A Bit o’ the Wave
May 15th, 2006 | View Comments
Here’s the first two pattern repeats of the Print o’ the Wave Stole, pinned out:
It’s starting to look like laaace! *does a happy dance*
The first repeat of it was…not fun. I hadn’t started to get a sense of the pattern yet and the sticky, sticky mohair was (still is) a pain to work with. And then after I’d knit about six rows, I found a slipped stitch on row #2.
Despite the “I frog” button, I am decidedly anti-frogging, particularly when it comes to mohair. So I dropped the offending stitch, practically tearing at the mohair to get it to come apart, and then painstakingly knit it back up again. It took about an hour to do so, but I didn’t have to frog! Whee!
The second repeat went more smoothly. I’m starting to get a read on the pattern, how the decreases and yarnovers stack up when I’m doing it right, and now I can see the pretty wave pattern it’s making, which makes me happy.
And now for something completely different.
I have had no requests for more buttons. Sad! No seriously, if you want a button, let me know. I will be happy to make one for you.
Also, I’m currently revamping my web design site. I’m planning on turning it into a quarterly ezine, with web design tutorials and free blog templates. I’m hoping to target it at the “tweaker” blogger, the person who is familar with the process of blogging, but who may not feel comfortable customizing the default templates or adding functionality to their site.
The first issue is designed to teach some code basics to help people make more sense of what they’re looking at, with practical tips for writing code, and more importantly, strategies for debugging.
I’m planning on a June 5th launch. However, I’m looking for a few people to look over the articles and tutorials before that to make sure I’m targeting them at the right level for my intended audience. If you’d like to be one of those people, please let me know! Or if you have suggestions for something you’d like to see in the ezine, please let me know as well.
I feel kind of strongly about this because I see so many people, particularly women, who are incredibly uncomfortable messing around with things like computer code, and I think it’s unfortunate that society hasn’t really made up much ground on this front. Even as someone who has a computer science degree, I feel a sort of social uncomfortableness about the whole thing.
Computer science’s decided ambivalence about welcoming a female to the club was enough to make me switch to an area where I felt more appreciated. I wound up having to program for my job anyways, and I live with a dull fear that people evaluate my programming skills more critically because I’m a female. And frankly, math (I have a math degree too) is much the same way.
And some women also react weirdly to a woman who likes to program. Sometimes I start feeling like a three-headed alien if I’m talking to a woman about computers and programming and I just get stares back. And it’s not just disinterest on their part or overusing the jargon on my part, which I know I tend to do.
I think on some level it’s almost a fear of the subject, a fear that if this line of discussion continues, you’ll slowly morph from a confident, competent woman into one of those stereotypes where all you can do is twirl your hair, snap your gum and go, “Huh?”
So please, please please. If there’s something that you wish you could change on your blog, but you don’t know how, or if there’s some piece of technobabble that you can’t quite decipher, tell me. I want to try and teach the things you want to know. I think the world would be much happier if the whole “women + computers = cool stuff happening” equation was better known to more people.
Although not a lot of people are commenting, I know a fair amount are reading since traffic to my domain has doubled since I launched my knitblog, and Knitter’s Review, where I post (“nerissa” = me), has been the #1 referrer to my site for two months running. If you’re going to comment on anything, please comment on this. Thank you.
Alright, I’m off the soapbox. The next entry will be straight knitting goodness, I promise.
CogKnition posted this on May 15th, 2006 @ 12:00am in KnitBlogging, Unfinished Objects | Permalink to "A Bit o’ the Wave"
cogknition
How lovely! This is going to be a gorgeous shawl. I sympathize with you on the mohair thing–I’m working with some right now and what a pain!
As for blogging/computer stuff, I have been toying with the idea of customizing my Blogger template or getting my own domain altogether, and so I would be interested to read suggestions and tutorials on how to do that (I was thinking I would just buy a book, but the more info the better). I guess I’m not one of those people who are “afraid” to play with the code (I’ve figured out a little bit of stuff in blogger), it’s just more a matter (for me) of finding the time to devote to it.
