Cider Apples

I read this poem in high school and it has really stuck with me. 

After Apple-Picking

BY ROBERT FROST

My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree

Toward heaven still,

And there's a barrel that I didn't fill

Beside it, and there may be two or three

Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.

But I am done with apple-picking now.

Essence of winter sleep is on the night,

The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.

I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight

I got from looking through a pane of glass

I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough

And held against the world of hoary grass.

It melted, and I let it fall and break.

But I was well

Upon my way to sleep before it fell,

And I could tell

What form my dreaming was about to take.

Magnified apples appear and disappear,

Stem end and blossom end,

And every fleck of russet showing clear.

My instep arch not only keeps the ache,

It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.

I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.

And I keep hearing from the cellar bin

The rumbling sound

Of load on load of apples coming in.

For I have had too much

Of apple-picking: I am overtired

Of the great harvest I myself desired.

There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,

Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall.

For all

That struck the earth,

No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble,

Went surely to the cider-apple heap

As of no worth.

One can see what will trouble

This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.

Were he not gone,

The woodchuck could say whether it's like his

Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,

Or just some human sleep.

---

I don't know if it means this to anyone else, but I have always interpreted the "cider-apple heap" as the drawer where one stuffs the work they have done that someone else says they don't like. Poetry, writing, and knit swatches have all had their cider-places in my life.

You know it's worth something. Maybe the idea will rise again. Maybe the exact same thing will look like a golden apple to a different judge.

But...but...

It's harder to look at the thing the same way. Even if it is not "not bruised or spiked with stubble." It's harder to see its worth once someone else has seen it and said, "no thanks." (Or worse, said nothing at all.)

Cascadia Winner!

The lovely Jen won out with the random number generator, even though she doesn't seem to believe Cascadia exists!

Call Me Kip

I'm reading The English Patient at night, before I go to sleep. As usual, if you like the movie, you'll probably love the book, since it's better.

I have something in common with Kip.  I work better when I have music to focus my mind. It has to be in a language I don't know. I wrote, and am now revising, my book while listening to various versions of Don Giovanni.

I'm glad I'm untangling my own mistakes and cleaning up words instead of bombs, though.

Writing, Revising, and Startitis

A tiny preview of something in my book.

"Startitis" happens for a reason. Casting on a project is way more fun than sewing on buttons or darning in ends, at least for me.

I'm working on the first round of edits for my first book. I say this hoping it will not be my last book. I'm on the stage that feels like choosing buttons. I'm not even to sewing on buttons, yet!

Editing, even though it is so important to good writing, isn't quite as much fun as writing, for me. It takes discipline. You have to love and hate your writing at the same time. Love it enough to spend time reading it carefully. Hate it enough to cut, delete, and change it.

There's a saying in the news business for a hard-nosed editor: "She doesn't mind killing other people's words." (In reality, that phrase is put in a way that is much colder, but I don't want the Google results that might come up if I use the one I know best.)

It is painful to realize that I have written something out in 2 pages what I can re-write in half a page. But, it's exciting to see that half a page when it is finished...and to realize that the half page maybe wouldn't have been possible without the 2-page draft that came before it.

I felt better about my ambiguous relationship to rewriting when I read A Moveable Feast. There's a section where Hemingway damns Stein's writing with faint praise. He writes about her great affection for writing, and how much she loves turning it out on a daily basis. But. She doesn't edit, rewrite, or even read her proofs for herself.

"This book (The Making of Americans) began magnificently, went on very well for a long way with stretches of great brilliance and then went on endlessly in repetitions that a more conscientious and less lazy writer would have put in the waste basket."

OUCH! I hope no one says something like that about me. I know some of my weaknesses. I tend to hyperbole. I use too many words when fewer will do. I'm trying to fix that, now.

Keys to the Castle Pattern Preview is Up!

The Keys to the Castle preview is now available on Ravelry. 

This pattern will retail for $4.99 but will be $3.99 to anyone who buys it through Ravelry during the preview period, which will end on Nov. 1. (You don't have to do the KAL to buy the pattern at the preview price, but why not do both?)

I will host a Knit A Long (KAL) within the I Dream in Color group for this pattern on Ravelry. (Consider joining, if you're not a member. It's free!)

