I'm in the process of working on the edits for Gore Street, a pattern that will be out in a couple of weeks in the Spring 2012 issue of Twist Collective. Twist's
April Newsletter came out today with yet another sneak peek. The editing finds me in the same place as many a Canadian writer--fighting to use Canadian spellings instead of American ones. Twist allows designers to use British or Canadian spellings, so long as they're used consistently, but it appears that my technical editor's computer program hasn't caught on (neither has mine for that matter--I'm constantly having to undo its efforts to change what I write).
We Canadians are a
stupidly stubbornly prickly people when it comes to spelling. Presumably, it's because we have a need to feel that we're not getting sucked into the great cultural vacuum south of the border. In fact, we're halfway to being there in most things, including spelling.
Here's the site I use to check on mine. Notice how in some cases we've retained British usage, and sometimes we've adopted American ways. My kids, raised in Washington, DC, just don't bother with Canadian spelling at all and consider my attitude rather quaint. (They do, however, call me "Mum", not "Mom".)
At the centre of today's edits was the word "centre" and its stranger cousin "centreing". I'm hopeful we'll get our wooLLen problems all sorted out in good humOUR, without fueLLing any sCeptisim or rancOUR, so that in due course we can all enjoy the next instaLment of this truly marveLLous magazine. Take that Microsoft Word!
