Knitting: Like Candy Stripes

Okay, so the Wool Peddler's Shawl is completed.  I ordered and received (yesterday) the biggest one-piece but still compact blocking mat I could find, and it still outstretches it by a foot on either side.

Good thing I didn't throw away those puzzle-piece mats like I'd planned.  I am VERY disappointed with Knit Picks once again, as the wash water for this turned a bright pink in seconds.  I rescued it by adding hot water and vinegar, but I hate it when my stuff smells like pickles, for god's sake.

Instead of starting right away on another item for my shop, I decided to do a little something for myself when this little pattern caught my eye.  I still haven't received an explanation for what an "Erquy" is, but I assume it's an outpost in World of Warcraft.  Just kidding.  I think.

Since I already had a crap-ton of sport, DK, and sock weight cotton yarn, this was a no-brainer.  I think I could knit four or five of these with just what I have in my stash.  More if I decide to dip into my color-coordinated pairs of sock yarn.  Here is my Valentine themed one.  If I finish it in time, I will be amazed since cotton yarn seems to suck the very life out of my hands, but it will be soft and comfy.

I am, however, very pissed off about this pattern in one respect.  They have placed a "cannot sell items knitted from this pattern" restriction on it.  I wasn't planning on making things to sell from it, because I hate the idea of trying to make sizes to fit a billion different people, but at a $6 price point for what is basically a super-sized Jaywalker sock with some very basic feather and fan stitch on the bottom, and the lace pattern from a Mason-Dixon book that I already own, I expect to at least be warned about that restriction BEFORE purchasing.  It has certainly made me reconsider buying more patterns from this individual.  I also did not like that I had to go to the knit-along thread on Ravelry just to find out what actual bust sizes the "finished circumference" measurements fit.  If they'd told me there was two or four inches of negative ease, I could do the math.  But no, not there.  The pattern page says for more information to go to their website.  Not there either.  That's getting pretty obscure, especially for a measurement you need to know before you even start.

ETA:  Since I put a (slightly more polite) comment on the pattern, the pattern listing page has been updated to list the bust sizes.  Fabulous fix!