Rogue-Along Wiki Created So I Can Be Lazy

I had the best idea EVER tonight. (Yeah, I say that a lot.) The Rogue Wiki.

I had meant to post about getting stabbed in the foot, or about the amazing thing my sister said, but now you get a knitting post.

A knit-along is a phenomenon in the online knitting community where people all knitting a popular pattern will begin a forum or group to discuss nuances of said pattern. I joined the Rogue-Along Yahoo group as soon as I heard about it, because I’ve been obsessed with the Rogue pattern for a long time.

I’ve been reading the group digest emails (about the only thing I bother to read in my Yahoo account) for … years. I’ve been planning this Rogue thing for a loooong time, but like a lot of people with a lot of hobbies, I felt that I just wasn’t ready. I’ve since knitted a sweater for my brother, and a mostly-complete sweater for my betrothed (I don’t want to talk about how badly the sleeves are fitting – not my fault – or how I abandoned it to begin knitting my own sweater.) Anyway, all of a sudden, I realized I was ready.

So I went to my LYS, and pored over the yarn samples of Cascade 220. I think I spent a good half hour there, trying to decide which color I liked the best, vs. which color would work up the best, vs. what color would look best on me. I ended up with a light lavender heathered yarn that looks grey under fluorescent light. They ordered it for me.

I went back a few weeks later to pick up my order (this is where, as I turned to walk out the door, I stepped full down on an upturned 4″ sewing needle, which went right through my foam sandal and waaaaay through my foot. at a store called Needleworks. it was ironic. and hurty. more about that later) and went home to begin knitting the sweater to rule them all.

Now, I had been reading these Rogue-Along posts for quite some time, so I knew there were all sorts of tips and explanations to tricky bits. Right as I cast on, I was faced with my first quandary: cast on loosely, or provisionally? Knit in twisted stockinette, or k1p1? How the eff do you do a twisted stitch?

And then I had eighty million other questions about the pocket, about the cable charts, about everything. I would search the Yahoo group archives for answers, sometimes answers I had read about previously, but was only nominally successful. Not to brag, but I am a trained librarian, and I think if it’s to be found, I should be able to find it.

Anyway, I was pondering this frustration, because I know there are a BUNCH more hints I should know about as I make my way through this pattern. Then it hit me: this needs to be organized as a wiki. I set up a PBWiki, and sent off an email to the good readers of the Rogue-Along Yahoo group. My hope among hopes is that others will get into this idea and populate the site with information about the pattern, and I’ll be able to lazily read along as I knit, adjusting hither and thither as needed. I am lazy, and will take great technological leaps to remain that way.

I think my sister would refer to my enthusiasm for making other people do stuff I thought of as the “Hey Lena, put on your swimsuit, make an eye patch and a sword, find three kittens, and meet me in the back yard. We’re going to play pirates.” phenomenon. This actually happened, maybe more than once, when we were little and Lena would spend ALLLLL this time getting stuff together, and she’d go outside and find our brother in his swim trunks and a bandanna, with a tree branch, some rope, and several more kittens, and she’d ask where I was, and he wouldn’t know, and they’d look all over for me, and I’d gone off to my room to read and demand to be left alone.

Anyway, the point is, THE POINT IS, I am excited about knitting Rogue, I am excited to maybe start a new style of information organization for knitters, and I have maybe been drinking caffeinated soda tonight.

I couldn’t get the needle out of my sandal, and it was jammed so far into my foot I couldn’t move my foot out of the straps, and was considering gnawing the straps off when the person working fetched some pliers. This is what actually happened. I was thinking that I’d rather pull the needle out myself, because I’d do it right, and not yank it sideways or something, but then I thought to myself “She’s a knitter. She knows what she’s doing.” She gave a good, clean yank, and got the needle out so fast the only thing I said was “Well done!” Apparently, under mortal peril, I turn into an 18th century British explorer. Go figure. I was headed to the student clinic when I picked up the yarn, so I was able to go have it cleaned and confirm that I was full of tetanus-vaccine goodness.

I’ll save the amazing thing my sister said for the next post. Yeah, she says amazing things all the time, if you count the above pirate quote.