SWATCH NUMBER 17

SWATCH NUMBER 17
was knitted by Rita of Medford, MA, United States of America

MEANING OF SWATCH
This mitred square is my contribution to the Giant Sock of Greytown. It is a smaller version of a square I knitted as part of a charity initiative for Haiti. So the theme for this swatch is 'Hugs 4 Haiti'.

SWATCH NUMBER 16

SWATCH NUMBER 16
was knitted by June of Auckland, New Zealand
MEANING OF SWATCH
I chose to knit a garter stitch swatch because last year I 'found' Elizabeth Zimmerman's books and garter stitch became very 'acceptable'. I used a hand dyed yarn because the joy of yarn and the enthusiasm of the dyer lives in the yarn, and all this positive energy and my knitting has kept me going on through very hard times.

SWATCH NUMBER 15

SWATCH NUMBER 15
was knitted by James of Greytown, New Zealand
Ravelry ID KiwiJames
MEANING OF SWATCH
This is a swatch I knitted to try a new technique... knitting a square on double pointed needles, working from the centre out. It was a little more tricky than I thought it would be but the finished product was worth it. I used one of my favourite yarns... Regia Designline Mirage in the colourway 'Earth'.

SWATCH NUMBER 14

SWATCH NUMBER 14
was knitted by Judy of Martinborough, New Zealand
MEANING OF SWATCH
For me, knitting is all about having fun and enjoying myself. That's why I chose the brightest and most colourful yarn I had in my stash. The colour is called 'candy' ... another reason to love it. I used stocking stitch because it's the stitch pattern I use most.

SWATCH NUMBER 13

SWATCH NUMBER 13

was knitted by Margaret of Masterton, New Zealand
MEANING OF SWATCH

I made the swatch to show two of my favourite things... cats and the colour blue. I found it very difficult to design and knit an image of a cat this small but I persevered and was very happy with the finished result. I hope you are too!

SWATCH NUMBER 12

SWATCH NUMBER 12

was knitted by Sarah of Paraparaumu, New Zealand

Ravelry ID kiwiknitgirl

MEANING OF SWATCH

I made the swatch in my favourite yarn - Vintage Purls Sock Yarn. this is a limited edition colourway called "Blushing Beauty!" I love lace knitting so tried a new pattern as the Vintage Purls yarns look stunning in lace. The swatch is dedicated to my Great Grandmother, Jane Ann, who was a sock knitter. She had a big influence on me and I'm glad we share something in common.

SWATCH NUMBER 11

SWATCH NUMBER 11

was knitted by Win of Masterton, New Zealand

MEANING OF SWATCH

This swatch is all about taking a chance and learning something new at the same time. When I first saw the bi-tone honeycomb stitch I was intrigued and immediately wanted to use it in a project. It looked difficult and beyond my knitting abilities but I was determined to learn how to knit it. Recently I saw a class advertised which would teach the stitch so I enrolled and excitedly waited until the day of the class. Unfortunately I was frustrated by my efforts during the class in that I couldn't quite get the knack of crossing the cables quite right and ended up with a few free-form cables. However when I got home that night I sat down to attempt the stitch again and I persevered until I got it right... and here is the result! A bi-tone honeycomb swatch with a moss stitch border featuring my two favourite colours of lime green and violet. Knitting the swatch was a wonderful way of mastering a stitch I had admired for some time and it has given me the confidence to try other new stitches.

SWATCH NUMBER 10

SWATCH NUMBER 10

was knitted by Nola of Masterton, New Zealand

MEANING OF SWATCH

I love to knit and I love my family. Knitting this swatch was the perfect combination of both those things for me. The yarn used is Magic Garden and over the years I've used that yarn to knit a garment for each of my grandchildren. For this swatch I've selected the left overs from those garments and knitted one stripe in each of the colours to represent each of my grandchildren.

SWATCH NUMBER 9

SWATCH NUMBER 9

was knitted by Joy of Hamilton, New Zealand

MEANING OF SWATCH

For my birthday this year my son, Jamie, knitted me a beautiful pair of socks which I love to bits. I asked if I could have the left over yarn and when he gave it to me I decided to use it to knit up this swatch. The yarn is a Vintage Purls Limited Edition colourway called Fuschia Frenzy and Jamie chose it for me because we both love the flowers it was named after and between us we have several varieties in our gardens. The stitch pattern I've used is the one used in my socks and it's a rib and cable pattern he calls London's Calling. My husband and I both taught Jamie to knit at an early age and it's wonderful to see that after all these years he's still enjoying his knitting so much.

SWATCH NUMBER 8

SWATCH NUMBER 8
was knitted by Carolyn of Masterton, New Zealand.

MEANING OF SWATCH
When I agreed to knit a swatch for this project I had no idea what to do in terms of a pattern or a story to go with it. I searched through my yarns until I found this colourful one which put a smile on my face and created this moss stitch swatch which in many ways represents the ups and downs in life. I then decided to sew on the buttons in matching colours to create a little face... it reminds me of the button eyes on home made teddy bears.