Holy slog-fest, Batman!

Oh my.  I am on Swatch #9, my friends.  And there are 24 swatches.  Then there are the projects, and of course I am working on the questions as I work on the swatches.  Don’t forget the history paper and the book report.  This is a Vast Undertaking, Constant Reader.  I wonder how much of this I will have to re-do after the first submission.  Joyful thought, no?

Here are the pieces of Swatch #7, blocked, before seaming.

Yes, those are the dreaded Stair Steps of Doom.  I try to avoid them at all costs in real-life knitting.  Of course, that’s the answer to one of the questions: compare and give your opinion on seaming these bound-off steps (ugh!), short rows and three-needle bind-off (yay!), and short rows and Kitchener stitch (meh).  Guess what I’ll be saying.  But I did actually learn how to seam those stair steps without having it look like the dog’s dinner.  The seaming yarn is dark grey.  Ta da!

Swatch 8 was nice by comparison: short rows (which I do in the manner described by Cat Bordhi in New Pathways for Sock Knitters, Book One) and three-needle bind off, also known as joinery cast off.

Swatch 9 is in the works, but consists of the same instructions for Swatch 8 up until the bind off, when you have to graft it with Kitchener stitch.  Since I am a certified (certifiable?) Sock Maven, I don’t expect this to be too horrible.  Then I need to answer the question mentioned above, and then I need to trip tra-la along since there are so many more swatches!  Zoiks! and away!