Recently, I have made a string of poorly chosen pattern purchases on Ravelry. I see something I like, get overly excited, type in my PayPal password (they make it WAY too easy to buy things online), and BOOF! There is a fresh new pattern waiting for me.
The trouble is however, I should really learn to read the fine print first.
On one occasion, I paid for a pattern and as soon as it was ready I hit 'print', only to discover that the pattern was 52 pages long.
Buh-bye ink cartridge.
Shortly after that incident, I bought another pattern, opened it up on my iPad (I had no more ink, so what other choice did I have???), only to discover that it was only available in French.
Buh-Bye $6.00.
My grade 9 French mark is a sure indication that since I can't even speak in simple past tense 'en Francais', I certainly can't knit in French either. And believe it or not... Google Translate isn't so sure what to do with knitting abbreviations.
Low and behold however... that pattern showed up in my inbox a few short weeks later- IN ENGLISH.
Hallejulah.
I felt as though Karma was coming for me- in a good way. I am doing my very best to support all of those independent online designers, and here I am with no ink left, and a pattern in another language.
So in celebration of my victory, I cast on pronto.
And this is what I ended up with.
Why hello little sailor collared/ kangaroo pocketed pullover for a two year old!
I love you.
I must confess that the pattern was still a little wacky, even in my native tongue... but that's OK. It wasn't anything that a decent knitter couldn't figure out.
Besides, who am I to judge? I can't read a pattern in French, why should I expect someone else to be able to translate it from French to English FOR PETE'S SAKE!
They done good.
I'm not entirely sure who will wear this little sweater someday. Maybe our beautiful nephew, maybe someone else...
But for the time being, it's going to hang up at Mary's Yarns as a daily reminder to me to always read the fine print first.
Baby Sweater Details
Pattern- Pull Gaspard by Christine Rouvillé in size 2
Yarn- Four balls of SMC Universa in shade 197, 45% acrylic, 55% merino- love this stuff
Needles- 4mm Addi Turbos (still the best needles EVER)
Breathe deep knitters.
Spring is just about to show her pretty face.
Je vous promets.
♥
12 comments:
This looks AWESOME!
Your grade 9 French will surely be better than mine. (I was FOB and took the course which started with "Ca va? Tres bien.") With a lot of persistence, trial-and-error, and Google Translate, I still managed to knit from a French pattern.
Too too too funny! I rarely buy patterns and this year I ended up with "knit a rectangle with thrums and sew it together for a pair of slippers." Really? Yes, really. I totally feel your pain!
Since I'm trying to learn french... I thought I might try to knit from french patterns. When I researched it... decided against it for now. Your story confirms it.
The sweater though? Toooo cute!
Heather S.
I can see why you so readily clicked "BUY NOW". That is Adorable! I mean, Oh MY GOSH! I've already got the pattern in a new tab to make a similar impulse purchase once I've finished leaving this comment. :-D
Oh, the sweater is adorable! Worth the frustration, perhaps? :)
Sorry about the misadventure, but the finished piece is lovely.
That is going straight in my queue. What a gorgeous little sweater. I have a new nephew too!
Sorry about the misadventure, but the finished piece is lovely.
Going to have to pop in to check this out! It is so sweet. Does it come in adult sizes?? ;o)
Too funny!
Love that sweater, just wished it came in larger sizes as it would be perfect for my little guy!
52 pages! I was just astonished by one that is only half that long. I can't even imagine what could be included in 52 pages.
oh i love it so! it is just perfect and oh so very sweet.
Adorable sweater! I've knit from French patterns a couple of times, and it always involves a lot of Googling to puzzle out the terms (since even if one speaks French, "knitting French" is an entirely different language).
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