I try to test any directions I publish in my posts, those swatches vary in size and fiber content, and I often add other pertaining specifics. I also taught in a design studio for a very long time, where the first 9 of 12 weeks were spent exploring stitch structures and techniques, and at least one wall in the studio was covered with new samples knit by me each week. Textured ones were knit in wool, a yarn with “memory”, and many of the larger swatches pictured are from that stash, some have been in “storage” for well over a decade, and they are photographed “untouched” in terms of steaming, pressing, etc. I am not a “photographer”, the shots are casual ones now taken with an i_phone. Keeping images in constant size on the blog page sometimes plays with aspect ratio in terms of getting a sense of the actual finished product’s width or length. As for the colors used: because the knit studios were open to anyone enrolled, yarn was stored on shelves unless purchased by individuals for personal use. I got in the habit of using contrasting colors that were easily identified to avoid my demo cones from being used, and also found this helped define edges in design changes, with lighter colors more visibly illustrating how stitches are actually formed in the hooks of the needles. Any use of “my yarn” was immediately recognizable, and as an added plus the colors used also helped reduce disappearance of samples at any workshops outside the school environment. The swatches were intended as sprinboards for ideas, not to be used as they were for any finished garments or to illustrate completely resolved fabrics.