit these things and usually skip this step. ~which could have a lot to do with why I am always surprised at the size of my finished projects, ya think?~ I also took the wild step of measuring my gauge before and after washing. And as if this incredible turn of events isn’t enough, one of the swatches was knit in the round! good grief – I hardly recognize myself!
here is a little tip for knitting gauges in the round. I got this from Susan, the wildly talented knitting mother of the wildly talented Kathleen – it is genetic! I was most likely belly aching about knitting a swatch in the round, saying that you would need to cast on loads of stitches and at that point it wasn’t a swatch anymore. She told me to cast on the normal amount of swatch stitches, but instead of doing a purl back row, simply slide the work to the other end of the needles (just like i-cord knitting) and knit the next row. I suppose I should mention that you need to do this on circulars or dpns. The swatch with the side fringes is the circular swatch – I snipped the traveling yarn in order to get an accurate measurement.
I don’t know if this picture is clear enough, but if it is please voice your opinion on your favorite swatch. I am holding fast to my favorite but am beginning to suspect I may be in the minority.
purlingswine 
I vote for the swatch done “in the round”…but maybe because it’s in the front?
Beautiful yarn!
Are you knitting this flat or in the round? Truth be told–as it should always be :) I like the one done in the round. I prefer the color distribution. It is, however, difficult to see the “fabric” from the pictures. Get Cara to take a picture for goodness sake!
I love the yarn!
I can’t really tell, but I think the one knit in the round looks a little stiff. How is the drape on it? How does it relax after washing? ;)
[I am leaning towards the one in the back or the one knit in the round. Depends… ;) ]
I like them all.
Okay, I know… so, if you twisted my arm, I’d pick the one in front.
; )
Truth be told I can’t see anything much in the swatches. The colors look good in the round, however. Leave off the garter edges. Is your sweater going to have garter egdes?
It’s hard to tell but… I like the one in the front with all the fringes and the one at the top of the photo is my second favorite.
Sue is amazing isn’t she? I vote for the one on the right. I can’t say why,I just like the color pooling and the look of it.
OK, just honesty here. The upper left seems to bring OUT the yarn while the circular seems best, the middle one seems at risk of pooling. The color is great reminds me of a tiger. Grrr – go swatchem Annie!
The circular knit swatch has the best distribution of color. But will it remain that way with the appropriate number of stitches for the pattern????
I agree with kathleen . Hard to tell .. but I am very impressed with you doing 3 swatches!
I like the one done in the round since the fabric looks firmer. The ones in the back look a bit drapey for me, but then it depends on what you are making. Maybe drapey would be good.
Zounds! I never ever knit a swatch in the round — maybe now I will. And the finished object will not be such a surprise :-)
What? Nothing about SuperKnit Sunday???
I’m chiming in with a vote for the one done in the round. As far as I can tell from the picture, it looks like that’s the one with the most even stitches. Don’t you feel so responsible doing *three* swatches *and* washing them? You should be proud of yourself. The yarn is gorgeous, btw.
I like the one in the back. :-)
Hi Ann,
My vote goes to the one in the back. I like the randomness of the colors.
Rosane.
I too have never done a swatch, I like the one in the front the best.
Why should baby have to climb into a cold seat? You are quite the useful human.
would your swatches be Araucania’s Natures Wool? I made a v-neck with a colorway that looks the same as your swatches. It blocked beautifully and I have since made two more sweaters from this line, one is fern green and the other chocolatey.