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Hey, Remember Me?

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Annie

Sorry I ducked out for a week – life is INCREDIBLY BUSY.

GIGS

It’s going to be a VERY full Autumn and Winter for me!  I’m taking on as much teaching as I think I can handle, fibromyalgia and keeping the home fires burning notwithstanding, so if you want to catch me here are your best chances!

There are also 2 spaces left in my Fall Minnesota Retreat on Oct 19-21, it will be a very homey, warm, fun time with double knitting as our theme and FUN as our goal!

TECH HISTORY

My Sketch of Tissot’s Painting

History on Two Needles (when tweeting use hashtag #HoTN) is coming along BEAUTIFULLY!

All of the photography is finished, the layout is looking good – hopefully not confusing, just well balanced and easy to follow – and the tech editing is some of the happiest I’ve ever been involved in.

I work / design / write differently from many folks.  This isn’t unusual, being individual types of folks, we ALL tend to do some things our own way.  My own unusual style of knitting (Combination Knitting) is the source of some of my differences as a pattern writer, but even more pertinent is my feeling that just about anyone who invests money and time into buying yarn and a pattern is committed and intelligent enough to NOT be talked down to.

My problem with many knitting patterns is that they both talk down to a knitter (spelling some things out in painful detail, which can be more confusing than a clear illustration) while at the same time they sail over many knitter’s heads (using terms and making assumptions about things that ‘everybody knows!’ when – in fact – everybody may NOT know some of the unmentioned stuff…)

London in London in Tissot
My friend London wearing the finished Tissot Shrug

Often I’ll send a pattern in for tech editing and I’ll get back an unrecognizable set of pages with math fixed (thank you!) and verbiage changed (no, thank you…) for no good reason except it doesn’t fit into a ‘style.’

I will take clarity over style any day!

97% of tech eds I know are GREAT, most tech editors I work with are the unsung hero(ines) of any knitting publication, making patterns readable and usable by knitters and getting little more than grief and headaches for their hard work!

But there are a very few editors whose contempt for my unorthodox way of explaining things is palpable when I read their comments.  Or when I see what they’ve crossed out and changed (which speaks louder than any comments can!)

Most annoying is the rare tech ed who will begin changing things before reading through an entire pattern.  Among this narrow sub set are the very, very few who will email me with problems and changes before they’ve read to the end of a pattern.

This is beyond annoying, and I’ve learned to just ignore those first few emails because, eventually, I will get one that reads, “Oh!  I got to the 3rd page of your pattern and NOW I understand why you explained X like this and Y like that!”

But enough of my complaining.  As I’ve said above, most tech editors I work with are amazing, and my goal here is not to damn the hard-working lot of them.

My goal here is to praise the amazing tech ed I’m currently working with.  Or with whom I’m currently working.  I’ll leave that stuff to someone else…

Tech editing en route

Kate Atherley is well known in the knitting community as Wise Hilda, but I hadn’t worked so intimately with her before Shannon Okey at Cooperative Press fixed us up to work on History on Two Needles.

I love working with Kate.

She gets it.

Kate gets that I write about knitting things in an unusual way, that I use different terminology (and she doesn’t try to change it!) and she’s not just okay with it, she is 100% along for the ride!

Or, maybe 95% along for the ride, but she doesn’t try to make me turn off unless she REALLY needs a bathroom break.

Kate’s math is right on, she catches great mistakes without making me feel like a great moron, and is quick as a wink.

I love working with Kate.

This book has taken me over 4 years to complete, not in small part because I couldn’t find [was scared to look for] a tech editor who wouldn’t make me feel like the knitting equivalent of a wild-eyed, bomb throwing anarchist who can’t add.

Kate makes me feel like a slightly eccentric, differently-seeing designer who makes understandable math errors every now and then.  No bombs involved.

Hm, 2 ‘bomb’ references…
My blog is now being monitored
by the Dept of Homeland Security…

And that, my friends, is the difference between respect and finger wagging (from both sides) and I love working with Kate for this reason.

THE GIVEAWAY

We’re talking about the brown skein at the bottom

I have one more skein of Buffalo Wool that I’m willing to part with!  I have a nice stash of it that I’m using for a few designs, the skeins I’m parting with are exceptional yarn that I can’t use in a design, or have been discontinued.

