A Break Through

 That moment of pure joy when a pattern that I am writing finally clicks in my head.  The moment I know that I can walk and knit the pattern at the same time. Of course I don’t because I need an accurate row count. I also need each line of the pattern to count out equally.  I need to hit my magic number on every single row. I also need the geometry of the pattern to aline.   I also know how the pattern is going to be typed up without sending it out to my daughter to decipher.  How to type it up with out having to type more than 250 rows of the pattern. The moment the pattern does not look like a dyslexic dance party. The moment the pattern stops swirling on the page. I figured out how to get the instructions down to beginning and end with 2 other sections just repeated.  The math is now easier too. 

This only took me a few months.  This is one of the complicated patterns  that I can knit while walking and talking that I have ever written down.  The end is in site.  Now to decide where I am going to put the blocking cubes. In summer I put them outside, it’s January hence it is not summer.   I also have to find a table to photograph it on. We have been getting rid of things that we don’t need or use anymore, the coffee table left 3 or 4 years ago. This is probably poor planning on my part not to have the foresight of my needs years into the future.  I wonder If can go into World Market and use one of their coffee tables to take the pictures? I would give them credit in the pattern.  I will have to call them.  This is all the easy peasy stuff.  

A Busy Day

 Sometimes the perils in pattern writing is the the letters and numbers dance around the page like a Conga line dances through a room.  My current pattern fits this to an exact T as in T Square.  Today I tried to figure out if I hit that magic sweet spot of pattern section repeats.  I simply could not figure it out.  So I will keep knitting and working the pattern out row by row. I just have to have things add up to my magic number and maintain the angles, it’s really not that hard until I can no longer walk, talk and knit at the same time. This sitting down to write  patterns down is sometimes very hard work.

If I take this pattern row by row it is a very delightful knit.  Just enough change from row to row to keep the pattern interesting.  My student whom I am writing it for, loves the pattern so far. She is on section 2 around row 8.  She likes the fact that after so few rows knit and purled stitches a pattern is visible.   That makes me so happy.  I am only 2 full sections ahead of her so I have to find more time to finish this.  

In other news the bathroom is now painted.  I just have to pull the tape off the grab bar.  Give it a few days to dry. This is where a second shower is very helpful. Then put everything back where it belongs.  Also just a few projects to go before craft room 1 is ready to become the guest room.  My new storage containers for craft room 2 are somewhere in Phoenix. Hopefully they will arrive tomorrow, they were supposed to be here today, alas this is the season of shipping hiccups. 

I also came up with an innovative way to put my shoes away. I slip on one pair and walk to my closet   Take the shoes off and put them away. I repeated this process until all my shoes were put away while bring laundry from the clothes line to the closet’s. I got 2 chores done at once and added steps to boot.

I am hoping despite be sore all over, all day that I will sleep tonight.  Wish me luck.  

A Busy Day

 I had a very busy day today.  I ran errands until my lesson.  I transferred my students knitting from 14 inch straight knitting needles to circular knitting needles , in the process I knit one row.  All I can say about that is ouch.  

My big failure of the day was trying to write a lace pattern with just a pencil and paper.  I tried making a chart. That was an erasers heaven.  Then I tried visualization of the pattern in my head and tried to write it out long hand better, but I could not figure out if the knit 2 stitches together should be in the middle of three stitches or right before the yarn over. The shawl is on hold until I can knit again or figure out the knit 2 together thing  

I think I will look around my yard for inspiration on a washcloth patterns.  No yarn overs to place.  I was thinking of sitting outside and playing with cactus, no not literally. Rather with graph paper and a pencil.  Maybe even a small cottonwood tree.  

I have to find away to end my boredom.

New Designs and a Contest

The best thing I love about designing new patterns is that I can change the flow of the pattern at the drop of a hat.  Well today the hat dropped on the new NH Shawl. I was knitting and did not like my ending. So today at lunch I looked through my design bibles. I found an ending that I like but wanted it less over the top.  So I am modifying a ruffled edging.  Hey, just because it’s in a stitch bible does not mean I have to use it as written. It is called pattern design for a reason. I should have it done by tomorrow and then  start writing the pattern.

Now to the fun part of the new pattern. My second pattern of this year. Will I be able to get it self published by the end of the month, remember it’s a short month.  It does not matter if you are right or wrong. Just send in your guess of yes or no with contest written in the subject line to skaro964@gmail.com.  The winner will get an assortment of my choosing of my hand spun yarn and some stitch markers plus a copy of my new pattern. I will put all of the names in a bowl and John will pick the winner. By the way John does not know that he volunteered for this job.

Just to let you know that this contest is open to everybody, but those outside of the United States will be asked to share the cost of postage if they win. This will be the difference of the the U.S. postage and the international rate.  This contest is not sponsored or endorsed by blogger.com. I am solely responsible for the prizes.