Basic Information
What does the WTP mean?
It’s short for “The Walker Treasury Project.”
Why is this a WordPress blog? I’m used to blogger!
Not so long ago, blogger sucked. It didn’t have the awesome functions that WordPress has. The creator of this blog, Nicole of allbuttonedup.wordpress.com moved her knitting blog to WordPress because of the sheer awesome-ness of WordPress. She was happy with the professional look of the themes available, the widgets (like the calendar and the categories and stuff). She swore her devotion to WordPress and continues to be impressed with the innovation of the folks who work so hard to make it amazing. WordPress is actually very easy. You’ll get used to it and maybe even switch someday yourself. (Want to see how cool WP is? Hover over the link to Nicole’s blog. That “snap” feature is free!)
What’s this about a flickr pool?
We have a flickr pool/group where you can add your swatch photos. It’s an open group, so if you search for the walker treasury project, you should find it. Feel free to join at will and upload your swatches. See more info about the flickr group here.
But why Flickr?
It’s simple to use, provides the image size we need and is free! If you want to, Flickr makes it very easy for you to associate a blog with your Flickr account, and send photos from that account to that blog. Start with Flickr’s Blogging FAQs for help. Remember to follow Flickr’s Terms of use policy and link back to flickr with your photo.
Is there a Ravelry Group?
Absolutely! The link is http://www.ravelry.com/groups/walker-treasury-project
How to Participate
Please explain to me how this works
Please see the ‘about‘, ‘how to join the project‘ and ‘rules‘ pages. If you have more questions, email walkertreasuryproject@gmail.com .
How should I contact you about participating?
If you are interested in participating, please start by reading the How to Join the Project page.
How many swatches do I have to knit to participate?
At least one, but we encourage you to knit more. We understand that you have super sweaters and swanky socks to be knitting. But we think that the more people contribute to this project, even a little here and there, the more we can all benefit. Think of what a resource this page would be if we got even 1/2 of the patterns from the books covered!
How long do I have to knit my swatch and make a post?
You have 3 months from the day you claim the pattern on the Pattern Claim Form.
Are there ways I can help besides knitting a swatch?
Currently, we have one moderator per book – and that seems to be working pretty well so far, so as far as the behind-the-scenes-stuff — not really. But if you have a suggestion about a way to make this project more useful, please, email us (that’s how we came to add the stitch count repeat to the template). Also, we have plans in the future to entice people to participate and upload swatches by having contests. We’d love to give away some swanky goods, but since most of us who are moderating this are on budgets that are already stretched by yarn-addictions, we’d love some donations! If you’re interested in helping in this way, email us and we’ll talk out the details!
OMG! My little brother has been knitting one swatch every few days or so from the Walker treasuries since the day he learned to knit! Or, some other version of “this is being done already…”
Awesome! See if he wants to add his efforts to our group effort. If not, that’s ok. We know we’re not the first to do something along these lines – but we are (I think,) the first to make it a group effort! Even knitting a swatch a day – it would take the better part of two years to do just the first book all by yourself – This way, we’re all helping each other – and you never know – someone may choose a particular yarn or color which you may have never thought to use yourself – and you may find new inspiration there! Plus, we’ve categorized everything for easy use!
Knitting the Swatch
What needles should I choose?
There are a few ways you could do this. You could trial and error it. You could go with the needle size suggested by the label. Or, you could find patterns knit with that yarn and use the same size needles. Also, we highly recommend that you look at what Barbara writes about the pattern. In more than a few, she recommends a yarn to use, and a gauge to knit it at.
What about non-commercial yarns? Like yarns that I dye or stuff I spun up myself? Or what if I don’t remember exactly which yarn this mystery ball from the bottom of my stash is?
Great! Use it! If it’s stuff you dyed yourself, tell us what it was before you dyed it and what colors you used (if possible – ie – “Knitpicks, Bare, worsted weight, dyed with Fire Red Jaquard dyes”). If you spun it yourself, please, please, tell us what the content is and how many wraps per inch it is (so we can try to duplicate it ourselves) and definetly where you got your roving. If it’s an unknown skein, definetly include the wpi, and take a guess at the fiber content. Try the burn test.
Why do I have to block my swatch? I’ve never blocked anything in my life and I don’t want to start now.
Have you ever tasted two cookies from the same recipe – but one baker added the salt and the other didn’t? The salt makes your tongue water just a bit and makes the whole cookie taste better in your mouth. It’s a small but important step. Blocking is the same way. Some people argue that it doesn’t make a big difference. I beg to differ. Just look at Triple Twist Lace to see the difference between a blocked and unblocked swatch. Blocking evens your stitches and really makes your swatch more professional. Blocking is also a good way to get your stiches to lie flat and stop curling. If you don’t believe me or you don’t know how to block, Knitty has an excellent article on blocking here.
What do you mean by gauge? Do you want us to include the gauge in stockinette stitch or in the pattern?
