Cool Idea That I'm Sure Won't Work...

I've been trying to get into design as I would like to open an Etsy store and not violate Copyright regulations- I'm not exactly and expert, but I did have basically an entire graduate school class on Copyright and Fair Use Policy in Education...super fun.

The problem is that I am not great at new stitch patterns. I don't have a problem with garment construction, at least I don't think I do since I have only really done a couple pairs of toe-up socks on my own, but I want to be able to try some completely new stitch patterns themselves.

This experiment is kind of a half-way mark to that goal. I highly doubt that I will get anything useable out of it, but I figure it's an amusing idea and maybe it will end up looking cool.

Here are the rules:

1. Pick some decently sized chunk of text, maybe about 10-25 words that you really love. It can be a quote from a book, movie, love letter, anything you want to dissect and repeat to yourself over and over again while knitting.
2. Cast on say 25 stitches- I really have no idea and am totally making this up so feel free to deviate.
3. Knit your quote. That sounds crazy, and you're right it is, but this is what I mean. Whenever you come to a consonant knit a stitch, for the vowels - purl, spaces get yarn overs, periods get knit 2 together, and any other punctuation gets a ssk (or slip two stitches as if to purl and then knit them together).
4. Turn your work when needed.
5. I haven't decided if the wrong side should continue the "pattern" or be some kind of rest row. I'll have to try it a both ways.

 So again in pseudo pattern speak

• Cast-on 25 stitches
• K1 for every consonant
• P1 for every vowel
• YO for every space
• K2tog for periods
• SSK for other punctuation

I've decided to start with  "'That's right,' shouted Vroomfondel, 'we demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!'" from chapter 25 of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I love this quote as it is so blatantly contradictory, yet still hold up as the ground work for philosophy and other areas, politics come to mind specifically.

I probably should have picked something else as I am going to have alot of left slants with all those ssk's, but that could end up being really fun, who knows. The interesting thing is that this could be amazing or complete rubbish depending on how many stitches I start with, how the subsequent stitches line up and how I end up dealing with the wrong sides. I am going to be counting this out in just a second, but it also be interesting to see if I am going to have more decreases than increases with this particular quote. Nope, just looked and while this does have quite a bit of punctuation for a standard quote, it still has far more spaces as any quote will. Lace here we come.

So here we go with that quote I am going to start with

• SSK, K2, P1, K1, SSK, K1, YO, K1, P1, K3, SSK, SSK, YO, K2, P2, K1, P1, K1, YO, K2, P2, K2, P1, K2, P1, K1, SSK, YO, SSK, K1, P1, YO, K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, YO, K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, P1, YO, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, YO, P1, K1, P2, K1, YO, P1, K1, YO, K1, P2, K2, YO, P1, K2, YO, P1, K2, P1, K2, P2, K2, P1, SSK, SSK
• And I guess I will start with 92 stitches (not the 25 I said above, told you I was making it up) so that I can at least get through this first set of the pattern without turning in the middle of my quote. I didn't count the yarn overs in my cast-on since those are increases, but I did count two stitches for my ssk's since that is taking two stitches and making 1. And just double checking... 8 decreases and only 12 increases per pattern. So it's going to start at 92 and get bigger, but slowly, it'll be interesting.

I have some nice smooth yarn picked out for this so I can see what is going on.Given that there are 12 increases per repeat, I think I am going to do a rest row for the wrong side, meaning you knit the stitches that appear to be knit and you purl the stitches that appear to be purl. I am a bit concerned that it is just going to turn into a lace rib, but then maybe I'll try again working the pattern through both sides. I am not holding my breath for something beautiful and wearable. It's just an experiment.

I would love to get some more people involved in this to see what we can come up with. It probably won't make anything, but it will be interesting and might give us all a bit more insight on how to create different looks in knitting! Please post pictures -or links to pictures- of anything you try, or feel free to put up quotes for my to work with. We'll see if we can come up with something new!