Ethnic Knitting Discovery is starting to show up on the web! It's so exciting when a pile of writing and scribbled drawings turns into something that looks like a book. It's even more exciting when stuff with your name and photo shows up on the internet. That's what happened today, when I read the Stitch Diva Newsletter. I knew Jennifer Hansen (the Stitch Diva herself) was going to do a writeup about Ethnic Knitting Discovery in her newsletter sometime this fall, but I didn't expect it so soon. The Stitch Diva designs might be considered to be the polar opposite of Ethnic Knitting designs -- they are funky, super stylish, and very modern -- but if you look a bit closer, you'll see that even the most trendy fashions are based on long standing traditions in knitting.
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Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
You knew I'd have to go to Powell's while I was in Portland, right? A friend told me it wasn't as nice as Tattered Cover and that it didn't have a cozy atmosphere, and he was right. But OMG, you have never seen so many books in one place, unless, of course, you've been to a huge library somewhere. But these books you can buy -- both new and used!
Here's what I picked up:
Every once in a while I see a Lithuanian dictionary or a language book in a big bookstore, but never books in Lithaunian. This is a language-learning book that I'd read about online. It's not quite a beginner book, but it is very basic. The larger book is a children's encyclopedia about Lithuania. It's great because it has a lot of pictures, which help me figure out what each section is about. I can read some of the words, but I can't get through many whole sentences yet. The beginning stages of learning a language, when you can only read the sample dialogs in your text books, are quite frustrating. Once you can read some children's books and news stories, it starts to feel like you've actually learned something.
Also had coffee with Chrissy Gardner, one of the designers who is doing a project for my Dorothy Reade book. I always love meeting knitters and designers in person, especially those with whom I've already chatted in email. Chrissy's got some interesting projects up her sleeves, and you may be able to find out about some of them at TNNA in January.
Here's what I picked up:
Every once in a while I see a Lithuanian dictionary or a language book in a big bookstore, but never books in Lithaunian. This is a language-learning book that I'd read about online. It's not quite a beginner book, but it is very basic. The larger book is a children's encyclopedia about Lithuania. It's great because it has a lot of pictures, which help me figure out what each section is about. I can read some of the words, but I can't get through many whole sentences yet. The beginning stages of learning a language, when you can only read the sample dialogs in your text books, are quite frustrating. Once you can read some children's books and news stories, it starts to feel like you've actually learned something.
Also had coffee with Chrissy Gardner, one of the designers who is doing a project for my Dorothy Reade book. I always love meeting knitters and designers in person, especially those with whom I've already chatted in email. Chrissy's got some interesting projects up her sleeves, and you may be able to find out about some of them at TNNA in January.
Monday, August 27, 2007
As promised, here's a link to an article about my Arctic Lace talk at Close Knit yesterday.
I am in love with the west coast of the United States in a way that I don't love any other part of this country, including Colorado where I have lived for the past 9 years.
These Addams Family photos aside;
The Riverwalk Inn B&B in Eugene is a lovely place to stay, within walking distance (as advertised) of the river walk, and in a scenic and quiet neighborhood. Donna, the hostess and proprietor, is a weaver and a member of a local charity knitting group, so you'll find fiber and crafts hidden all around the house. In fact, on the day I was to arrive, Donna called me to see if I could come early because she was having an all-day knitting retreat at the house and she'd just realized that I was the author of Arctic Lace and was coming to Eugene on a knitting mission. Unfortunately, our flight didn't get into Portland until 5pm and it's a 2 hour drive to Eugene, so there was no way we could make it in time for the retreat. I wish I'd known about it before, because I would have been tempted to fly in a day early! Donna also paints, collects tea pots (there are over 400 in the house), plays the harp, and works nights as a head nurse at the hospital ICU. I have no clue how she does it all and is still smiling every morning when she gets the coffee brewing before 7am. Her husband does help out at the Inn, but a woman's work is never done, is it?
