Let the Testing Begin!

Completely unexpectedly, Ludi is now finished except for having some decent photos taken. This is the best I could do with an iPhone camera and me as the photographer. Thanks to software, most of the writing was already done, I just had to add some details and format. Sometimes, technology rocks! So now I am starting the testing process on Ravelry, with the goal being to have a finished product available on December 20th!

Ludi is the Latin word for games or festivals. This slouchy hat is fun and playful with the cables and textures, but will still keep you warm all winter. 

PS I couldn't resist a Harry Potter reference in the title of the post.

Long Time Coming

It's hard to believe it has been almost one year ago exactly that I last posted. The downside of studying abroad and senior year, I guess. I have patterns for a hat, shawl, and a cowl that should be available once I get the chance to write them up and knit decent test samples. The hat and cowl patterns, Ludi and Putnam respectively, will be available most likely in late December when I have a chance to finish the samples and take pictures. I wonder if I could convince a friend to pose for them...

I took advantage of the Cyber Monday sale at Knit Picks. I have this idea for a baby blanket with a little bit of intarsia on it. It would be the silhouette of a baby on a tricycle following by it's parents on bikes. Considering I am related to so many cyclists, I figure it will be perfect for whoever has a baby first. I ordered a bunch of Basalt and Green Tea Simply Cotton Worsted that they had on sale for 50% off. Crossing my fingers that they can fill it!  

Been Busy, so here's some pics!

Sorry that this has been my first post in a while, but I've been busy working on Christmas gifts (which I can't mention since they read this). I just finished a pretty scarf based on the Kernel pattern on knitty (though I altered it considerably). And am also working on baby hats based on my Amphitryon and Braids and Chains (I really need a better name) patterns. Be sure to check out the Patterns tab for more information. Also, my mom and Jason took some very pretty pictures of my hats for me.

More designs!

First of all, as Stephani pointed out, there was a error in the Crooked Cable Pattern. Row 2 should have ended the repeat with k6. I fixed this in the pattern on Ravelry. Second, check out the Hats page (link on the sidebar) for hats that I have available for sale. Also, I have another pattern ready for testing- Amphitryon (pictured above). It's named after the play I'm reading in Latin right now. It just reminded me of it, though I don't know why.

Crooked Cable Cap now available

I have written up the directions for the Crooked Cable Cap, both sizes, and posted them as a free Ravelry download: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crooked-cable-cap The only slightly confusing thing, and one of the reasons that this is a free pattern, is that in order to offer two sizes, it made more sense to just write two different patterns. The S/M fits a small-average woman's head while the M/L fits average woman- average male. My head is 22", which is about average and both sizes fit me, but M/L is a little more loose. The cables and eyelets give it a lot of stretch.

First Pattern Up!

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is officially for sale! I don't have better pictures yet, but for now this one will do fine. I finished a first version of Crooked Cable Cap, but there is a quirk for sizing: the only way I can make it look good for both the S/M and the M/L is to adjust the numbers of stitches in each repeat. The decreases only work if the pattern is repeated an even number of times around, so it works better for sizing if there is 11 st in the S/M and 12 in the M/L. It looks very similar and the sizes are better spaced than they would be if I used the same number of stitches.

Lucy in the Sky test

Wow, I'm an idiot. I really need to triple check myself when writing patterns considering how easy it is to spot the error once I bother to compare it to the chart. I just can't seem to write row 7 correctly, though I think I fixed that now. Biggest lessons from this test: edit heavily before asking for testers (I literally just finished this one before I had all my testers because I was assuming that it would take longer to find volunteers) and when changing the chart, rewrite the line in the written pattern while comparing it to the chart instead of just editing it because it is easy to miss other parts that are affected by the change.