pattern design work

No more rash promises about when the pattern will be posted. Every day brings renewed appreciation about what's involved in pattern design and publication. It may be a few more days yet before I'm ready. The pattern has been finalized, charted and test knit twice. The row by row instructions are in progress, and, once complete, will need to be test knit a couple more times. I've decided to call the pattern "Scrub•Bee" and designed a treatment for the pattern name. And with the last few days of bright sunshine, I've finally got photos that I'm happy with - no easy feat with off white cotton cloths. All this work, just for a dishcloth! I shudder to imagine the herculean efforts involved in bringing a book like Sock Innovation to print.

tent sale

Two and a half hours there, two and half hours back, but still worth it! Shirley, Christine and I made a day trip to the Spinrite Tent Sale. And came home with bags and bags of yarn. My best deal was dishcloth cotton picked out of the Factory Mill Ends bin - natural colour, 100% cotton for $2.65/ lb. And I had to laugh, in every second car in the parking lot was a husband looking pained and impatient.

Also, I've finalized the pattern for my Bee dishcloth. Phew. Hopefully I can get the pattern written up and good pictures ready for a blog post tomorrow!

between the thunderstorms

With thunderstorms and heavy rain showers both days of the weekend, there was plenty of opportunity to knit. And plenty of opportunity to refine the pattern for my bee dishcloth. Adjusting the shape of the body and the wings. Adjusting the thickness of the seed stitch borders. Adjusting the length and direction of the legs. Now on my sixth attempt, the pattern is almost there. Gavin just shakes his head every time I rip out and start again - all for a dishcloth. Hopefully after a few more adjustments, I'll finally be ready to write up the pattern. I'll post it as soon as it's done.

When the sun broke through for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon, we dropped everything to get outside for a while. And headed to Frenchman's Bay on Lake Ontario, a distance of 15 minutes or so by car. Seems like everyone else had the same idea. Sailboats dotted the horizon, seadoos buzzed nearer to the shore, and young kids bodyboarded in the shallow surf. Several Monarch butterflies were flitting around the wildflowers at the side of the channel. It's definitely August, if the Monarchs are here.

The Spinrite factory outlet annual tent sale starts Monday. Mom and I went last year - we didn't buy much, but we enjoyed the outing in rural Ontario. Shirley, Christine and Jean are coming with me this year. Maybe I should buy more dishcloth cotton ... in case I need a few more tries to perfect the bee pattern!

the buzz

It was love at first sight - the bee glasses and me. I love the heavy bases, the pressed glass bees and the simple shapes of the glassware. Over the years I've wrapped many of these as gifts for my friend Nancy - perfect for the cottage. And she loves them too.

Last weekend at the cottage, Nancy asked if I could knit dishcloths. Wouldn't it be great if I could design a dishcloth pattern that echos the bee pattern of the glassware? How hard can it be? In fact, harder than I thought. On my first attempt, the bee pattern was created from purl stitches in a field of stockinette, and was too subtle. On my second attempt, I changed the wings to all purl, changed the body of the bee to bobbles, and shifted to smaller needles. Better, but still more work to do. The bee looks elongated, so I'm going to eliminate a couple of bobble rows. And I like the arcing top legs compared to the lower legs that are straight columns of purls. The wings need to be taller and reach higher on the bee. But it's starting to take shape. And they'll make Nancy laugh, no matter how many dishes she has to wash!

the first sock

That's the first Glynis sock done. Hard to say what the sock is like - the unwashed yarn is making the knitted fabric stiff and inflexible, which does the sock no favours. Right now the heel feels chunky, the leg of feels inelastic and the patterned stitches are very rigid. My plan? Knit the second sock so that I can wash and block them together. And then we'll see. Based on my swatching experience, it should make a world of difference.

a giant leap

The last few days have seen steady progress on my first Glynis sock. Just a couple rows left on the gusset, then the foot and toe to finish. But something happened in row 7 of the chart for the top of the foot. The chart indicates that the third stitch should be K3tog, but it can't be - there's no corresponding increase to make up for decreasing two stitches. After expressing my annoyance to Gavin, I changed it to a K2tog and completed the chart. "Are you sure you're right?" he asked. And that was when I realized what had happened. I was sure. Without hesitation. I knew the chart was wrong, and I was right.

For just over a year I've been focused on my knitting - trying new things, trying to do things right, challenging myself to become a better knitter. Yesterday, I saw concrete proof of improvement. Because a year ago, I'd definitely have put more stock in the chart than in myself.

Sunny weather socks

On this first summer weekend of perfect weather I had the good fortune to find myself in a Muskoka Chair at the shore of Lake Erie. A perfect spot to get to work on my first Glynis sock. The pattern is not complicated - although I'll admit, it took me more than one try to get through the first few repeats of the lace pattern. But now that I've finished five repeats, I've pretty much got it down, knock on wood. Unlike most Cookie A. patterns there's not a lot of drama. No travelling stitches. No complicated charts. Short easily memorized pattern rows. Plain knit on alternate rows. But an attractive and comfortable result, I think.

And over the next couple of days I'm going to have a look at dishcloth patterns to knit. I have a few balls of dishcloth cotton from my Mom ... when the cottage owner asked if I could knit a couple of dishcloths for her, it seemed like an ideal way to use them.