Swatch 2: k1p1 rib with stockinette

Two down, 13 to go.  And the 15th one is not a swatch it is a hat.

Anyway, glass is half full . . .

Swatch 2, front side, before blacking

Here's swatch 2.  You can see how it has a smooth side, which means instead of every row knitting (needle from from to back, wrap and remove to right needle) we introduce the purl stitch.  Every other row is knit; which means every other row is purl.  (needle into the front loop on the needle, but from back to front, and yes, the words make it sound worse than it is.  Pictures are better.)

And here is the back side.  Rows look like bumps instead of smooth.  This is the purl row side.

Swatch 2, back side, before blocking

You can see how it curls on the edges.  This is what it looks like before I wet it down, pin it down and steam it, and then let it dry.  (Blocking)

So, it was time to start "The Notebook" -- the one that I will send off to the judges.  Which brings me, a bit late, to The Knitting Guild Association.  I'll be following their precise instructions for knitting the swatches and presenting my work.  Knitting, like a lot of life, requires more than a bit of precision.  In sewing it's straight seams; in quilting it's the seam thing plus matching the right corners; in building a house it's making sure things are plumb; and in knitting it's the yarn, the gauge, the needles, the stitches, the pattern, the seams, the blocking, the finishing.

Swatch 2 in a page-protector, in the notebook

The folks at The Knitting Guild Association have a 27 page document detailing every aspect of the submission, from type of yarn to stitches for each swatch, to (yes!) the size of the notebook -- as in 'not more than a 2" binder.'  Here's a picture of swatch 2 in my notebook.  More on this later as I fill it.

Please note the outrageously rebellious nature of the notebook.  It's BLUE because they didn't specify and I had a blue one in the no-longer-needed collection of why-did-I-think-I-needed-that Business Supplies