KAL Rules:

- Any Keys to the Castle started after November 1, 2013 and finished on or before January 1, 2014 will be eligible for the prize.

- To be eligible for the prize, you must use any Dream in Color yarn and must post a photo of your completed project in the KAL thread on Ravelry.

- You can use the tag “DICcastleKAL” for your projects.

Prize: a skein of Perfectly Posh Sport in Heavenly, to be awarded at random amongst the eligible participants at the end of the KAL.

Here's how it works. If you buy the preview at the lower price (which is just one page basically saying what you need to make a gauge swatch), when the pattern goes "live" on November 1, 2013, I will send you an update with the whole pattern. Join in on the Knit A Long either way for a chance to win a skein of yarn.

P.S. - Until you have a project photo of your own, feel free to download this sleepy little guy to use on your project page. 

Getting ready to Dream in Color?

Design Inspiration: PB&J Cowl

When I saw the Hello Purl batts on the shelf, I knew I had to buy one. I had only been spinning for a few months, but they were just too awesome to pass up.

I brought it home, split it in half and spun it on my loaner Kiwi wheel.

I ended up with a nice, two-ply yarn that was roughly worsted-weight. 

My mom loves purple and sparkle, so I decided that it had to be something for her. There wasn't enough yarn for a shawl and she doesn't wear a lot of hats, so I played around a little bit and came up with a simple cowl shape that could work either with a lot or a little handspun yarn. 

I sent an email to the Ennea Collective about publishing my pattern. They said yes! They were a fun group. 

The result is the PB&J Cowl, named after the first art batt I ever spun. 

OK, enabling time:

Even for people who don't spin or aren't into art batts, I think this is a pretty awesome, easy pattern. 

2 skeins of Manos Del Uruguay Wool Clasica Space-Dyed Yarn would be more than enough.

2 skeins of Malabrigo Chunky would be gorgeous and super warm.

Or, ooooh, Marble Chunky would be awesome. Just one skein would work. 

Folder As Timeline

I use physical folders to bring together the few non-digital things I create as I'm working on a pattern. It holds my swatches, my first draft of the pattern with my notes, and any sketches I draw by hand. All of the folders go into one storage file, so that I don't lose them. The patterns, samples, and swatches for my book are all in their own storage file box. (I borrowed this idea from Hunter Hammersen, and I love it.)

In theory, it could ALL be digital, but I still end up with some physical stuff because I find proofreading (and making notes while knitting) on paper easier.

As I near the launch date for a pattern, I like to use the outside of the folder to outline finishing-touch goals for myself, with deadlines. I have a terrible memory and if I don't write things down, I literally lose sleep because I'm so worried that I forgot something.

The pattern is back from the tech editor (the lovely Stephannie Tallent), so all I have to do now is add some finishing touches to get ready for the pattern's pre-release next week. 

Quick Video

I was going to edit this video and make it a little more polished, but it's only 19 seconds long.

This way, you get to see me mess up, get the hang of it, and slow down again.

There will be a link to this video in the Keys to the Castle pattern.

Hitch Winner

The random number generator chose Laura, who blogs over at Tasteful Diversions. I hope you enjoy it, Laura!

Review of Cascadia (and a chance to win a copy)

Cascadia, according to the introduction, is dedicated to and inspired by “the mythical sounding temperate region bordering the west coast of Canada and the northern United States, and defined by the Cascades mountain range.” Edited by Amanda Milne and Fiona McLean of Knit Social, the book includes 11 patterns from 10 designers.

The ebook version of Cascadia is out. Paper copies are scheduled to become available very soon. I’m really pleased that Cooperative Press sent me a digital copy to look over - and one to share with you! I read mine on a PC using Adobe Reader. Your experience may vary a little if you are using an iPad or some other tablet. (Full disclosure: I am working with Cooperative Press on a book of my own. I am open to reviews of books from other companies, I just haven’t had any other offers yet.)

The closest I’ve been to that particular part of the world is Eugene, Oregon. If it’s at all similar, it is a place of tall trees, gentle rains, and really nice people.

