High Standards

2009 June 28
by Chantelle

Well, thanks to Ali’s hubby, my computer is back in action (well, it has been in action for about two weeks now but for various reasons, I haven’t felt up to blogging). Of course, that means there have been a few FOs that need to be mentioned, but that can wait for another blog. The reason? Well, I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about something.

What is bugging me is the lack of standards in some knitting abbreviations used by designers. Now, we all know k means knit and p means purl, but sometimes I come up against a new abbreviation which throws me completely until I realise it’s exactly the same as another one I know. This particularly struck me when, working on a lace pattern, I realised a completely new abbreviation was used for a stitch I already knew. I couldn’t help but be somewhat annoyed by this.

I realise said annoyance probably stems from what I do as part of my job. In many areas of documentation, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the formulation and adherence to Standards are very important. At the moment in GIS, there’s a huge drive to conform to national and international standards so that data is easily accessible by all. In website coding, something I do for ‘fun’ in my free time, there are standards set by the W3C to ensure everyone is using the same syntax so that it can be understood by everyone who can write website code. It is recognised, in so many fields, that standardisation of documentation is important to ensure that information can be communicated effectively and that people in the future will know as much as possible about what is being imparted to them.

Why then, I wonder, should knitting patterns be any different.

I do realise that designers, when they are designing, will have their own way of documenting their patterns, but it would be so much easier for the people who then use their patterns to understand what is going on if a standardised set of abbreviations were to be used.

Perhaps some standards have been set, but I’m not exactly aware of them myself, which would in turn mean that many designers wouldn’t be aware of them either. Either way, I strongly feel that standards need to be agreed upon and publicised to make pattern instructions easier to follow, not just now but in future as well.

Ok, my brain is cutting out seeing as it’s the small hours of the morning so I’m going to stop here before I start babbling about random things. I’d be interested to hear the opinions of others on these thoughts - a fresh perspective (seeing as I know work matters are permeating my brain right now) would be most welcome!

Computer Woes - Part Two

2009 May 25
by Chantelle

Computer is dead again. I’m really p***ed off. Have e-mailed computer parts supplier to let them know and ask them how I should proceed (thank goodness for insurance).
This is not the best way for me to start a week. I am, in fact, so annoyed I have an irrational urge to cry. Crying is pointless in this case, though, so I’ll go knit a strap for my Everlasting Bagstopper instead.

Grrr. Stupid technology.

Musings of the Sick

2009 May 14
by Chantelle

I seem to have caught another cold from somewhere (complete with cotton-wool-head, dizziness, back ache and exhaustion) thus resulting in an afternoon spent at home (having survived in work for all of 2½ hours), drinking warm drinks and feeling sorry for myself. It has, however, given me time to tinker with the look of the blog as I was getting fed up with the black and blue colour scheme. I’ve been meaning to change the theme for a while but, with my computer pretty much dead for the past month and a half, I haven’t been able to sort it. The good news is that my computer is now back on its feet (thanks in no small part to Ali’s DH, Nick).

As promised, knitting has taken place during my cyber-absence. I have another pair of yummy socks to keep my ever chilled toes warm: 

Spring Forward socks
Pattern: Spring Forward by Linda Welch
Yarn: The Yard Yarn Toddy in Sea Breeze
 
Then, buoyed by the prettiness of my socks, I decided to tackle the dreaded project. Yes, it was the basket case lace again. I was determined to finish it as it had been on my ‘to do’ list for a good long while. For some reason, maybe because I’ve done so much small-scale lace work on socks, I felt more confident about getting on a knitting it. In the latter stages, I rarely needed to use the chart because I could see how the pattern was forming and could, thus, tell where I was likely to have made a mistake on any given row, which was heartening! There was only one hairy point, where I had to frog three chart repeats, when I worried I would have to completely frog it again but after that point it all went pretty smoothly. Admittedly at that point I started to employ the use of lifelines which are a complete godsend - it made something as terrifying as frogging a repeat seem no problem at all because I knew I wouldn’t drop any stitches under the lifeline.

I actually began to enjoy knitting the lace and spent 3½ hours knitting, yo-ing, psso-ing and purling to my heart’s content at the Lower Shaw Farm knitting circle night on Monday. Another couple of hours’ work on Tuesday and I finally cast off. I still have to sew in the ends, wash and block it (task for the weekend) but even as it is, the shawl looks gorgeous and I’m so looking forward to seeing it in its beautiful blocked state. 

Unblocked Detail from Flower Basket Lace Shawl
Image: Unblocked detail from Flower Basket Lace Shawl.
 

One stipulation of making the shawl was that I could not knit something else until I had finished it (just to make sure I didn’t get distracted by other patterns). With the knitting part of the shawl production done, I can now move onto a project I’ve been meaning to do for over a year:

I’m making an Everlasting Bagstopper which I can keep in my car or my bag so I don’t forget it when I go shopping. I got the hemp yarn as a birthday/Christmas present in 2007 so it was definitely far up on my list of things to do. 

Everlasting Bagstopper
Image: Start of the base of the Everlasting Bagstopper
 

Oh, and I promised pictures of pre-computer death knitting, didn’t I. Here are pictures of the beret and the mittens I mentioned: 

Peekaboo Mittens in Dream in Color Classy (Cinnamon Girl)
Pattern: Peekaboo Mittens (Ravelry Link) by Pensive Frog
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy - Cinnamon Girl 
Star Crossed Slouchy Beret in Mirasol Miski
Pattern: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (Ravelry Link) by Natalie Larson.
Yarn: Mirasol Yarns Miski in 103 colourway
 
I was also lucky enough to head up to Wales in April to browse through the stalls at Wonderwool (and add to my stash), but I think that deserves a post all in itself and can wait until next time. Until then, adios!

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