Dudes, I am an idiot.
My wonderful Immeritus Staff Secret Santa (*cough*Pen*cough* <----unless I'm wrong, but that's my educated guess) sent me the gorgeous book The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes. I dove into it immediately this weekend and it. is. fabulous.
I had been looking for a fingerless glove pattern to cast on the past couple of weeks because I've realized holding and carrying and wielding a 25 pound baby with gloved/mittened fingers is no easy feat. But, my appendages have poor circulation and they NEED to be covered in the freezing cold weather we've been having. So, thought I, fingerless gloves would be a good compromise.
There is a beautiful pattern in my new book called Princess Mitts that uses a really lovely twisted cable. Best news is it uses DK-weight yarn, which I had some of in my stash. So, I cast on today. (Shhh!)
I'm not criticizing the writing or the pattern, but it *is* confusing. There is a lot to take in with this pattern, including two separate charts, plus a lot of other information. I did my 14 rows of 2x2 ribbing that were called for and then got to the cabling chart.
Stitches were not adding up. So I went back and re-read, thinking I missed something somewhere because I was counting 24 stitches and the book was counting 23. I tinked a bit and reknit. I counted. I calculated. I re-read. I knit. I tinked. Rinse and repeat at least a few more times.
So I hop online hoping to find some errata for this very-newly published book. I find some! Alas. Not for this pattern. Then I notice an e-mail address and the invitation to report additional errata.
I e-mail Clara directly and explain the situation thinking it more likely that I must have missed something somewhere despite all my reading. I honestly wasn't expecting a reply at all, or if I did get a reply it would be ages from now.
Clara wrote me back almost immediately.
She explained in the kindest of ways that I likely missed the mention of a decrease of one stitch in the notes in the beginning of the pattern.
I run to my book and lo! There it was. I think my face flamed red because I couldn't believe I wrote to this author asking if she was mistaken when it was something as simple as me not re-reading the correct section.
*headdesk x infinity*
Lesson learned? Do not try to concentrate when you have a 10-month-old baby that was veering off into Crankyville.
Clara however? Rocks. And now I love her book even more than I already did.
(Seriously? Every knitter should have this book. I have already learned SO much about yarn that I never would've known.)
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2 comments:
I haven't had a chance to take a look at the book. Glad to hear that this may be another for the wishlist.
Dude! We ask for pictures and get tons!! :D Cool Cardi! Love the sock pattern (it looks like A LOT of work!!) and William in Daddy's hat is ust too cute! What a lovely little boy. :D
And WOW! The Book! The Book is FABULOUS. Thank zou soooooo much! It's got so much information in there and the patterns look great. There are a couple I already know I will do despite loathing knitting lace :0) The outcome is really worth all of the work and I know people who will love and appreciate it. Thanks again Tarita. I really do love it.
Oh yeah, have you ever had those fingerless gloves with the caps on them? They are brilliant as far as a compromise goes. I like that you can keep all of your fingers warm and yet still be able to remove the cap and do something. They've saved my hands in the last couple of years.
xoxoxox
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