The patterns are cozy and stylish, which is not always an easy combination to pull off. As in Hitch, the contents page takes full advantage of the ebook format. Simply click through the thumbnail to jump to the pattern you want. Hats, sweaters, socks and scarves are on offer.

There’s even a sweater designed for men, Wickaninnish, sized from 38.25” to 54.25” at the chest. A unisex (I think it could be rocked by anyone) sweater is a rare treat in a set of fewer than a dozen designs.

Speaking of treats, it’s harder to get sweeter than a sweater design is really cute on an adult and a little kid. There are two such sets in this collection. I’m kind of freaking out about how adorable Britannia looks. It is sized from newborn through 4XL women’s! It’s also a nice combination of cables and lace, which is hard to pull off, but looks great. Sea Glass, a sleeveless pullover that is sized for Girls 6-8 and three adult sizes, looks like it would be a quick, fun knit.

Britannia

My favorite would-knit-for-me design is Beacon Hill. It’s knit from the top down, has a lovely stitch pattern, waist shaping and a double-thick shawl collar. Be still my heart. It’s sized from 30” to 50.”

I have a digital copy of Cascadia to give away! Just leave a comment on this post by Midnight (New York time) on Wednesday, October 16. Tell me which pattern is your favorite, or your best memory from that part of the world.

I’ll use a random number generator to pick from the comments and announce the winner here on October 17, 2013. The ebook will be sent either to your email address or your Ravelry member ID, your choice. Good luck!

(Comments are moderated. If your comment doesn't show up right away, don't worry!)

Adorable Baby and Lighting

One of my friends agreed to let me photograph her adorable 3-month-old in the sample of Keys to the Castle. We made a date for me to come over on my lunch hour one day. It was a fun shoot. He is a super-relaxed and happy baby. The weather was pretty warm - in the upper 70s. I wouldn't have been cheerful if someone wrapped me in a wool/mohair/silk/cashmere sweater!

The sweater was a little big on him, but I think it still looks really cute. That might all be him, though. I tried three different methods of lighting him. They all work, just in different ways.

From first set of photos, light from handheld strobe, bounced off white ceiling. Color on sweater looks good, but skin tones can get a little strange with this method.

Second set of photos. This is all natural light coming in through the front door. In many homes, this is your best bet.

I'm still using a strobe, bounced off the ceiling, here, but I've lowered the shutter speed of the camera to allow more of the room's light to come in.

This last method usually gets pretty good color, but a fit of the cute squirmies can lead to somewhat blurred photos!

Design Inspiration: Sunday Morning Slippers

Sunday Morning Slippers came from my desire to improve an earlier design, my Short-Row Felted Slippers.

Boomer doesn't care about slippers.

Those first slippers were actually what encouraged me to write knitting patterns. They were only the second knit pattern I put on Ravelry, and they are still the most popular pattern I've ever written. (Part of their popularity is that they are free. A free pattern simply gets downloaded a lot more than most paid ones.)

I also learned a lot from comments and questions I got from people who made the slippers. Is there any way to make the back collapse less? How do I make knitting them a little less awkward? 

Instead of starting with the top of the slipper, I started right at the back. This simplified the construction and made most of the knitting more straightforward. Less time juggling stitches from one needle to the next helped a lot. I called them "Sunday Morning" because I knit a pair in a few hours at my Sunday morning knitting group.

I made the very back of the slipper a triangle instead of a rectangle, because I noticed that most shoes taper a little there, and it seemed it would help keep the sides from flattening out. I added notes to the pattern and video to help show a few of the more unusual techniques. 

Since I knit the first pair (and second, and third) from my own handspun yarn, I needed some ideas of commercial yarns people could use. A group of test knitters gave me great notes for improving the pattern and used their own yarns to suit them. They all used at least two strands of yarn held together to get to the yarn thickness needed for gauge and one knitter used 5 strands of Aran-weight yarn as one on a US 15 needle to make a men’s size 11 slipper!

The original pattern was designed to fit a woman with small-to-medium-sized feet. Knitters have expanded that a bit with their yarn and needle choices. That's one of the great things about Ravelry. You don't have to reinvent the wheel all of the time.