Sally, from Close Knit, put us up at the Kennedy School Inn here in Portland last night. What a treat this place is! A local investor is restoring old, dilapidated buildings in the area, and turning them into hotels and entertainment destinations. This place is wonderful. We haven't taken any pictures here, but check out their website and consider staying here next time you're in Portland. The rooms have the old school blackboards in them, and you can leave notes or draw pictures for future guests to enjoy. In addition to the hotel itself, there's a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating (including a huge outdoor fireplace to keep you toasty on the cool summer evenings), a bar, a movie theater with couches instead of theater seats, and a heated soaking pool (don't forget your swimsuit!).
This sounds like a place where I could live:
From blueoregon.com.
I'm certainly not anti-business, since I make my money from running my own business and by working for a small software company. But business and money-making are not anywhere near to being the most important things in my life. I think small business is great, and I think bigger businesses are necessary to build some large or complex products that couldn't be handled by mom-and-pop shops. But I most certainly am anti monopoly, anti corporate personhood, anti laissez faire economics (even when it's rebranded as "free market economy"), and I am against just about every single item on the agenda of the Republican Party platform. (I really don't have a drop of patience left for the 25% of the people in the US who are wearing blinders so thick that they still support the distortion of traditional conservativism that is passing for the Republican party and the agenda of the inept and corrupt Bush administration.)
Portland here I come?
(Perhaps you can tell that I'm not in love with Colorado by the fact that every time I visit another place, I write about how wonderful it is. Dom and I have made a habit of moving to a completely new place every 10 years, and we've been in Colorado for about 9 now. We'd like to stay longer this time, because we have jobs we love and a great house and things are very comfortable. But when things like this happen, it leaves a sour taste in the back of my throat, and I find myself wondering if really want to stay in this place until our house is paid off.)
These Addams Family photos aside;
The Riverwalk Inn B&B in Eugene is a lovely place to stay, within walking distance (as advertised) of the river walk, and in a scenic and quiet neighborhood. Donna, the hostess and proprietor, is a weaver and a member of a local charity knitting group, so you'll find fiber and crafts hidden all around the house. In fact, on the day I was to arrive, Donna called me to see if I could come early because she was having an all-day knitting retreat at the house and she'd just realized that I was the author of Arctic Lace and was coming to Eugene on a knitting mission. Unfortunately, our flight didn't get into Portland until 5pm and it's a 2 hour drive to Eugene, so there was no way we could make it in time for the retreat. I wish I'd known about it before, because I would have been tempted to fly in a day early! Donna also paints, collects tea pots (there are over 400 in the house), plays the harp, and works nights as a head nurse at the hospital ICU. I have no clue how she does it all and is still smiling every morning when she gets the coffee brewing before 7am. Her husband does help out at the Inn, but a woman's work is never done, is it?
Sally, from Close Knit, put us up at the Kennedy School Inn here in Portland last night. What a treat this place is! A local investor is restoring old, dilapidated buildings in the area, and turning them into hotels and entertainment destinations. This place is wonderful. We haven't taken any pictures here, but check out their website and consider staying here next time you're in Portland. The rooms have the old school blackboards in them, and you can leave notes or draw pictures for future guests to enjoy. In addition to the hotel itself, there's a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating (including a huge outdoor fireplace to keep you toasty on the cool summer evenings), a bar, a movie theater with couches instead of theater seats, and a heated soaking pool (don't forget your swimsuit!).
This sounds like a place where I could live:
"Though Republicans are nowhere to be found, classical liberals are pro-capitalist, because a thriving economy is necessary to support the services liberals want to provide, but having such high concentrations of like-minded people creates a political milieu that assumes it is somehow unseemly to want to make money."
Last week, Linda Seebach came to Portland for the National Conference of Editorial Writers. She took the opportunity to study and write about Portland's "famous livibility" (though she seems more interested in our "famous smugness"). The piece, reprinted in today's Oregonian, is a collection of assumptions, broadsides, and GOP talking ponts (delivered by our fave, Tim Hibbitts). She argues--or repeats Hibbitts' argument--that Portland, peopled by "the full range of opinion from left, to far left, to ultra-left (and so on)" is dangerously anti-business.
