I laugh to myself when our customers come in and say "I don't know how you work here, I would buy all the yarns if I were here all day".  The reason it is funny is because we are all in the same boat.  The best example is pictured at left.  I have totally fallen for the new spring yarns(or you might want to think of them as 3 season yarns).  Because I need to knit spring/summer samples for the store  I stashed away my woolen projects. Right now I want to work up something in cotton, linen or silk; just not wool.  The beauty of knitting/crocheting garments for this time of year is that usually the garments have short or no sleeves and therefore get done quicker.  I zeroed in on these 4 yarns;  On Line Donita, Berroco Indigo, Berroco Remix and Juniper Moon Farm Zooey.  I love the colors, and the textures of these four in particuliar.  In contrast to my usual style I decided to swatch first and then pick out patterns based on the final swatches.  The silk and the cotton in these blends will cause the knitted fabric to change after washing so I made myself wash and dry the swatches before measuring.  I decided to start with the bright orange Donita.  Once I found the fabric I liked I was able to determine the gauge.  The gauge helped me narrow down my garment choices and I finally decided on the pattern Drift
knowing that I will make it a short sleeve.  The last part of the swatching journey required that I knit in the round and narrow down my needle size because I knit differently in the round.  Watch for the finished piece! Erika