I think this is incredibly generous of you–that is, sharing your computer-technology knowledge with the knitting community. I’ll be sure to be back to ask some questions as I’ve just started blogging this month and am already running into all sorts of problems that I have no idea as to how to solve.
But a quick, easy question for now: what yarn and needles are you using for the Print O’ Wave stole? It looks beautiful, and I’m thinking of making a stole for a wedding I need to attend this summer.
And thanks again for your blogging and offer of techno-support.
I sent you an email, but here’s the quick, easy answer for anyone else who wants to know.
The yarn is Rowan Kidsilk Haze in shade #590.
The lace in the photo was knit on US 1 needles, which turned out to be way too small for the yarn. It knit up prettily, but it really hurt my hands to knit it at such a tight gauge. The ball band says US 3-8 needles.
So I frogged it (sigh) and now I’m knitting it on US 4s. I’ll post more details and a photo some time this weekend.
I just signed up for Amazing Lace and I’m doing the same pattern. I’m currently on my sixth repeat, and am also using a mohair. No pictures yet, but I’ll get some up soon. I have been doing it on 1′s but not very tightly. Yours looks beautiful. Are you an experienced lace knitter? This is my first lace project. Hopefully it will work out well.
I came to your site through The Amazing Lace (we’re neighbors on the ring!). I’m somewhat familiar with html – I can write code for links, etc. But I’d like to know more about doing buttons and making a custom header for my site as well.
I found you through–no surprise–Knitter’s Review. I know enough about code to move it around (like some others who have commented here) and make my sidebar do what I want, but there ends my knowledge. And that is mostly from a friendly tech guy at work. I look forward to learning from you!
Also, what do you need to create a custom button? My knitting/blogging group wants something and I’ve been volunteered to make it, and I have failed.
Jodie – I am not an experienced lace knitter. My first lace project was the Lace Leaf Scarf from the Summer 2005 issue of Vogue Knitting.
This is my second.
I cast on for the Straight-Laced Socks from Knitty after I reclaimed my US 1s, so that will be my third.
Jodie, Dorothy, and Kathy Marie: Ahhh, making custom graphics. I will be sure to include a more detailed answer in my web design ezine, but the short version is that you need a graphics program. You can actually use MS Paint, but I’d recommend something a bit more advanced than that.
Now I use Adobe Photoshop, but when I first got started in web design I used what was then-known as Jasc Paint Shop Pro, and is now known as Corel Paint Shop Pro. You create your header graphic or button (standard size for a small button is 88×31 pixels) and then you save it as a .gif, .jpg, or .png, depending on specifics of the image. Upload, add the code, and you’re done.
Unless you’re using a font that was specifically designed to be a pixel font, be sure to antialias any text on the button (there should be a checkbox or a dropdown marked “Antialias” that you can tick on your text tool palette). That will get rid of the jagged pixelated look of the text.
But I will have a much more detailed tutorial on my site, which I should go work on now if I hope to launch next week!
Thanks for dropping by!
This is a very pretty lace project.
Well done. I love your turtle and bag too.
Sorry to hear about the frogging, but hopefully your hands will thank you for it later. And thanks for the details about yarn and needles, and for the email. I appreciate the information. Cheers!
I also wanted to add that I would like to get some good info on making a custom header. I actually am decent at moving the code around, but making the header (something simple but nice) has been hard. Any ideas? Check out my blog Strings(violin) & Yarn(knitting).
Hi, I just wanted to thank you for your 3 years ago blog, I have just started the print o the waves shawl I’ve done one pattern repeat and I’m so sad it just looks like a big pile of knots. This is only my second lace project, and I’m really close to unravelling. However, looking at your photo and my tied up holes I can see that I’m at least vaguely on the right lines! Thanks!
Hi Susan,
Glad you found my post helpful! I’ve done more lace since the Print o’ the Wave, and the first repeat is always kind of painful. But it does get easier once you can see where the pattern is going!