I love slippers and I'm always looking for new ways to try different techniques and shapes. In fact, I'm working on a new design right now. I just hope people like them and find them useful. 

Beth Brown-Reinsel's Kickstarter

You should donate to Beth Brown-Reinsel's Kickstarter campaign because her patterns need great photos (and good photography needs $) and there should be more of her ebooks/videos in the world.

I mean LOOK at that knitting. So pretty.

But, you could also consider that a signed copy of her book "Knitting Ganseys:"

1) Is awesome.
2) Was out of print for a while, so you may not have seen how awesome it is.
3) Pretty much costs $30 anyway.

There are a bunch of other things you can choose as your reward for helping her out, but I'm going with the book...

Illustrator and the Self-Publishing Knitter

I realize that Illustrator is out of reach for a lot of people. I wouldn't have it myself if I didn't have the entire Adobe suite because I teach photojournalism at a local college.

I'm hardly an expert on that software, but I know Photoshop and InDesign pretty well, and a lot of the controls are similar, so I don't feel completely lost. I decided not to redraw the whole sweater in Illustrator. I wanted to see what it would look like if I took a photograph of the sweater and used it as a basis for the schematic. I also could have used my original sketch, but I think the photo looks better.

I pulled a flat photo of the sweater into Photoshop, turned most of the background completely white, and imported it into Illustrator. Then, I just drew the lines and ovals I needed to show the measurements and added a few numbers with the Text tool.

It looks pretty clear to me. Although, I should probably whittle away a little more at that background and add a measurement for the length of the sleeves. The arrowheads are also maybe a little too big?

P.S. - If you want to learn new-to-you software in a way that's fast and easy, I can't recommend Lynda.com highly enough.

Review of Hitch - and a Giveaway!

I met Stephannie Tallent in person at TNNA this year. She looked kind of terrified when I said I had submitted a pattern to Hitch, which she edited. I think she was worried I would hate her because it didn’t get in.

On the contrary, I know that sometimes things just don’t fit into a theme. Putting together a collection of knitting patterns is a lot like choosing a portfolio of images. There are always good things that you have to leave out. Also, her rejection note was so nice!

I know that seems like an odd thing to think, but I’ve had some that really left me flat. A very terse: “Not for us.” Or, worse, SILENCE. Silence is definitely the worst. Rejection is a part of any creative endeavor, so it’s nice when someone takes the time to explain why a pattern won’t work for their project. I know time is a problem for a lot of people, but even a few well-worded form letters would help take the sting out of some rejections.

The ebook version of Hitch is out. Paper copies are scheduled to become available very soon. I’m really pleased that Cooperative Press sent me a digital copy to look over - and one to share with you! I read mine on a PC using Adobe Reader. Your experience may vary a little if you are using an iPad or some other tablet.

The book is almost 200 pages long and contains 29 patterns. I love the variety of patterns. There are socks, berets, sweaters (for men and women), various wraps/stoles and fingerless gloves. Twenty-seven different designers wrote the patterns for this book, which really shows Stephannie’s talent as an editor - if it weren’t for the credits, you could easily think they were all done by the same designer.

The cute film-reel style of the table of contents is really fun and makes choosing a project easy. I’m a visual person, so being able to see a photo, even if it’s tiny, helps me choose what I might like to knit. Also, because it’s an electronic book, you can click right through the thumbnail photo to jump right to the pattern. I love it that Cooperative Press is making ebooks that are so functional and going beyond them just being an electronic copy of a paper book.

There is a filmography near the back of the book, for those who are curious but haven’t seen a lot of Hitchcock movies. Basically, you could dial yourself into netflix and have a relatively thorough movie marathon using this list.

Let’s talk about yarn for a minute. Thirty-one companies provided yarn and/or notions support for the book. The list includes relatively large companies like Blue Moon Fiber Arts and wonderful independent dyers like The Verdant Gryphon. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a very large, well-stocked yarn store near you and want to branch out into buying independently-dyed or just very interesting yarns, this is a great list to check out. Links to each yarn company’s website are included.

