Please
call me Sue, Susan, or Sue-Cat. I'm an Australian who's been living in
the US since 2005 and hence, I am familiar with both American and
British
English spelling and both metric and imperial measurements. (If we
speak on the phone and you have any difficulty understanding my Aussie
accent, please ask me to
speak slower.)
My mother taught
me how to knit when
I was four
years old. Of
course, it was years later before I produced anything
wearable and then many, many more years before I learned of tech
editing. I started by finding mistakes in purchased patterns and
proofreading patterns before test knitting started, gradually realizing
that what I was doing was tech editing. I was thrilled to see
the Tech Editing Certification newly offered
by TKGA in 2017
and became
the fourth person to complete the course. I find it very
satisfying
to see the test knitting of patterns I've tech edited go smoothly and
to see the neat, professional pattern that results. It brings together
skills I've learned earlier in
my life:
- I
have a Bachelor of
Science degree with
honors in
Computing and worked for a number of years in IT positions as
an
Analyst/Programmer and Project Leader. As a programmer, following the
correct coding syntax is essential – this is equivalent to
using basic
knitting
abbreviations and following a
style sheet (or simply the designer's style as presented) when tech
editing. Standards are also important both in IT and tech editing.
Additionally, finding errors in a knitting pattern without actually
knitting it is like performing a manual 'dry run' or step-by-step
'walkthrough' on programs to find
'bugs' (errors).
- I
have (or had) a couple
of hobbies
that
helped me to develop an "eagle eye", noticing little details or things
out of place. Years ago, before I moved to the US, I was very
interested in Australian Native Plants and
became adept in noticing and identifying (often very small) plants
growing in the woods. After I moved to the US, I started "geocaching"
which is like a treasure hunt (no actual treasure is involved!)
finding items that others have hidden outdoors, at times exceedingly
well and as
small as my little fingernail. One definitely develops an eye for it
with practice. My main geocaching focus has been in finding geocaches
that involve
puzzles (solving thousands), and those that involve hiking
to scenic locations (good exercise). I solve math and logic puzzles for
fun. This leads me to say that understanding
a 20-page (or more) complex knitting
pattern with
unique garment construction can be like
solving a fun and challenging puzzle!
- Over
the last 20+ years,
I've created and maintained a variety of websites which includes
proofreading their content and working to a given style.
- Lastly,
of course,
joyful, relaxing knitting!
You've
probably guessed that I have pet cats and have had most of my life.
They are my
"children", prompting my choice of Sue-Cat as my online username.
With
care and yarn,
---Sue
  
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