Or, if business success is not exactly unseemly, it's not a high priority either. Before Portland's new mayor met with business leaders, Hibbitts noted, he found time to visit a bikers' group - Portland's big on bicycles - that gets together regularly to ride around breaking traffic laws.
Now, let's leave aside for the moment how Seebach seems to be conflating the issue of city bureaucracy (possibly not the most laissez faire) with public opinion (where you find far greater support for independent businesses than in, say, Denver). Let me throw it open to you all. Presumably, I'm speaking to a high concentration of the "ultra-left," and many of you are Portlanders. It is an increasingly common view that Portlanders are anti-business (and also that there are no conservatives here, though apparently 98,000 of those lefties inexplicably voted for Bush). As I go from my local coffeeshop to my independent bookstore and later out to a great local restaurant, that view sure doesn't ring true to my experience.
Well, ultra-lefties, are you anti-business?
From blueoregon.com.
I'm certainly not anti-business, since I make my money from running my own business and by working for a small software company. But business and money-making are not anywhere near to being the most important things in my life. I think small business is great, and I think bigger businesses are necessary to build some large or complex products that couldn't be handled by mom-and-pop shops. But I most certainly am anti monopoly, anti corporate personhood, anti laissez faire economics (even when it's rebranded as "free market economy"), and I am against just about every single item on the agenda of the Republican Party platform. (I really don't have a drop of patience left for the 25% of the people in the US who are wearing blinders so thick that they still support the distortion of traditional conservativism that is passing for the Republican party and the agenda of the inept and corrupt Bush administration.)
Portland here I come?
(Perhaps you can tell that I'm not in love with Colorado by the fact that every time I visit another place, I write about how wonderful it is. Dom and I have made a habit of moving to a completely new place every 10 years, and we've been in Colorado for about 9 now. We'd like to stay longer this time, because we have jobs we love and a great house and things are very comfortable. But when things like this happen, it leaves a sour taste in the back of my throat, and I find myself wondering if really want to stay in this place until our house is paid off.)
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Love this state. Spent Saturday in Eugene. In the morning, we went to the Saturday Market, which is the the oldest weekly open air crafts market in the US., comprising a huge farmer's market, and arts-and-crafts fair, and a food court, with live musicians scattered around throughout. It's a great place to spend an hour or two on a Saturday morning, but I left wishing I lived nearby so I could buy some of the fresh produce and do some canning in the afternoon.
As it was, the afternoon was also great, filled with yarn and knitting instead of fresh fruit and cooking. We went to The Knit Shop for a book signing and an informal knitting gathering. Joan Schroeder, whom I met at the Mile High Lace Knitting Conference in Denver last year was there, and so were Eugen Beugler and J.C. Briar whom I'd only met in email before, and several other shop employees and customers. Donna Nixon also joined us for a while. Dom hung out for a little bit, and then took his laptop and headed out in search of a wifi hotspot.
This morning, we headed up to Portland to meet some friends for brunch, and then I had tea with Naomi Dagen Bloom. Naomi and I have been corresponding by email for quite some time now, and we are working together on a zine that features patterns for knitted condom amulets. Last week Naomi told me that she had to get something finished before the 23rd, when she'd be flying to Portland from New York. I was also flying to Portland on the 23rd, so we decide that we just had to get together. We worked on our marketing plan for our zine, Safe Sex and Dangerous Knitting, that will be coming out (with any luck and a lot of hard work) in October or November.
After our tea, I gave a talk about my travels in Alaska at Close Knit, just down the block, and taught a workshop in the evening. I didn't get any pictures at the workshops but one of the students was taking photos for her blog, and I'll get a link to that posted as soon as I can.
It's amazing that all of these things aligned so easily on this trip. Tomorrow is a business meeting unrelated to knitting, coffee at Powell's with another knitwear designer whom I've only met in email so far, and, I hope, some time for a tiny bit of sightseeing.