My hope is that when you win this yarn you’ll knit it up, talk about it, blog about it, show it off and bring in more converts to the Buffalo Gold Cult Family.

This is a GOOD one!

It’s Buffalo Gold #11 Laceweight, 400 yds/50gr, 100% American Bison Down.  You will fall in LOVE with this.

It must be used for something amazing.  Let me know what you want to knit up with this, and you may be the lucky winner!

 

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52 thoughts on “Hey, Remember Me?”

  1. Paula PD says:
    September 14, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    I am anxious for HoTn to be out for public use ! The patterns are intriguing and so edgy ! Keep designing … and know that the
    naysayers or those who don’t grasp your style just belong to another realm.

    Reply
  2. Teresa says:
    September 14, 2012 at 1:11 pm

    I want to use it to design my own shoulder shawl/scarf, and then keep it for myself.

    Reply
  3. Laura says:
    September 14, 2012 at 1:53 pm

    I would probably have to make something for my mom, because she’s one of those people who never gives herself nice things but gives everyone else the greatest gifts ever. And that yarn clearly falls into the “nice things” category!

    Reply
  4. Tina R says:
    September 14, 2012 at 2:58 pm

    As much as I would love to knit something for myself, even more I want to knit a slouch style hat for my sister who is still bald from ovarian cancer. Having gone through chemo hair loss myself… I know that the softness of the yarn is very important.

    Just found this hat at Raverly and like it for the simplicity.

    http://www.bforbel.com/2012/09/how-to-win-at-rock-paper-scissors-every.html

    Reply
  5. Sue says:
    September 14, 2012 at 3:07 pm

    I would consider doubling it and making some fingerless mitts…….

    Reply
  6. Laurie Richards says:
    September 14, 2012 at 4:41 pm

    Can’t wait for the book to come out! I’ve done some proofreading for a software book and a software newsletter. It’s not always easy and sometimes it’s tricky catching some of the mistakes.
    As for the giveaway…I’d knit something lacey. I’m still learning about lace knitting and there are so many patterns I want to try! I just wait til the yarn tells me what it wants to be and who it ought to belong to. That seems to work for me.

    Reply
  7. Amy Lamash says:
    September 14, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    I am wanting to make Laura Nelkin’s Mica Mitts so bad and I think this may be the perfect yarn for it!

    Reply
  8. Kathy says:
    September 14, 2012 at 8:09 pm

    I’d knit a warm hat or cowl for these MN winters!

    Reply
  9. Sheila says:
    September 14, 2012 at 10:39 pm

    Probably a cowl so that soft buffalo can be right against my skin.

    Reply
  10. mesha says:
    September 14, 2012 at 10:40 pm

    A lacy scarf. That yarn is begging to be wrapped around a neck.

    Reply
  11. LissaG says:
    September 15, 2012 at 12:56 am

    Can hardly wait for your book!!!

    Reply
  12. LissaG says:
    September 15, 2012 at 12:58 am

    Oh, and this yarn is begging to be a cowl,soft and warm around my neck for our cold Canadian winters!

    Reply
  13. Margaret says:
    September 15, 2012 at 5:18 am

    I think it should be a luxurious shawlette.

    Reply
  14. margaret carroll says:
    September 15, 2012 at 5:55 am

    400 yards definitely says shawl . . .

    Reply
  15. LaurenS says:
    September 15, 2012 at 6:35 am

    I want to make your wimple pattern with this beautiful yarn!

    Reply
  16. Chelsea W says:
    September 15, 2012 at 7:52 am

    This would make such a beautiful lacy scarf! I’m thinking maybe Eva or Pecan Groves on Rav. Thanks for the chance 🙂

    Reply
  17. Carmel J. says:
    September 15, 2012 at 11:05 am

    I haven’t tried any of this yarn yet, but I think I’d use it to try one of Adobhe Ni’s tunisian crochet shawls- they are so beautiful! (And I think I probably misspelled her name, alas.)

    Reply
  18. Rita says:
    September 15, 2012 at 11:44 am

    I would love to knit a lacy shrug in this pattern – http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sagebrush – or maybe net a shrug or a shawl.

    Reply
  19. Sue says:
    September 15, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    I would make fingerless mitts or a small shawl.

