toomuchplor | And she knat and she knat until she couldn't knit no more

I'm typing this with sore hands and fingers, having knocked out an entire (child's) sweater in the last 72 hours. (Here's a link to the pattern if you're curious.) It wouldn't have been so bad but it was a relatively bulky yarn on relatively small needles and there is a buttload of cabling (which I do without a cable needle because I am lazy) all of which adds up to ouchie hands. It's kind of funny that I took piano lessons for 16 plus years and in that time did festivals and exams and a degree in music with piano as my secondary instrument and I never once in all that time practiced enough to give myself tendinitis and now I've managed to do it with intensive knitting over the course of only 3 days. It's all a teachable moment in the end: "Plor will not tackle ambitious Christmas knitting less than four days before Christmas."

I know there are a few other knitters out there on my flist/reading circle/whatever and I'm curious if any of you has ever designed a pattern, like formally in the sense of releasing your pattern to the public -- maybe even for profit? I've got a mitten design that I decided to work up into a proper pattern but I'm stuck on the part where I have the thing tested by someone to make sure it makes sense to others.

I was poking around the Ravelry forums looking to see what the process is for having a pattern tester and it's all terribly formal, like "thou shalt provide thy tester with a Time Frame and thy tester shall abide by this Time Frame and yea, thou shalt smite them with knitting needles of iron if thy tester does not provide appropriate and timely feedback" and I'm left sitting there thinking wistfully of beta readers in fandom and thinking that no one will leave me "Track Changes" notes like "squee!" and "you have a comma problem, you idiot" in the margins of a document that reads K43 K2tog K15 etc. Why isn't knitting more like fandom? WHY?

Anyway, that is my knitting-related rant. I wish I had less tendinitis so I could knock out a Xmas Eve fic today but sadly today will be spent lining this sweater and setting a zipper and that sort of thing. Hope all of you have a happy Christmas or whatever you plan to do with your holiday weekend. I'll be icing my hands and hoping my almost-3-year-old niece appreciates that Auntie Plor has crippled herself for her sake.

p.s. I just chose "sore" as my mood for this post and of course it has McKay *bleeding from a head wound and smiling* in the icon. You know you are a whiny hypochondriac when Rodney McKay's being a braver little toaster than you. Sigh.

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I have one actual crochet pattern up for download on Ravelry (it's free because it's for dolls of the South Park characters, hurray copyright!). I didn't have a pattern tester, but I did make three dolls with an identical pattern so it was sort of tested? I just read it over myself for typos and then put it up with a warning that it wasn't tested and to message me if there were problems.

A lot like what I typically do with fanfic, actually....

Oh, good to know. I'm thinking of offering this one for sale if only because I've put a lot of work into it but maybe it's better to start off with something free and see how it does? I've made four pairs of this mitten pattern and will soon be doing pairs number 5 and 6 for friends. The issue is sizing, though as of pair #5 I think I'll have covered all three sizes I've worked up.

I think if selling patterns is a goal of yours, it's still best to have at least one free one uploaded, like a sample for people who might want to pay for your stuff? I know one reason I don't buy patterns on Rav (one of the several...) is that I don't know what I'm getting when I open that link, organization-wise.

At least I know that if I ever put a pattern up for sale, there will probably be at least one person who sees it and goes, 'oh this is that designer who put up the batman logo thing and the south park amigurumi!' and might get excited about that.

Hmm, maybe better to use something less substantial as the free pattern. You raise an excellent point -- I've paid for patterns that are perhaps not worth the money involved on Ravelry.

I'm now going to look you up on Ravelry so if a weird person friends you in the next few minutes don't be alarmed. Hee.

Haha, is that you who just added and messaged me?

Whoa, that's a super cute sweater, and an impressive amount to knit in 72 hours! I was kicking myself for waiting to knit my bro-in-law's knit alien things until yesterday (tentacles take longer than you think, I've found), but they took nowhere near the knitting required for even a baby sweater!

In other knitting news, I would TOTALLY test knit mittens for you! I haven't done much formal test knitting--I knit some fingerless mitts for a friend after she wrote up a pattern, but she never really released them, so... But, you know, I can follow the directions and tell you if they don't make sense or if you forgot to write a step down (and totally squee about how awesome they are) etc. If you'd like! But I honestly don't think there has to be a formal process, even to release a pattern for profit.

I know, it's a crazy amount! The thing is currently finished -- lining, zip, and all -- and ready for wrapping! Best of all, my hands are mostly recovered by now.

Non-knitters don't begin to understand it I think -- which is why I'm so mean with my FOs and only gift people with knitted objects once if the gift isn't received with any real appreciation. Doesn't that sound snotty? But it's hard to explain to a non-knitter that a pair of mittens may seem cheap to them but it represents usually $20 of yarn plus 8-12 hours or more of labour. This year I've restricted myself to knitting for my nieces and nephew because they're wee and adorable and I can always blame their parents if they don't wear the FOs enough for my tastes.

It'd be awesome if you'd be willing to ~~beta~~ test knit. I'll send you a DW message with the details and we can discuss! Thanks for the offer!

Yes, 'tis me! *g* Hi!

Oh yeah, I'm super hesitant to knit for people who aren't knitters. I mean, I enjoy the knitting process, but I want people to enjoy the stuff I make, or I would just knit for myself all of the time. Ok, about to send you a DW message back!

My lady is also willing to test the pattern, and I will type up her commentary for you.

I'm a crocheter and have still yet to learn how to knit; otherwise, I would have tried out your pattern and done the feedback in a fic beta kind of way. ;)

Hope your hands feel better soon!

That's probably the way to go! Crocheting only really strains one hand, right? *g* I crochet too (though not nearly as much/often as knitting) but never to the point of muscle injury. I came close when I did an amigurumi Conan O'Brien for a friend last spring. That is some tight gauge crocheting, holy moly! I'm amazed that people voluntarily make more than one amigurumi object in their lives. It's like crocheting canvas out of yarn. Ouch.

I'm a very tense person, so I tend to strain both hands (although the right more than the left). :D Particularly when I use bouclé yarn (omg, I hate you, bouclé yarn; why must you look so pretty as the finished product?)

Same thing happens when I practice too much the piano (I don't have your training: I self-taught myself as an adult and took lessons when I could afford it).

I haven't tried amigurumi, but I want to buy myself this book (http://www.amazon.ca/Kyuuto-Japanese-Crafts-Amigurumi-Chronicle/dp/0811860825/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293210357&sr=1-1). Adorable tiny animals! I once made a tiny octopus. ♥

I guess I never got worked up enough about piano to injure myself, ha. (Too true, my parents would say.) The things we will do for cute woolen items, I tell you!

But I love you for it!! :) hee!

I know, you are totally one of the appreciative few. And I love you for it too.

And she knat and she knat until she couldn't knit no more

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