Charts for patterns are clear and easy to read. Pattern stitches are given as written instructions, too, for the chart-phobic. Sizing is generous. The Greenwich Village Cardigan, for example, goes from XS to 3X. (The Not Your Gal Friday Sweater goes up to 4X.) The Robie Sweater, designed for men, has chest measurements that go from 36” to 54.” I know at least one zippered-pullover-loving woman who would really rock the 36” size. Scared of sewing in zippers? Not to worry, there’s a photo tutorial for that.

Measurements are given in inches and centimeters, so there’s no need to haul out a calculator if you use the metric system. Schematics make it easy to see which size will fit best, but it looks like those measurements are all in inches. Otherwise, I think, there would just be too many tiny numbers to cram onto the page.

In short, there’s something for everyone packed into this volume. Fortunately, I have a digital copy to give away! Just leave a comment on this post by Midnight (New York time) on Wednesday, October 8. Tell me which pattern from Hitch is your favorite (and if you have a favorite Hitchcock movie!)

I’ll use a random number generator to pick from the comments and announce the winner here on October 9, 2013. The ebook will be sent either to your email address or your Ravelry member ID, your choice. Good luck!

(Comments are moderated. If your comment doesn't show up right away, don't worry!)

Shooting (and Editing) Photos

The draft/test/sample version of Keys to the Castle knit up in a flash. I couldn't seem to put the little knit down, even when I was supposed to be doing other things at home.

After washing and blocking, I was ready for photography. I have a photo tiny studio in the corner of the living room. It's a little bit more sophisticated than this $12 set up, but it's not too far off. I have white paper instead of foil and two small strobes for lighting. (If you want info on how I choose strobes, I wrote about it here. One of mine was my mom's when she was in college.)

I shot the little sweater, along with all of the details I thought I needed, and one little one of it folded over that I couldn't resist. I am a huge sucker for detail and close-up shots of knitting and I always just kind of hope that people don't think that's really strange.

I pulled the photos into Photoshop, color corrected them and removed the spots that are a fact of life when you're using a 10-year-old digital camera. Then, I opened them all at once and looked at them, together, to make sure their colors match. Even in a studio-like setting, different angles will make the light bounce differently off of the fiber. I've noticed this is especially obvious with yarns that include silk, like this one.

Checking Color

Color is color and there's no such thing as perfect, but I want the colors to be as close to 1) reality and 2) each other as possible. 

I'm pretty thrilled!

So far, I've used Word, Google Docs, Adobe Acrobat, a Nikon D100, some really old strobes, an iPhone (to record video and shoot the first hand-drawn sketch), and Photoshop. I'm planning on using Illustrator to make a simple schematic, Premiere to edit the video, and a free Vimeo account to host the final video. Oh, and yarn, needles, and a little Soak. Does Netflix count as a design tool?

It takes a lot to do what looks so simple.

Coming Up: Illustrator and an Adorable Baby Model (not both at the same time.)

Design Inspiration: Eulalia Shawl

My grandmother Eulalia was always a warm, comforting presence in my life. She taught me that tea and toast make you feel better when you're sick and to never, ever stop having adventures.



Last April, we were planning a trip to Oklahoma to see her. She had been fighting heart disease for a while, and that spring, took a turn for the worse. We hoped to get to see her one last time.

We weren't as lucky as we wanted to be, and that trip turned out to be for her funeral. We packed our bags, I brought my knitting, and our family came together to say goodbye to a very sweet, strong woman.

With purple yarn that reminded me of her, I wanted to create some comfort for myself and as a testament to her. I cast on. I decided to use a little stockinette at the beginning and end of the shawl. The rolling inner and outer edges symbolized the lives that touched my grandmother and the lives that she touched. I think we are never truly finished with our life’s work but we wouldn’t have a place to begin, if it weren’t for those who came before us.

I had several false starts. I would knit for a while, then find that I had added too many stitches to one side of the shawl. The next time, I had too few. Then, I would accidentally knit all of the edge stitches instead of working them the correct way.

"This is a simple knit," I told myself. "It's seriously only four rows, for most of it. What's wrong with you?"

I guess sometimes you're just too upset to manage. If all I mess up is my knitting in those moments, I guess that's ok. Frustrated, I gave up and knit a sock - that turned out to be 4 stitches narrower than the one that was supposed to be its mate. I didn't notice the mistake until I started the toe decreases.

