lexicon

swatch	a sample piece of cloth (usage from the mid-17th century); in knitting, a small piece of cloth used to evaluate gauge
switch	a swatch indicating an undesired gauge or texture of fabric
swash	a washed swatch, the only reliable tool for measuring true gauge
swish	swatch less than 30 stitches wide, prepared by optimistic knitters
svetch	what you do when your swish lies
smatch	the act of approximating a single dyelot from multiple dyelots
smush	the act of cramming your knitting project into your backpack or similar receptacle
squoosh	a intensive (but feel free to debate this qualification) property of yarn, especially handspun
swoosh	the giant sucking sound made by yarn stores as you are pulled past the event horizon (defined in this case as the watershed for stashquisition; see here for other uses of general relativity)

Now that you mention it ...

Thank you, everyone, for your enthusiasm for my seaming technique as will as the sweater itself. I neglected to mention that the technique can be used to add width, a necessary element when I conceived of the approach. Oh sure, I had swatched, preparing not a swish, but a proper swatch - a swash, no less. After I cast on, I unfairly suspected that my swash had told swish-like lies. With a wide but shallow piece of knitting, still on the needles and not a proper swatch, I recalculated gauge. After knitting the body of my husband's sweater, I realize that I was moving treacherously toward negative ease. I hit upon the idea of adding a gusset from wrist to waist using garter stitch ridges. I could have used a single color, but I thought it would be more entertaining to use various colors, and additionally more likely to obscure the original conundrum.

Julie, thanks for stopping by! Your blog looks like a great place to noodle around.

Claudia, a Golden Ratio design would be most excellent. Apparently, the ratio of pitch to width for B-form DNA approximates the Golden Ratio.

Dave, it was indeed fun, at least after I recognized that a perfectly even distribution of live stitches on each side of the seam was required for getting the horizontal stripes to match. 

Mafia, thanks for the color compliment! I owe it all to my mom. (The nature versus nurture component is unresolved here, but the statement works either way.)

Ariel and Rebecca, the yarn used was Tibet Silk Wool. I just love the way it looks when knit up. The production values for the batches that I was using were not even, with some colors overwound, and some under-wound, which led to frequent disintegration mid-row. Rather than tink, I opted for weaving in the tails of outrage.

Colleen, I'll see what I can do about an action post!

Comments

[Judy]

I have always loved that sweater.

[heather]

Ha! Great use of words (again) glad to see that there are other (very apt) uses for event horizon!

[IHateToast]

capital of saskatchewan?
swatchkatoon.

[Dorothy]

No Swaearing (spelled right, pronounced Swah-air-ing)? The thing that we all do when we realize that we are heading toward an unexpected negative ease but not yet at the problem solving stage.

Very clever list. I may have to use a term or two although I freely admit to having to come up with my own designs because I rarely swatch or swish.

[Ariel]

I actually laughed out loud reading your lexicon. But you forgot smack, which is the pleasurably intoxicating, yet dangerously addictive, quality possessed by many natural fibers.

[Dave]

squee - the sound of many knitters laughing in delight at knitting jokes that no one else understands (or really want to understand)

[Rebecca H.]

Your definition of swish ("swatch less than 30 stitches wide, prepared by optimistic knitters") needs to be further refined. I knitting up a swatch of more than 30 stitches wide for yarn that in theory knits up at 3st/in is overkill.