Knitty Wrote About Me!

Reviews are every author's bread and butter, even if they don't know it. Hearing that a friend "gets" your work is a nice thing, but it's truly wonderful and exciting when it's another person in your field.

It takes a lot to write a book. I mean time, of course, and work, but also a little courage, chutzpah, guts, craziness, or whatever you want to call it. You write, you work, you sweat, you cry, and you do it all not knowing if it will be useful to anybody or if anyone will want to read it.

So, anyway, I'm very, very happy today.

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.