(Pat...the duck above is for you, and will be included in the optional chart patterns for the Nordic Knitting Retreats at Cape Ann and The Catskills).
I was chatting in the shop yesterday about writing patterns. I LOVE to write patterns! I look forward to that part of any knitting project. It does take a fair amount of time, and I am constantly challenged by making stupid mistakes, but using all my computer skills and workhorse software is enormously helpful. And satisfying.
I rely on my digital camera for shots of difficult parts in the pattern (one picture is truly worth a thousand words) as well as a final all-over photo; Microsoft EXCEL to work out all the math as I carve out the sizes I want to include (and many thanks to Dee who helped me understand how to use it!), Microsoft WORD to write and format the pattern; EXCEL to create the charts (it works easily and beautifully!) and my humble calculator when there is so much going on in EXCEL that I can't see the forest for the trees.
Literally.
For instance, the pattern for the LUSKOFTE IN THE WOODS (or Lice in The Woods Sweater...which title do you prefer?) has a lovely ring of pine trees at the base of the yoke. The chart stitch repeat is 15. There are 12 adult sizes from 38 through 60". That's 12 sets of numbers that have to be decreased around equally and logically so that the pine trees fit where they should AND so they look good arranged on the sweater AND so the decreases do not cause bunching, etc. This is a job for EXCEL to keep track of, but for me and my little calculator to consider from size to size, pondering as we go.
Math is an amazing companion in tracking a sweater's changes, and I am grateful for its power and predictability. I am even more grateful for the work of Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen, who opened designing doors for me in the 70's. With one piece of paper, a gauge swatch, sweater measurements and a percentage concept of clothing a body, anyone can knit a sweater that fits. This is the legacy we knitters come from, for back in the fishing villages where knitting thrived in centuries past, there were no patterns, yet, everyone wore sweaters.