Include it “in pattern” only if it makes sense. For example, if, largely, the stitches are all the same size or if it is a stockinette stitch based pattern, include it “in pattern.” If the swatch is a lace pattern, where there are lots of YOs and whatnot, include the gauge of stockinette stitch. If you don’t know which applies to your pattern, ask the moderators.
What does “wpi” mean? Why are you asking that we include it?
It means “wraps per inch.” Using wpi to keep track of yarn weight is the best, most standardized way to to so. Aran weight means different things to different people. Arguably, two different people should get the same wpi for the same yarn. Knowing the wpi of a yarn is best way to find a yarn substitution. Say, for instance that you have a skein of Blue Moon Socks that Rock which, according to this handy chart here, has 15 wpi and you want to knit something with it. Searching for “15 wpi” would pull up any patterns knit with Lorna’s Laces sock yarn, which also has a wpi of 15. Since they have the same wpi, you could figure that they would work up in a reasonably similar manner. See how to figure out your wpi here. But don’t forget that this is optional – if it’s confusing to you, just skip it – but the admins may go back later and add it later ourselves.
I really wanted to knit a swatch in Fisherman’s Rib, but someone has already done it. Can’t I knit another one?
Not for a while. The goal of this project is to knit, and illustrate in color, as many of the stitches from Barbara Walker’s Treasuries as possible. Allowing people to double up, especially when the number of posts is small, is not conducive to achieving this goal. At some point, we probably will allow people to start doubling up on the swatches. Arguably, a pattern could look completely different depending on yarn choices and the like. But that’s in the future. This is the present. So look for a pattern that is similar, but different.
Wait a minute. If the goal of this is to illustrate all of the swatches in color, then is black and white yarn out of the question? What about grey?
We mean color photos. Black, white, grey and all other yarn colors are completely fine by us.
What if I ignore what you say and post a duplicate anyway?
We will delete your post. If you do it twice, we’ll delete you from the blog.
Will I get kicked out for a bad post? Like if my photo sucks or my knitting is really bad?
No, but try really hard to make it be better. Check out the photo tips page for help with good photos. Since the point is to illustrate Walker’s stitches as she wrote them, knitting errors will be problematic. If you’re having trouble knitting your swatch, consider requesting an easier pattern. You could also ask for help from your stitch and bitch group, or on any of the knitting forums. If your post is contrary to the goals of this site, we may temporarily take it down and ask you to fix it. If you don’t or are unable to, we’ll consider letting someone else knit it. It’s nothing personal, we just want quality knitting/photos to show everyone the incredibleness of Barbara Walker.
I asked you to send me a copy of one the patterns so I can knit a swatch for the project – Why haven’t you?
The patterns are all published in books that are still in print and are subject to copyright legislation. We therefore can’t send you patterns, so please refrain from asking, thankyou.
I’d love to help, but I don’t own any of the books.
First, try your local library. Second, email the moderators – we may be able to direct you toward a stitch pattern that is easy (or found elsewhere) that hasn’t been done yet. We can help you with what chapter it comes from and stuff like that. Also, you could do some internet searches yourself and see if you come up with some ideas that way.
What’s the best way to post my photos?
First, we recommend that you host them on Flickr. Once you’re viewing the photo you want to post, click the “all sizes” icon (it’s the magnifying glass with the plus sign on it). Pick the photo which is markes as being 500X300 (or something else, if you cropped it). You don’t want the first number to be bigger than 500 though. Below the photo, you’ll see a box with HTML code. Select the text in the box, right click and select “copy.” In the editing page on WordPress, you’ll need to change from the “visual” tab to the “code” tab (right above where you would “bold” the text). Once you’re in the code tab, paste the text you grabbed from flickr. Switch back to “visual” and your photo should show up. To shrink it a little (the template works best when photos are only 460 wide), grab a corner with your mouse and just drag the corner inward. There ya go!
I’ll knit pretty much anything to contribute to this great project, but how do I know which swatches you still need people to knit and which ones have been “called for?”
Check out the Pattern Database. It lists all the patterns that are still up for grabs. The patterns that have been claimed and the patterns that are complete will show in the Claimed Patterns and Completed Patterns listings.
Hey! I think my post changed from what I originally updated! What happened?
We probably went in and cleaned things up a bit. Sometimes, people forget to categorize their post (which is part of the whole point of this thing). Other times, we’ll go in and fix up the way you posted your photo – so it’s as clear as possible. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of formatting and spellcheck, no big deal, and no judgment from us – we just want to keep this site as awesome as possible!
The template has an bit for ‘difficult techniques’ – what should I include?
Anything you found tricky, like p7tog maybe or using 2 cable needles. But, if you didn’t find the pattern particularly difficult, then you can just delete that bit.
What if I come across a photo link that’s broken and isn’t showing up – you know, one of those error messages?
Let the moderators know! Our email is walkertreasuryproject@gmail.com !
The Walker Treasury Project 