Blog Archives

Dun dun dun dun dun dun…

Posted on June 29, 2011

After rigorous overview and a test knit by me…

And then test knitting by five others…

And then more vigorous review…

Look what’s finally back after a 6 month hiatus!

Go check out the pattern page for the download link, and please PLEASE let me know if you discover any errors, and I will get on them posthaste. :)

I want to say a big big big big THANK YOU to my test knitters and other amazing awesome helpers this time around: Cindy/random-charm, lindaturc, quiltingkidd, Sharon, and everyone else who offered helpful tidbits and suggestions along the way. I haven’t got you all in the PDF of the pattern yet, but I will. You guys were CRUCIAL and so thorough in your constructive criticisms.Thank you thank you thank you. If I can repay the karma, just say the word!

Any errors in the pattern are MINE, not theirs.

I also want to thank everyone else out there for your incredible patience, kind words and encouragement. I felt way more beat down about this pattern than I ever thought I could, but it was short-lived. Everyone was really helpful and caring and, well, I just love the knitting community. Y’all rock and I’ll be pushing the karma forward.

Now GO KNIT SHARK HATS, all of you!

shark hat

[ 3 Replies ]

Regarding the Shark Hat

Posted on December 28, 2010

by Ninja

It’s been removed until further notice.

I do not have the time right now for fixing the pattern myself, and I cannot deal with another “you ruined my child’s Christmas” email. People need to remember that the internet isn’t a wall. Speak the way you would speak in person. There’s a human being on the other side. I make mistakes like everyone else. The pattern was free. People are having wonderful successes with my other free patterns. This one’s simply been a knee in my back from day one, and I contemplated pulling it several times, but was asked not to by some. I should probably have listened to my heart instead.

Apologies to everyone. When I get the time, I will test knit the hat 2-3 times and re-write the pattern entirely.

shark hat

[ 12 Replies ]

Nothing says irony…

Posted on December 13, 2010

by Ninja

… like a pit bull in a shark hat.

This is the lovely Luce, eeeeevil red dog extraordinaire. Her person is an online friend from a dog community I belong to, and her mum was cool enough to knit this hat for her… or for Luce. Or something.

Regardless, Luce is awesome and now she has a shark hat of her very own.

(Photo credit belongs to Luce’s person who has a pretty cool blog herself.)

Shark Hat, Version 3.0. Finally.

Posted on December 12, 2010

by Ninja

After way too long, the new, and hopefully error-free Shark Hat is available for download. You can get it on Ravelry or on my page here. Special thanks to the lovely Kate (discosmurf on Ravelry) for making some necessary mods to this pattern and making my re-write much easier. Also for allowing me use of a few of her adorable hat photos:

It is entirely my fault for letting this pattern go on for TWO YEARS without the needed update. I should have shut it down and saved people the torment of it, but when I did, people wanted it back. What do you do?

I can’t help but be a little aggravated that very few knitters contacted me regarding the pattern’s issues, but many were adamant to complain loudly about it on their completed hat pages on Ravelry. Here’s the magic of Ravelry: I can see every hat linking back to my pattern. I can read the comments. I can see the errors for myself.

I wonder, sometimes, why people do not take a moment to contact the designer directly. I make it a point to always contact the designer if I have a problem with a pattern. Perhaps I’m just logical.

Anyways, it’s no one’s fault but my own, just a musing. I worked very hard to make sure this pattern version made sense, and had it proofread by one other person.

I ask here as well as everywhere else:

If there is a problem with this pattern, please please do not hesitate to contact me at allisonmacalister at gmail dot com. That is the fastest way I can track the problem and get an errata out there.

Thanks everyone! I hope the new and improved Shark Hat causes everyone a little more RAWR and happiness and a lot less frustration. :)

[ 13 Replies ]

Shark Hat and Travelling Sock

Posted on November 16, 2010

by Ninja

First, some big news. As many folks have learned, the Shark Hat pattern is… poorly written. It is my fault, having made a sore attempt to combine by test knitter’s efforts with my own and then failing to test knit once again. This time, I’ll be doing it right.

A lovely person on Ravelry has made the needed edits to my pattern, and with credit to her, I’ll be test-knitting and re-releasing the pattern soon. Watch for updates, and to all who have been frustrated by this hat, I give my sincere apologies. It is a lesson learned as a noob designer: Don’t be in a hurry to release your patterns. Be thorough and do your best to make sure it is correct the first time around.

In pleasant Shark Hat news, something awesome is going on over at Halos of Hope. One of my shark hats has been knit, named after a wonderful pit bull (which, given my other aspiration in life, fits perfectly), and took an inspiring voyage for cancer awareness. I have no place to brag in this awesome story; I am merely humbled that something as adorable and silly as my shark-eating-head hat could be an inspiration for something like this. Halos of Hope is an awesome organization; if you can spare it, throw them a donation.

Last weekend was spent in Virginia, up mountain at my sister (the Knitting Pirate)’s house. She is not my blood sister, but her and my two swornbrothers make it a point to unite ourselves a few times a year.

Sister and I knitted. Natch.