As I've said elsewhere on this blog, I'm working on what I think will be a knitting book project. To get it published I'll need to lift and retool the material and push it in knitting magazines before making a getting book out of it, but that's a technicality. Right now, I'm working on getting a number of patterns and narratives drafted. They're a lot of fun. A slightly more focused and retrospective version of the kinds of things I sometimes write for TealArt Knitting, along with patterns.
I've written a bit less than half of what I want to get done in this series of writing. I've written patterns for 2.5 of the sweaters, and my basic sock recipe (because every good knitting book has to have one). I want to write patterns out for two more sweaters, before I take a pause on this project. Now that I'm in the grove of it, I can get about a pattern done a day. My one major concern is that I don't have a stockpile of sock patterns in the same way I have a stockpile of sweater patterns. When I knit socks, I mostly knit plain socks, so rather than giving a detailed description of a bunch of different socks want to go through sections on a number of different design features. A number of ways to knit toes, heels, in addition to a cabled sock and some other designing ideas.
Here's what I think this project has that no other book or other collection has: The patterns are accessible to knitters of an advanced beginner starting to knit their first pair of socks or first sweater, and to more advanced knitters interested in traditional color work and inventive but elegant/classic constructions (as opposed to most inventive constructions which look like they were designed by a gremlin suffering heroin withdrawal whilst being held a gun point.) It also combines the best features of my favorite knitting writing patterns: the instructions are written in a conversational style which encourages and enables knitters to take charge of their knitting, and the patterns are accompanied by explanations of my design process and communicate my memories of the design process, which I think locates the process of knitting in my life and memory: a very important aspect of knitting for me. These are the things I can share (and some great patterns too.) Having said that, the essay sections are very closely tied to the patterns, so it's not as if I ramble on and on about my life and knitting, and then give an unrelated and bland pattern. This project is about the patterns, not the stories: the stories just make the patterns better. And frankly given the nature of the patterns, I can't fathom the patterns without the stories.
And above all I'm having fun.
In other news I'm driving back to Wisconsin on Sunday. A change will be good.
Cheers,
Sam
ps. So I've done it again: I started a TealArt post with the intention of posting a witty line from today's writing, only to write a meta post which compleatly missed my intention. Sigh.
So here's something from one of the little narratives/essays I wrote today. Enjoy!
In my more starky moments I am tempted to say: "if knitted sweaters were meant to be tailored, we'd be tailors not knitters." Thankfully, most of time, cooler heads prevail, and I attempt create the best fitting knitting garments I can, though I do attempt to recognize the limits of my craft, and concentrate on playing to the strengths of this craft.
Knit and (live on) in good health!.
pps. Sorry Chris, apparently my best guy friend ;) heh, for all the crap on the home page for you if you're getting it. And I don't, really...