    Reply
  20. Melissa says:
    September 15, 2012 at 3:02 pm

    I’ve wanted to knit with any of the Buffalo Gold yarns for some time but promised myself I would finish some UFO’s first!! That being said, if I were gifted with this yarn, I would knit something warm for my mother-in-law.

    Reply
  21. Tony Starratt says:
    September 15, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    I don’t want to knit with it. Well, I do, but there is someone to whom I would love to have it sent. She is handicapped and short on cash but very, very, very long on dog training smarts and exceptionally generous with her knowledge and insight. And she loves to knit. I doubt that she can ever afford something as luscious as this and I would love to facilitate the opportunity for her to have some.

    Tony S.

    Reply
  22. Charlotte says:
    September 15, 2012 at 5:06 pm

    I had recently made myself an nice shawlette. After having it done for a week it was in my purse which got stolen. So now it needs replacing. I have a few patterns queued. Now I just need the perfect yarn!

    Reply
  23. Ellen M says:
    September 15, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    Hmmm….let me see.
    Considering I make things for everyone else, this time, if I won this lovely yarn, I’d make something for me. For me! (channeling Mama Rose from Gypsy!)
    Maybe a snood to chase those chills from my neck. Sound good?

    Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply
  24. Jane Nearing says:
    September 15, 2012 at 6:20 pm

    A shawl of some sort, but with nupps, I LOVE nupps ….

    Reply
  25. Lynne Phelps says:
    September 15, 2012 at 9:17 pm

    How great that you have found a simpatico editor! And I’d love to win that fab yarn and blog/Rav about it!

    Reply
  26. s.e. says:
    September 16, 2012 at 1:04 pm

    I’m looking forward to your book too. I would love to win the yarn if those outside the US can participate (I live in Canada). I mostly seem to make hats these days so that is what I would likely make if I won the yarn. I don’t blog but I would post on twitter and tumblr about it too.

    Reply
  27. Erin b says:
    September 16, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    I think I would go the shawlette. I am so in love with this half shawl/scarf wrap right now

    Reply
  28. Sarah Jane says:
    September 16, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    I would love to make a small shawl from it. I don’t know which one off the top of my head, but it would have to be delicate looking I think.

    Reply
  29. Dawn says:
    September 16, 2012 at 7:35 pm

    Thanks for the chance to win, I would love to make a shawl or a cowl with this wonderful yarn.

    Reply
  30. Sue says:
    September 16, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    I’m looking forward to the book!

    Anything knit with that yarn would be amazing! Probably something to go around my neck so I can feel it!

    Reply
  31. Jane says:
    September 17, 2012 at 4:32 am

    Mittens. Most definitely mittens.

    Reply
  32. Kandace says:
    September 17, 2012 at 8:38 am

    Mmmm, what to make with that yarny goodness? I think probably one of the scarves/shawls from Victorian Lace Today. But which one? That would take some serious thinking. Thanks, and congratulations on the progress on HotN!

    Reply
  33. KathleenC says:
    September 17, 2012 at 10:22 am

    Hmm… 400 yards, laceweight… sounds like a small shawl. One of the neckerchief type perhaps? There are a lot of those I’ve noticed that look quite attractive and so very warm tucked into the neck of a winter coat…
    Maybe there’s one in HotN?

    Reply
  34. Kathy says:
    September 17, 2012 at 10:49 am

    I have never knit with this yarn or lace yarn but I think this could become a lovely shawl by either Kitman Figueroa with lots of twisted stitches or Fickle Knitter who designs nice easy patterns with an interesting lace edge that is knit on after the main pattern by casting on stitches then using one stitch from main body as you knit the edge.

    Reply
  35. Jan says:
    September 17, 2012 at 1:36 pm

    I think I’d try the Bird’s Nest Smoke Ring.

    Thanks for the giveaway.

    Reply
  36. Tom says:
    September 17, 2012 at 1:47 pm

    If I win this yarn, I will wait for HoTN and find something wonderful to knit from this book.

    Reply
  37. Judy says:
    September 17, 2012 at 1:52 pm

    This would be a great yarn for Anne Hanson’s “Hazeline” shawlette, which has just been released. Thanks for offering the give-away.