As it was, the afternoon was also great, filled with yarn and knitting instead of fresh fruit and cooking. We went to The Knit Shop for a book signing and an informal knitting gathering. Joan Schroeder, whom I met at the Mile High Lace Knitting Conference in Denver last year was there, and so were Eugen Beugler and J.C. Briar whom I'd only met in email before, and several other shop employees and customers. Donna Nixon also joined us for a while. Dom hung out for a little bit, and then took his laptop and headed out in search of a wifi hotspot.
This morning, we headed up to Portland to meet some friends for brunch, and then I had tea with Naomi Dagen Bloom. Naomi and I have been corresponding by email for quite some time now, and we are working together on a zine that features patterns for knitted condom amulets. Last week Naomi told me that she had to get something finished before the 23rd, when she'd be flying to Portland from New York. I was also flying to Portland on the 23rd, so we decide that we just had to get together. We worked on our marketing plan for our zine, Safe Sex and Dangerous Knitting, that will be coming out (with any luck and a lot of hard work) in October or November.
After our tea, I gave a talk about my travels in Alaska at Close Knit, just down the block, and taught a workshop in the evening. I didn't get any pictures at the workshops but one of the students was taking photos for her blog, and I'll get a link to that posted as soon as I can.
It's amazing that all of these things aligned so easily on this trip. Tomorrow is a business meeting unrelated to knitting, coffee at Powell's with another knitwear designer whom I've only met in email so far, and, I hope, some time for a tiny bit of sightseeing.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
I just found this great tutorial by Marnie MacLean about how to make lace charts in Excell. Marnie is designing a project for my book about Dorothy Reade, and she's charted the lace pattern here in a tutorial on making simple lace charts. She also has a second tutorial on making more complex charts. It's worth looking out if you want to make charts for yourself and you don't want to spend money on charting software. Here's a list of the symbols she uses in her charts:
I'm in Eugene, Oregon enjoying the cool(er than Colorado) weather and rare summer sunshine. I'm here for several reasons, all related to different things I do for work. Work may mean "projects for personal fulfillment" or "projects for money," and in some lucky cases, work means both of those things at the same time.
Yesterday I spent the day with Donna Reade Nixon, the daughter of Dorothy Reade. Dorothy was a fiber artist, potter, and water color painter (amongst other things), who was instrumental in developing the yarn and product line for the Oomingmak Co-op of Native Alaskan Knitters in the 1960s. On top of that, she did a lot of pioneering work in developing charted knitting and in creating unique knitted art pieces with handspun yarn.
Here's a swatch and a photo of a finished piece that will give you an idea of the type of work she did. The caption on the swatch says,
If you look closely, you can see the wires/needles attached to the bottom of the piece, below the caption.
The knitted piece shows just one of the original lace stitches that Dorothy designed. I found this one to be quite interesting, especially in the way she juxtaposed the round motifs with the sharp zigzag outline of the larger design.
TAFN. I could write a book about what I learned yesterday. Wait! I am writing a book about Dorothy Reade. It won't be done until next year, and then it will take some time in editing and production and printing before you'll find a copy at your local yarn shop. But it will be worth the wait. In addition to what I've learned this weekend, it will include charts for 25 of Dorothy Reade's original lace stitch patterns and projects by about 20 different terrific designers. So (shameless self promotion), check back here from time to time for small sneak previews, including snapshots and sketches of the projects in progress.
Here's a swatch and a photo of a finished piece that will give you an idea of the type of work she did. The caption on the swatch says,
Merino. Handspun to approx. 1 mile per ounce. Knit on Jeweler's wire (35/1000") dia. Contains 11,220 stitches, about 710 per square inch. Dorothy Reade. Eugene, Ore.
If you look closely, you can see the wires/needles attached to the bottom of the piece, below the caption.
The knitted piece shows just one of the original lace stitches that Dorothy designed. I found this one to be quite interesting, especially in the way she juxtaposed the round motifs with the sharp zigzag outline of the larger design.
