Tuesday, November 20, 2007

New Pathways Formulas in Spreadsheet

I am a geek. It is indeed true.

I love the new Cat Bordhi book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Part One. Seems I have to specify Book One as she is already planning Book Two. She has the most amazing mind. I am stunned by the way she thinks.

The book has all these tables with values for you to calculate the # of stitches you need for various parts of the pattern. It is very cool.

So what did I do? I figured it would be much easier to plug all the info into something so it would spit out all the other numbers you need for a pattern. Easier than looking up figures on up to 6 tables. Also, there are figures that are easier to calculate with the formula, rather than having to figure it out manually.

I spent way too long scanning them in and retyping them as my OCR software blows. My husband was kind enough to proof the tables for me. But of course, not without mocking me mercilessly. *grin*

I have posted the spreadsheet on a website where I have some space:
http://akasha.onmyweigh.com/data/new-pathways-formulas.xls

Please feel free to use it. It won't make any sense without the book however! So unless you have the book, it really won't help you.

I chose Excel mostly because many people can use it. It isn't the ideal method. But it was the easiest to put together with the tools I have at hand.

Please hollar if there are any problems with the spreadsheet. I have locked the most of the cells so folks won't enter data into the wrong areas or delete things. It wasn't out of any sense of propriety of the data. I know this is Cat's info. The password to the spreadsheet is 'cat'.

If you have the book, make sure to check her site for the errata/corrections page. I got the second printing which has a lot less errors than the first. But there is nothing worse that working on a pattern for a while only to discover an error that will mean frogging hours of work.

Her website also has a bunch of super useful videos. They are also on YouTube. I love the demo of Judy's Magic Cast On, the LaRink & LaLink increases. I have started using those for any toes & heels I am doing. They make such a difference.

All in all, I am loving the book. When my Jaywalkers are done, I am definitely doing something from New Pathways. Debating which one would work best with the Lisa Souza Socks! yarn in Mars Quake I got. That is the yarn I want to get on the needles next.

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