Back at home, I put down my knitting and cleaned out the basement. I felt like I was expressing my grandmother's very German need for order and peace.

When that was finished, I sat down and knit this shawl in two days. That's pretty fast for me. It IS really easy. I just wasn't ready to let go for a little while.

Nerd note on her rather unusual name: Her Germany-born parents heard the word (among other things, it is a type of grass), and liked it so much they used it as her name.

Casting On and a False Start

This is from the second try.

I churned through the first mock-up of the pattern pretty quickly. I was really eager to get this little sweater on the needles!

I like to have a rough draft of the pattern that is as complete as possible as I knit the sample. It's easier for me to take notes and make changes from that than to write out what I'm doing as I go.

I was working along, loving the yarn, and little questions kept nagging me, at the back of my mind. Had I accounted for the front band stitches? Was I really sure that the increase rows would work out well for every size? Did I have too many stitches on the back? Why were the smallest and 6-month sizes so close together in stitch count? There really did seem to be too many stitches being cast on all at once for the second tier of the neck for it to look right. 

I've learned not to ignore those questions for too long. A poetry teacher once told me to take anything you write and put it away, where you can't see it, for at least a day. A week is better. When you look at it again, all of the mistakes will leap out at you. 

I took a second look at the spreadsheet. I had forgotten to note where I was ignoring and where I was including the front band stitches. I needed some of them (but not all, because they overlap) for figuring out things like the real, final chest measurement of the resulting sweater. I didn't need any of them for figuring out if the 4x + 1 stitch pattern repeat right before the sleeves and body were divided would fit. 

Worst of all, I hadn't thought of it as a 4x + 1 stitch pattern repeat. I'd noted it as a 4x + 3 repeat. Two stitches may not sound like a big deal, but it mattered a lot, in this case. 

I struggled with it a little bit. This stage of design seems straightforward, but there are moments where it can feel like trying to make a bed with a blanket that's too small. I get it all good on one corner only to find that another corner is bare. I even went on Twitter and complained a little bit about it - and felt much better when other designers chimed in, saying that designing raglan-style sweaters is way harder than it looks.

I finally took out a pencil and paper and scribbled around a bit, writing down every decision I made about the math and why. That clarified things. I can get locked into the spreadsheet too much and lose sight of what I'm actually trying to accomplish.

I went through the pattern notes and inserted the new numbers, which now made more sense. I reprinted the pattern and started again, still madly in love with the yarn.

Swatches and Thanks

My bare-bones pattern is mostly a series of headings and questions to myself. This one started out like this:

Sizes To fit 3 [6, 12] months, although babies vary greatly. When in doubt, knit the larger size! Our adorable model is wearing the six-month size. (Does the family want the full name, first name, or just Adorable Model here?)

Finished dimensions Chest: 18 [19, 20] inches; Length: 9.74 [10.5, 11.75] inches.

Yarn Dream in Color, Perfectly Posh Sport, sport weight, 70% wool, 10% mohair, 10% silk, 10% cashmere. 320 yards/293 meters in 100 grams. Color A: Amber Glass; (HOW MUCH?); Color B: Heavenly: (HOW MUCH?). 

Needles #5 (3.75 mm) needles, or size needed to produce gauge. (CHECK THIS) Any kind of needle can be used, but you will also need two #5 double-pointed needles to make i-cord. 

Gauge 24 stitches = 4 inches in both one and two-color stockinette stitch. (CHECK THIS)

As it turned out, I was half correct about the gauge. 6 sts/inch was totally cool with #5 needles on the single-color portion of the swatch. The two-color portion, not so much.

I should stop here and say a big THANK YOU to Laura Ricketts, who became my instant friend in May when she drove up to see me on a personal mission to make me give up my fear of color-stranded knitting and intarsia. Her knitting is awesome and wonderful and almost as nice as she is in person.

Anyway, when I saw that the two-color portion of the swatch didn't succumb to my screaming at it and trying to block it wider (I don't know why that doesn't work), I did a second swatch with larger needles. That portion of the pattern changed to:

#5 (3.75 mm) needles, or size needed to produce gauge. (I needed to use #5 for one-color stockinette stitch and #6 for two-color stockinette stitch.) Any kind of needle can be used, but you will also need two #5 double-pointed needles to make i-cord. 