TAFN. I could write a book about what I learned yesterday. Wait! I am writing a book about Dorothy Reade. It won't be done until next year, and then it will take some time in editing and production and printing before you'll find a copy at your local yarn shop. But it will be worth the wait. In addition to what I've learned this weekend, it will include charts for 25 of Dorothy Reade's original lace stitch patterns and projects by about 20 different terrific designers. So (shameless self promotion), check back here from time to time for small sneak previews, including snapshots and sketches of the projects in progress.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Not everyone who reads my books and blog posts comments here. I also receive email from readers and here's one I just have to share (with permission) because it made my day. Thanks, Sharlene!
Dear Donna:
I visited Alaska for three weeks in May/June. Before I left on my trip, I came across information on a website about the Oomingmak co-op. I was so excited to learn about their mission and knitting is something that I've always been interested in, but was never a great knitter.
I ended up in Anchorage on the weekend. I visitied the Saturday Market and stopped by a booth selling knitted items in qiviut. Unfortunately, I didn't find out the name of the knitter or the shop. The items were exquisite and very expensive.
I was holding out on purchasing a scarf from "native" knitters from Oomingmak, not because of the lower prices, but because I wanted to purchase from Oomingmak. Later that day, I stopped by Oomingmak, but I discovered that they were closed during the weekends. I was so disappointed.
I left Anchorage early Monday morning and continued on my schedule up north. To make a long story short, we ended our vacation on a week cruise from Seward to Vancouver. During one of my stops at Ketchikan, I visited a quaint knitting store and found your book! The owner also had some qiviut there and encouraged me to try and knit qiviut as "it wasn't all that difficult". I purchased your book and was so excited that I kept it with me all the way home to Hawaii and read it from cover to cover.
Thank you for the wonderful information that you shared during your visit to Alaska. I really enjoyed the background information on the various native groups as I was already interested in learning all that I could about the native cultures. I could relate to the many experiences that you had while visiting Alaska. I loved Alaska and would love to return in the near future.
Learning to knit "Arctic Lace" is something that I never thought I could ever dream, but I was determined to learn. After fifty starts and rip backs (can you imagine what my yarn looked like?!), I finally got it! In order to knit forward, one needs to know how to rip (knit) back to fix errors and learn, I did!
I purchased skeins of qiviut from the University of Alaska/LARS and I've been knitting your North Star scarf! I just finished my fifth star and I have three to go! I am so very happy and I can't thank you enough! Thank you for your wonderful book. It is beautiful and inspirational and it got a "slow learner" like me to actually knit a scarft in qiviut! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Donna!
Good luck with your new book. I enjoy checking our your blogs. I, also, visited Europe for three weeks last year and I was in heaven. I can also say that I am even more in heaven after visiting Alaska and bringing back a little piece of culture--thanks to you.
With warm aloha,
Sharlene H---
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Hi Everyone, I got this email reminder recently and I wanted to share it with you in case you might want to head up to Alaska for some knitting fun this fall.
Donna Druchunas
I taught at Yarn Expo last year and had a wonderful time. You can read about it on my 2006 Alaska travel blog.
Donna Druchunas
Hey Donna:
Hope your year has been great so far. We’re having a fabulous summer here.
Our Yarn Expo class information and registration forms are online now and if you could help us spread the word, that would be wonderful. The site is www.alaskayarncouncil.org. As you know, Lily Chin is our headliner and we have other local teachers doing embroidery, rugmaking, knitting, crochet and spinning classes.
Happy knitting,
Tara Witterholt, VP Marketing
Alaska State Yarn Council
Anchorage, Alaska
I taught at Yarn Expo last year and had a wonderful time. You can read about it on my 2006 Alaska travel blog.
Monday, August 20, 2007
"This too shall pass" was one of my grandfather's favorite sayings. For those of you who are sweating your asses off this summer, here's a reminder of what may be coming in the not-too-distant future:
Friday, August 17, 2007
| What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. | |
| Science/Math Nerd | |
| Artistic Nerd | |
| Social Nerd | |
| Musician | |
| Drama Nerd | |
| Gamer/Computer Nerd | |
| Anime Nerd | |
| What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace | |
Loveland, Colo., August 17, 2007: The Fall 2007 issue of Interweave Knits, the first issue under new editor Eunny Jang, guides knitters through the rapidly growing world of organic options and explores how one basic element—such as knitted cables—can be integrated into your knitting in many wonderful and subtle ways. The issue hits newsstands and craft shops nationwide this week and retails for $6.99. With this issue Jang begins her new blog at www.interweaveknits.com/eunnyknits, where she further explores the cool patterns, techniques, stitches, themes, and fibers from each issue and gives the behind-the-scenes on her new editorship.
