Dowager's Prize Diamonds - in pink

Photo (c) Chath

Chath has test knit for me several times. She's a talented and knowledgeable knitter who has shared some of that knowledge with me over the past several months. I've also gotten to know her better and she's a wonderful lady.

She also knit a fantastic pair of  Dowager's Prize Diamonds (Ravelry project link):

Photo (c) Chath

Chath used Praefatio Yarns MCN fingering (available on Etsy) in Rhododendron for her size medium sock. The medium size, which isn't officially documented, is knit by casting on 72 sts as for the large, but using a 2.25mm needle instead of a 2.5mm needle. The cables and twisted stitches also pull in the fabric a bit, giving it just enough grip to ensure a good fit. She ended up using approximately 184 yd per sock for a total 367 yards used for the pair.


The contest deadline is tonight! If you haven't entered the Dowager's Prize Diamonds contest yet, check out this post to find out how to enter.

As busy as a very busy thing

Whew! You know it's been a busy week when it takes until the next Monday morning before you have time for an update.

Last week was a flurry of activity as I kicked off a secret sock test knit which I hope to submit for publication. At the same time, I have three other sock test knits going on, which you can see over on the Ravelry Free Pattern Testers forum (The Dowager's Prize Socks, The Man in the Brown Sock and Nemesis).

I love the test knit phase of a project. Not only do I get to see a pattern come to life for the first time on someone else's needles, which is a huge thrill. But it's also a fascinating (and humbling) experience in one's own fallibility.

By the time I write up a pattern and put it out for testing, I've spent a lot of time on it. I've knit the socks at least once and often twice. I've done the math for the difference sizes. I use the most recent published pattern as the basis for the new pattern, so that hopefully any typos and errors have already been found and all I have to do is modify some wording, numbers and charts. I check it over more closely than Santa checking his naughty and nice lists on Dec 23rd.

And then other people start taking a look at it and finding the mistakes that my eyes, through over-familiarity, have overlooked. Some are typos. Other things are more basic (e.g., a 58 stitch cast on isn't divisible by 4, therefore you can't do a 2x2 rib cuff).

I hate making mistakes that cause my testers to have to rip out part (or all!) of their work. In fact, I hate making mistakes at all. But as a professional technical writer, I know that writers are not good editors/reviewers of their own work. You get too close to your own work and your brain fills in what it expects to see instead of seeing what's actually written on the page. It's human nature. And I find it fascinating.

I've had a few conversations lately with some of my testers which I think have really upped my game. I love learning from people who have differing view points and ways of approaching a problem. And for that reason I am grateful to all my testers who question my choices, tell me what parts are confusing and make suggestions for improvements.

I'll leave you with pictures of The Man in the Brown Sock and Nemesis. These two socks will be part of an Agatha Christie inspired series of patterns which I hope to launch by the end of August - beginning of September. The Dowager's Prize Socks pattern will be available within the coming week, as part of an exclusive pairing with Lola-Doodles' Dowager's Pink Roses and Silver Lining's colorways. More on that later this week!

Man in the Brown Sock

Nemesis

Test Knit – Snowflake Sweater, newborn size

Back in October I jumped at the opportunity to test knit the Snowflake Sweater from Tin Can Knits. I was in the middle of a few longer projects: a sweater and some socks, so a quick baby knit seemed like the perfect antidote to the never-ending WIPs. Am I the only one who does this?

While the sweater is available in adult sizes I was looking for a quick knit, so I chose the 0-6 month size. I didn’t have a recipient in mind, but I knew that eventually the sweater would find its owner. After rummaging through my stash – another reason I volunteered for the test knit -  I found the perfect yarns: Garnstudio DROPS Merino Extra Fine and Stylecraft Pure Luxury Merino DK. Both are incredibly soft, of similar weight and looked perfect together. Little did I know that they were also perfect for the, as yet, unknown recipient.

The lace knit up easily and quickly. My only regret is that  the tip about blocking the lace section separately was posted after I’d already begun knitting the body. Seeing Alexa’s post about blocking the lace in a rectangle to really make it “pop”, it was clear how effect the technique was.

Baby items are the perfect ‘quick knitting fix’. You get a complete garment in a short amount of time. You can practice new techniques without the major time commitment. And let’s face it, if you make a mistake – who’s going to notice? Everyone will be oohing and aaahing about the cute baby!

And my Snowflake Sweater? It’s found a new home with a co-worker of mine whose son was born recently.