Swatches complete, I emailed a tech editor (Stephannie Tallent) to get on her schedule, messaged a friend who has an adorable baby about modeling for photos, and got to work putting together a spreadsheet to get actual stitch counts before casting on for the sample sweater.

Answering the Call

Magazine (and book) knitting projects usually have to be kept top-secret until they are published. For the last few months, I've been responding to more calls for designs from yarn companies. They can lead to really positive relationships for both parties. (As the designer, you really need to read what is wanted from you/what is being offered and decide if that will work for you. There are as many ways to do this as there are yarn companies!)

In this case, I sent a submission in to Dream in Color for their Perfectly Posh Sport yarn line. They offered to provide yarn support and some cross-promotion in exchange for running a knit-a-long of the design. 

I went to Paris in May on vacation and now I just can't shut up about it. Um, I mean I took a ton of photos and am turning to them for inspiration a lot, which probably bothers at least a few of my knitting-group friends. 

One was this little wood building on the grounds of the palace at Versailles, near where you can rent boats for the Grand Canal. 

I have no idea what it is. Guard warming house? Just cute? Anyway, I loved it. Looking at it a few months later with a knitter's eye, I thought it would be a cute baby sweater. I sketched a basic shape, figured out what sizes I wanted, and started writing a very rough draft of the pattern. In homage to the little building, I called the design Keys to the Castle.

This is the first page of the pdf I sent to Dream in color. 

They accepted my idea and suggested an alternative goldish-colored yarn to the one I picked off the website. I always bow to whoever has actually seen the yarn. Choosing colors from a computer screen can be a tricky proposition, at best. 

Tune in tomorrow for what happened when the yarn hit the needles...

Good Editing = Good Writing

Kate, who is just so adorable.

Years ago, one of my favorite teachers told me, "Good writing can't happen without good editing."

He was doubly correct when it comes to writing knitting patterns.

You can have a lovely knit sample and gorgeous photography for a pattern, but nothing can make up for unclear, ambiguous writing or mathematical errors.

If there's anything I've learned from working as a journalist, it's that no one, no matter how talented, experienced or careful, can be trusted to truly edit his or her own writing. At the absolute minimum, I firmly believe that every pattern should be printed out and read by at least one person who is not the original author. If nothing else, they might catch a grammar or spelling error.

Why does a grammar or spelling error matter to a knitter? Consider the relationship between a photographer and her subject. Some people are so nervous about having their picture taken that the slightest hesitation or misstep on the photographer's part blows apart their confidence entirely. They bail. They cut and run, at least emotionally. They challenge and criticize. Good photography might happen under those conditions, but great photography will be almost impossible.

A spelling error in a knitting pattern, even in the preamble that a lot of people don't take seriously, shakes the knitter's confidence. They may have paid good money for this pattern that looks like a rough draft.

Worse, and hiding in a thicket of k1 and p2, is a Math Error. This is often enough to destroy the knitter's confidence in the pattern, the designer, and even his or her self as a knitter. It's horrible.

Fortunately for all of us, there are people who have trained in the art and science of avoiding both. They're called Technical Editors, but they really should be called Pattern Guardian Angels.

I was really lucky and landed a great one with Knitty, Kate Atherley. She was prompt, gentle and kind. It takes a special kind of person to point out that you made a big, honking mistake without making you feel like an idiot.

Even better, when my pattern used a technique that she hadn't used before, she picked up yarn and needles and TRIED IT. (And, whew, said it worked.) That, ladies and gentlemen, is super awesome.

So, raise your needles (or hook, or spindle, or shuttle) in salute to the humble technical editor, who doesn't even always get credit for his or her work. Without them, we would all be sending each other many less-than-happy messages on Ravelry.

Design Inspiration: Tootsie Socks

My Tootsie socks were published in the Spring + Summer 2012 edition of Knitty. Appearing in Knitty was way too exciting for words!

In December of 2011, I had just written a review of The Knitter's Book of Socks and was returning the copy I used to the library. (I now have one of my own - a Christmas gift from my sweetie.)