Hat tip to Leslie Shelor at Fiber Femmes.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Slate has a snarky little article about political crafting and a link to a slide show of some very provocative pieces. Whatever your political leanings, there's something there to offend. Here are a couple of my favorites:
I thought this was a condom amulet. I'm working on a 'zine called Safe Sex and Dangerous Knitting with Naomi Dagen Bloom. The 'zine will include sex education information along with several knitting patterns for condom cozies. There’ll be condom amulets to wear around your neck, a safe-socks pattern for a pair of socks with a condom pocket on the ankle, a bra with a hidden condom pocket, and more. As it turns out, the item in this photo is an RU486 case.
This godless cross stitch piece is oddly inspiring to me as an unbeliever, plus it's just flat-out funny. I know a lot of religious people get their panties in a wad over stuff like this (and the Darwin fish car emblems), but these are jokes, so lighten up. If the 'zine gets off the ground OK this fall, I want to do another issue called "Question Authority" next year that will talk about knitting and living without obeying arbitrary rules just because they're printed in a book (beit a Bible or a book by your favorite Knitting Goddess).
I thought this was a condom amulet. I'm working on a 'zine called Safe Sex and Dangerous Knitting with Naomi Dagen Bloom. The 'zine will include sex education information along with several knitting patterns for condom cozies. There’ll be condom amulets to wear around your neck, a safe-socks pattern for a pair of socks with a condom pocket on the ankle, a bra with a hidden condom pocket, and more. As it turns out, the item in this photo is an RU486 case.
DemoCraft No. 2: RU-486 Carrying Case
Don't leave home without it. Especially if you're a lady who's sexually active and stylish. Shown here in sleek silver with white rickrack. Or say, "Hello, Sailor!" with fun summer colors. Let the world know who's in charge of your uterus. Thank goodness life begins not at conception, but at endometrial implantation.
This godless cross stitch piece is oddly inspiring to me as an unbeliever, plus it's just flat-out funny. I know a lot of religious people get their panties in a wad over stuff like this (and the Darwin fish car emblems), but these are jokes, so lighten up. If the 'zine gets off the ground OK this fall, I want to do another issue called "Question Authority" next year that will talk about knitting and living without obeying arbitrary rules just because they're printed in a book (beit a Bible or a book by your favorite Knitting Goddess).
DemoCraft No. 4: God-Free Cross-Stitch
Just like Nana would have made—if she'd gone to Wesleyan. For those with more time and better eyesight, try this alternative to the old saying: "Be Patient. My Ability To Transcend My Primitive Evolutionary Biological Impulses Isn't Finished With Me Yet."
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Got a picture of the yellow finch last night, upside down eating sunflower seeds. It didn't stop moving for a second and I took this photo through the window so I wouldn't scare it away.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Just now I found myself singing along to this 1980s Bangle's song in my head:
I am having a manic Monday, actually, but I had a wonderfully ecstatic manic Sunday, too.
My doctor doesn't think I am bipolar because I don't go on uncontrolled shopping sprees when I am having one of my highs. I do, however, go into uncontrolled idea generation, email overdrive, wild internet surfing sprees, and reading binges. I also have undescribably high ecstatic feelings, all without the help of any chemical substances. These highs are invariably followed by dips into the blues, sometimes even despair, although the depth of the lows these days is nothing like what it was when I was younger. I used to be afraid to feel good, beause I knew I would have to pay back by feeling really, really, really bad later. Now I can enjoy the highs, fall into them with abandon, and know that I can usually ignore the lows because I can tell myself that they are simply caused by hormones or chemical fluctuations in my brain, and that "this too shall pass."