    Reply
  38. Jill says:
    September 17, 2012 at 4:37 pm

    Brown seem just right for a baby blanket. I’m looking for something warm and soft to wrap around our new boy in December!

    Reply
  39. Connie Kline says:
    September 17, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    I would love to make the Scarborough fair neck warmer by Annalisa Dione. The color will determine the recipient 🙂

    Reply
  40. jan says:
    September 17, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    I would knit a lacy shawl — my very first lace!

    Reply
  41. Leslie says:
    September 18, 2012 at 6:22 am

    You know what, Annie? I’ve never made a cowl. I’ve always thought cowls should be fully reversible so the “bad” side would never show and worried about whatever wool I used being too rough to be around my delicate neck (yeah, right! on the delicate). I’m still searching the pattern, but this yarn would probably be my ideal.

    But you know what? When I was scrolling through the comments above mine I was struck by Tony Starratt’s comment. She would give it to someone who would love it, who sounds like she deserves and would love it. If I had my druthers in this (which I clearly do not), I’d give it to her because acts of kindness win every time.

    So glad you found an editor who gets it – it’s sort of like finding a life mate. I hope you can continue collaborating with her on future works. I can’t wait for HoTN to come out.

    Reply
  42. bibliotecaria says:
    September 18, 2012 at 8:19 am

    lace. a lace shawlette size that keeps my neck warm in winter. because I HATE being cold. and I dream of things like cashmere and qiviut and bison because they are all warmer than wool. eventually I WILL knit with them all.

    Reply
  43. Kristin says:
    September 18, 2012 at 10:44 am

    I would make a wide, lacy scarf for a friend who has a lot of pain in her neck and shoulders. I think that in the cold, snowy winters, those hurty parts might feel better if they’re warmed by some handknit love.

    Reply
  44. Barbara says:
    September 18, 2012 at 9:27 pm

    What I want to do is to knit a lace smoke ring or shawlette, send it to Michelle Obama, and ask her to wear it sometime during the day of her husband’s second inauguration. A gift for the first lady made with US materials, using a pattern written by an American, and knitted by an American veteran.

    Reply
  45. Shelly D. says:
    September 18, 2012 at 10:07 pm

    Would love it for the laceweight cowl on knitty.com called Kuusck (spelled right I hope!). Am so looking forward to HoTN! Adore your work. : )

    Reply
  46. Lois W says:
    September 19, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    Buffalo gold #11 would make a magnificent shawlette. You know the kind, so light it flows around you with the lightest stirring of air, floating from the shoulders, to settle back down light as a feather. A pattern that simply starts on the needles and makes itself up during the knitting as the yarn sometimes whispers, sometimes shouts what it wants to be. A shoulder cover for air conditioning, a skin-friendly scarf tucked into the neckline of a coat, a comfort tossed over a robe on days of illness, the perfect touch to complete an outfit for celebration times.

    Reply
  47. =Tamar says:
    September 20, 2012 at 10:06 am

    Latest news I’ve read about fibro is that a doctor is testing his idea that it is actually caused by a virus.

    Reply
    1. Annie says:
      September 20, 2012 at 10:15 am

      I would definitely believe that as my symptoms feel like the flue when I have a flare up!

      Reply
      1. Barbara says:
        September 20, 2012 at 6:46 pm

        Lupus flares also feel like the flu, at least to me.

        Reply
  48. Sarah says:
    September 21, 2012 at 8:00 am

    Thank you for sharing this. With the onset of autumn I would be torn between an Ishbel to wear under my coat, or a snugly cowl. Mmmm.

    Reply
  49. Kate says:
    September 21, 2012 at 10:28 am

    I’ve been working on a shawl design as a fundraiser for my friend with cancer. I think this would be a beautiful contrast color for the muddy rainbow-colored variegated I’m using for the main color. She wants the finished fundraiser to be orange (apparently , orange butterflies kill cancer cells!), but I think I’d knit this one up for her to snuggle in (as I’ve already made her several orange hats!).

    Reply
  50. Rebecca says:
    September 21, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    Hmmm. . .a lovely cowl (like the cabled one in Last Minute Knits) for someone who’s having a tough time or is very sick. Imagine how AWESOME that would feel on someone’s neck!

    Reply

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