Twisted Texting

Mere moments after beanie was finished

What follows is a transcript of a text message conversation that transpired less than a month after that GLORIOUS day when John told be me had become a knitter. He had found a beanie pattern on Ravelry, had swatched for it once, and wanted to increase its awesomeness.

I received the first text out of the clear blue sky...

JES3: So question: since I am k2 p2 every odd row, I don't actually have to worry about the mirror thing right?

[mirror thing = casting on in pattern should be considered a wrong-side row unless knitting in the round]

JES3: Because the even rows are just knit across

JES3: And then I am facing back the original way on the next row

[I wrack my memory trying to remember what 'mirror thing' he's talking about and what his pattern looks like in the first place.]

SLA: I think you mean the cast on row doesn't need to be 'opposite'?

JES3: Right

JES3: Or not?

[**puts on know-it-all hat and pretends to comprehend the entire scope of the question**]

SLA: If so, consider casting on in all purl so that your cast on "row" looks like the knit row, then row 1 should be k2p2

JES3: So cast on doesn't count as a row?

SLA: Not usually, unless the pattern calls it one.

JES3: So it is essentially half a row?

[**crickets**]

SLA: Think of it as row 0.

SLA: If you'd like it to "disappear," you cast on according to the look of the fabric.

JES3: Which means it should match row 2 right?

[**realize your n00b of a brother had out-classed you in knitting physics**]

SLA: Yes... oh. You knit row 2 and it appears as purl, right?

SLA: Ironic. You practiced casting on in pattern on one of the few projects where a plain knit cast on is the sophisticated choice. :-)

[**TROLOLOLOLOLOL**]

JES3: I cast on k2 p2

[**derp**]

SLA: Maybe we should just publish these texts as a blog.

[The conversation continued until we worked out the best cast-on, which was exactly what he had swatched. Heh.]