Here's what I did on my Manic weekend when I was planning to work (um, just so you know, I did not work on the weekend, I did this other stuff instead):
Saturday
Slept late (until 7am)
Updated my website with info about Ethnic Knitting Discovery (my next book, due out in October)
Surfed the web and read my favorite blogs
Worked on ideas for a future book
Knit a few inches on a summer sweater
Had a bbq in Allenspark with a friend
Planned writing and knitting retreats for next summer and further into the future
Went for a hike in the woods
Watched TV and read at the same time (I almost always read, knit, read or surf the web while I'm watching TV.
Read in bed for a while before falling asleep.
Sunday
Made peach jam
Read blogs and shopped on Amazon
Had coffee at Borders and looked at canning books for more peach recipes
Went to the pet store and bought cat food
Saw Stardust at the movie theater (I love Neil Gaiman, but I love everything and everyone when I'm feeling like this)
Went out for dinner at a nice little Italian restaurant in downtown Longmont
Sent marketing info to the Denver Post for a writeup they're planning about the Colorado Book Awards
Wrote a blog entry about my day
Watched TV and....
Monday
I finished editing a dozen crochet patterns (<--- that was the "work" part) and read a book in between. Plus I took a short nap because the heat knocked me out, and after the UPS guy rang the doorbell, I skimmed through the page proofs of my next, next book, Kitty Knits, that will be coming out from Martingale early in 2008. (More on that later.) Oh yeah, and read blogs, and sent emails, and put more books in my Amazon shopping cart, and...
Now I am going to watch TV and knit.
What do you think? Manic Monday? It sure felt like it to me.
It's just another manic Monday (oh-woe)
I wish it was Sunday (oh-woe)
'Cause that's my Funday (oh-woe)
My I don't have to runday (oh)
It's just another manic Monday.
I am having a manic Monday, actually, but I had a wonderfully ecstatic manic Sunday, too.
My doctor doesn't think I am bipolar because I don't go on uncontrolled shopping sprees when I am having one of my highs. I do, however, go into uncontrolled idea generation, email overdrive, wild internet surfing sprees, and reading binges. I also have undescribably high ecstatic feelings, all without the help of any chemical substances. These highs are invariably followed by dips into the blues, sometimes even despair, although the depth of the lows these days is nothing like what it was when I was younger. I used to be afraid to feel good, beause I knew I would have to pay back by feeling really, really, really bad later. Now I can enjoy the highs, fall into them with abandon, and know that I can usually ignore the lows because I can tell myself that they are simply caused by hormones or chemical fluctuations in my brain, and that "this too shall pass."
Here's what I did on my Manic weekend when I was planning to work (um, just so you know, I did not work on the weekend, I did this other stuff instead):
Saturday
Slept late (until 7am)
Updated my website with info about Ethnic Knitting Discovery (my next book, due out in October)
Surfed the web and read my favorite blogs
Worked on ideas for a future book
Knit a few inches on a summer sweater
Had a bbq in Allenspark with a friend
Planned writing and knitting retreats for next summer and further into the future
Went for a hike in the woods
Watched TV and read at the same time (I almost always read, knit, read or surf the web while I'm watching TV.
Read in bed for a while before falling asleep.
Sunday
Made peach jam
Read blogs and shopped on Amazon
Had coffee at Borders and looked at canning books for more peach recipes
Went to the pet store and bought cat food
Saw Stardust at the movie theater (I love Neil Gaiman, but I love everything and everyone when I'm feeling like this)
Went out for dinner at a nice little Italian restaurant in downtown Longmont
Sent marketing info to the Denver Post for a writeup they're planning about the Colorado Book Awards
Wrote a blog entry about my day
Watched TV and....
Monday
I finished editing a dozen crochet patterns (<--- that was the "work" part) and read a book in between. Plus I took a short nap because the heat knocked me out, and after the UPS guy rang the doorbell, I skimmed through the page proofs of my next, next book, Kitty Knits, that will be coming out from Martingale early in 2008. (More on that later.) Oh yeah, and read blogs, and sent emails, and put more books in my Amazon shopping cart, and...
