Questions & Answers
Are there corrections to your Flow Motion Sock pattern in the Fall 2006 Vogue Knitting?
Yes, there are. This design, on page 82, is a preview from my next sock books. Some of my instructions, including size options, were abbreviated or changed, and so I am giving the corrections here:
First, do not use the crochet cast-on in the magazine. Instead, use a figure-8 cast-on (and do use a double strand of yarn, as the socks are knitted with a double strand throughout, which is also not clear from the printed pattern), which I explain here:
This cast-on places sts on 2 parallel needles, alternately on the top needle, then the bottom needle, top, then bottom, etc. It is a provisional cast-on suitable for toe-up socks. Hold 2 circular needles in one hand so that the top needles are parallel. Bring the yarn between the needles and leaving a tail of about 5”, begin snugly wrapping the yarn around the 2 tips in a figure-8, so that the 2 tips fill the 2 holes in the “8”. Wrap until there are several more sts on each needle than required.
On the first round only, either the first or the second needle will have sts mounted with the leading leg in back, which means that this needle’s sts will have to be knit through the back.Pull the bottom needle so that it hangs down with its sts resting on its cable. Use both ends of the top needle to knit the required number of sts, then push the extras off the needle, allowing them to fall from the other needle as well. Pull the top needle so its just-knitted sts rest on its cable, and rotate it clockwise, with the right side still facing you, and the ends of this needle hanging down. Use both ends of the other needle (which is now on top) to knit its sts (which ought to be identical to the number of sts just knit on the 1st needle).
Second, to duplicate the yarn color sequence shown, begin at start of a pink/white section preceding a blue section on ball 1, and at start of a lavender section on ball 2.
Third, under the heading "Foot," I gave very different instructions, with the numbers in parentheses referring to women's shoe sizes 7, 8, 9, and 10:
Knit all rounds until foot measures 5.25” (5.5”, 5.75”, 6”).
I believe everything else is correct. I'ved already heard (today is 8-7-06) from at least one knitter who has already knit them and was very happy. She used two different sock yarns she happened to already have and got a very nice tweedy effect. Enjoy the socks and feel free to send me photos of finished pairs (or singles!)
(Scroll down to find the Q & A about each book)
Q & A about Treasure Forest and The Forest Inside trilogy
Can you tell us anything about the next two books?
Well, the first thing is that the next book will be a prequel, and the last book a sequel, to Treasure Forest. In other words, you've read the middle part of the trilogy first.
During the two years of writing Treasure Forest, I often dug back into the earlier experiences of all my characters and the environments they lived in, in order to understand them better and to allow the story to move more freely. I do not experience myself as the creator of the stories I write, rather as the first person who gets to see them as they emerge glistening and fresh from underground where they have been waiting to rise like new grass in the springtime. So you could say that I have gone underground many, many times, to visit the still dormant stories that are the origin of the story you read in Treasure Forest. And these dormant stories are so compelling and nourishing that I am sitting quietly beside their drowsy forms to welcome them to shoot above-ground where they will be gathered in the next book, the prequel.
The characters in the prequel are the adults of Treasure Forest, appearing as children: Archie, Daphne, Henry, Daggett, Rupert, Thea, Lily, Peter, and even Matthias's bloodhound ancestors. You'll learn more about the origin of the stories within the letters that Grandma Daphne left for Ben and Sara, have a front row seat when Daggett hops off the train in Cedarwood at age fourteen, be listening in when Daphne and Daggett say their last words to one another as teenagers, watch five-year-old Lily's world crumble and shrink, discover that a hidden element in a small oil painting has been guiding Peter's life, get to know Henry and learn some of the secrets of his House of Marvels, feel your heartbeat quicken as the hot-blooded young Daggett fights to claim his territory and build his secret home in the forest, and finally, Ben and Sara will be born and you will join them and their Grandma Daphne in the forest, learning from her as they did, and much, much more.
The sequel, which will probably appear in 2008, will lead you into the mystery of how Ben and Sara continue to pull their parents and Archie into the heart of the Forest Inside, whether they are allowed to remain in the actual forest or not. By the way, you too will be pulled into the inescapable arms of the Forest Inside, as surely as the adults in this book, if you have not already tumbled and fallen into its sweetness. Daggett will reappear, and struggle fiercely to adapt to his drastically changed circumstances. Unexpected alliances will grow between characters, and the story will move between the forest and the city, requiring all characters (and you are one of the characters, dear reader!) to learn to be present in the Forest Inside no matter where they are or what is happening.
Towards the end of the sequel, the correspondences between the letters that appeared in the middle book will finally be revealed and be seen to have guided the entire trilogy. And the very last moment of the sequel will display a perfect congruence with the very first moment of the prequel, so that the entire trilogy reveals itself as a Moebius sequence a form which playfully gives the illusion of duality, of right and wrong, of good and bad, of desirable and undesirable, but in its essence is a perfect harmony of infinite, divine balance. And this is where all readers will be left, a very good place indeed.
Is Matthias actually based on a real three-legged bloodhound?
Absolutely, his real name is Thunder, and you can take a look at his seventh birthday party right here: http://www.bloodhounds.com/prbc/bulletinboard/bdparty/bdparty.html
When I met Thunder, and his owner, Susan Payne, I was completely inspired and before I knew it, Thunder-Matthias's character had become one of the key plot elements. Both Thunder and Matthias carry the very essence of my book: that there is a homing instinct in everyone and everything which can be deeply trusted and which welcomes you Home.When will the next book be out?
The next book in The Forest Inside trilogy is in process, but I cannot predict when it will be finished. I'm also working on a new knitting book, due out sometime in 2006.
Q & A about the Treasuries of Magical Knitting
Do you still give workshops on Magical Knitting?
Yes, I do, and I love teaching! Please see the workshops/events page for my schedule. If you want to schedule a workshop, you may contact me at cat@catbordhi.com for current information.
Will there be a third Treasury?
I'm not really sure . . . there will certainly be more knitting books however! Right now I'm working on a book which carries on from Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. The footwear in the book will be knit on two circular needles, but the similarity stops there . . . wait and see! With luck, this book will be out by the end of 2006. As it begins to take on its final form, you'll find information and previews of it on this site.
Q & A about Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles
Is there an easier way to do the initial join when working with two circular needles?
When I wrote this book in 2001, I offered what I thought was the smoothest join, not realizing that it would be difficult for many people. There are many other ways of joining, and you can weave them all smoothly enough when you are done.
Perhaps the easiest would be to cast on to one needle, knit a row or two, then divide the stitches between the two circular needles and simply join by knitting from one needle to the next. Later you will use your tail to weave the little open space together.
A second method is to simply cast on, divide the stitches between the two circular needles, and join by knitting from one needle to the next. Later you will use your tail to weave the little open space together.
A third method is to cast on one extra stitch, divide the stitches between the two circular needles (with the extra stitch on the left needle) and join by slipping the extra stitch from the left needle to the right, then knitting these two together.
I sometimes have trouble keeping my tension even between the needles.
Here's a solution which I'm happy to say has worked very well for every knitter I've taught it to. When you switch needles, knit the first stitch on the new needle without worrying about your tension. Then just as you begin to knit the second stitch, give the yarn a tug to pull the first stitch into proper tension. It will hold the tension, whereas before it would have slipped.
I have an early edition of Socks Soar. Are there corrections?
Yes, there are. I believe the later editions are error-free. Click here to go to the list of corrections: Socks Soar corrections