I turned the book around to put it into the return slot and looked at the orange/brown sock on the cover from the side. I thought, "Why not knit a round heel that ends on the back of the heel?"

I had already experimented with one or two afterthought heels, and had a few notes jotted down about making an afterthought heel that included a gusset. So, I sat down with needles and yarn that weekend and worked out how the decreases would have to work to get the shape I wanted. I showed the result to my friend, Allison, the owner of Simply Socks Yarn Company, and she told me I should send the idea in to Knitty.

I worked up a pair of grey-and-white socks, using the heel and a simple twist-stitch rib pattern that I had swatched a few times, but hadn't found the right project before. I photographed them in a very awkward way using myself and a mirror as the model, and sent it off.

When I heard that they wanted the design, I literally did a dance for joy. The color change was suggested and I knit up a pair in Tangerine and Chocolate.

Then, a wonderful turn of luck landed my twin sister in town on the weekend that I really needed to photograph the final socks. Allison let us use a little space in the shop and we had a great photo shoot. It is still the most fun I have ever had taking photos of handknits.

Restarting

I'm still going to keep the podcast at the Journal Gazette site and I blog frequently there, too, but I want to restart this blog as a way to talk about my design process for non-secret projects.

I've been working on a book about sock knitting, and that's taken a lot of my energy, but I also learned to weave, which is still very exciting.

So, I want to chat here about what I'm doing, my hopes, dreams, etc. I hope you want to come along.

Transition

We had a few bumps with iTunes, but it seems to be working well now. So, if you have been disappointed in the last few weeks with the feed, I invite you to try again. Thanks for listening! I will have a big, big show this Sunday, featuring an interview with a Big Deal Knitter.

Moving Day

I have moved to http://www.journalgazette.net/craftyliving and, barring major catastrophe, will be putting out a new show every Sunday! Come visit the blog in-between shows to see what else is going on in the crafty universe and in our neck of the woods.

Watch This Space...Or That Space, anyway

I'm going to be relaunching Math4Knitters as Math4Knitters: Crafty Living to go with the Crafty Living blog and column at the Journal Gazette and http://www.journalgazette.net/ in January of 2010. I will probably do another post with the exact link to the blog when it starts, but I'm told that the link will be http://www.journalgazette.net/craftyliving.

I will be aiming for a weekly schedule and the content will loosely match up with the content of the Crafty Living blog/Sunday column. Hopefully, there will be a new podcast up every Sunday. There will be an RSS feed from the blog/podcast, but I don't know how long it will take me to get it on iTunes.

As always, any questions or comments are appreciated! You can still find me on Ravelry as math4knitters, and I may cross-post major updates for the podcast to this site. Old shows will still be available for download as long as I remember to pay the bill for the hosting...

Settling In

Once again, I have NOT podfaded, but life has a way of laughing at my plans to podcast. I moved for a new job and am very excited about everything here. That means that my computers/microphone/etc. are still scattered around my apartment. So, bear with me. I promise I will have something coming up, just in time to be too late for Christmas (just like everything else I am doing this year).

Alternative to Knitted Objects for Presents:

-1 big ol' mug, ideally from thrift store, maybe with ironic or cute design
-packet of dry "mix" from recipe below - just mix the flour, sugar and cocoa together
-5-Minute Mug Cake Recipe

4 Tablespoons flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
splash of vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons chocolate chips

Instructions:

Mix flour, sugar and cocoa, or dump in contents of packet, if using mix.

Add egg, stir well.

Pour in milk, oil and vanilla, mix well.

Add chocolate chips.

Cook in microwave for 3 minutes on high. (The cake may rise above the mug, but don't worry.)

Allow to cool a little, tip out onto a plate, and enjoy!

Episode 44: A Mix

On today's show I talk about getting paid in yarn, sock toes, designing for short and round people, and substituting yarn/changing gauge/WIP HIM. I also annoy everyone by having to stop and google for Annie Modesitt's site. I mentioned Modesitt and White Lies Designs as being especially good for girls with curves and Big Girl Knits and its sequel, More Big Girl Knits.

Download Episode 44.