Now I am going to watch TV and knit.
What do you think? Manic Monday? It sure felt like it to me.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
I complain about the heat sometimes, especially when it hovers around 100 for more than a couple of days, but I love summer. Without summer, I almost think life wouldn't be worth living. Is that extreme? I don't think so.
Yesterday we drove up to Allenspark, a small mountain community near Estes Park, Colorado, where a friend of ours owns a house that she calls a cabin. The ride was beautiful, with the car windows wide open, warm air flowing around us in the car, and sun everywhere. Did I mention that it's usually at least 15 degrees cooler at 8300 ft than it is at our mile-high alititude?
I'm thinking of holding some knitting or writing retreats here next summer, so if you're interested, please let me know! I think it would be a wonderful environment for helping creativity grow, along with the wildflowers. Here's me walking through an aspen grove behind the cabin and a close up of some wild snap dragons that just came into bloom this week.
This morning I made a batch of peach jam, using peaches that are falling over the fence from our nextdoor neighbor's peach tree. (In the left corner of the picture you can see the peach branches hanging over the back fence. In the foreground you can see our blackberries, sunflowers, and a volunteer Russian Olive tree. Strawberry plants are just peeking into the bottom left corner of the photo). I guess I should bring them a jar. Isn't it gorgeous?
There's nothing in the world like warm, fresh peaches on a hot summer day. The smooth fuzzy texture of the peach skin against your lips, the juice running down your arm and face, the soft peach flesh melting on your tongue almost like chocolate, the satisfied feeling you get from eating fresh fruit in the summer sun. All of these things remind me of the days when I was a kid when we would drive from our house on Long Island, down highway 25A through Wading River on the way to Cedar Beach. In Wading River was a place where we always stopped--Davis Peach Farm. I remember once my father, my syster, and I ate a pound of peaches each in the car on the way to the beach. We couldn't stop gorging ourselves. It was like eating summer.
There are so many peaches weighing these trees down, I'll have my fill of summer in just one week! This is just this morning's worth of pickings. And the majority of the fruit is in the neighbor's yard. I hope they are picking, eating, and preserving some of the fruit.
It's 9:30 in the morning, I'm done canning. It's supposed to be 100 today, so I'm going to take a cool shower, and after lunch we are going to the movies where it's air conditioned. In the meantime, I'm enjoying a re-read of Well Preserved: A Jam Making Hymnal by Joan Hassol with the excuse of looking for some more peach recipes.
P.S. A pair of yellow finches were just singing in our backyard, in the olive tree, but they flew away before we could snap a photo!
Yesterday we drove up to Allenspark, a small mountain community near Estes Park, Colorado, where a friend of ours owns a house that she calls a cabin. The ride was beautiful, with the car windows wide open, warm air flowing around us in the car, and sun everywhere. Did I mention that it's usually at least 15 degrees cooler at 8300 ft than it is at our mile-high alititude?
There's nothing in the world like warm, fresh peaches on a hot summer day. The smooth fuzzy texture of the peach skin against your lips, the juice running down your arm and face, the soft peach flesh melting on your tongue almost like chocolate, the satisfied feeling you get from eating fresh fruit in the summer sun. All of these things remind me of the days when I was a kid when we would drive from our house on Long Island, down highway 25A through Wading River on the way to Cedar Beach. In Wading River was a place where we always stopped--Davis Peach Farm. I remember once my father, my syster, and I ate a pound of peaches each in the car on the way to the beach. We couldn't stop gorging ourselves. It was like eating summer.
There are so many peaches weighing these trees down, I'll have my fill of summer in just one week! This is just this morning's worth of pickings. And the majority of the fruit is in the neighbor's yard. I hope they are picking, eating, and preserving some of the fruit.
It's 9:30 in the morning, I'm done canning. It's supposed to be 100 today, so I'm going to take a cool shower, and after lunch we are going to the movies where it's air conditioned. In the meantime, I'm enjoying a re-read of Well Preserved: A Jam Making Hymnal by Joan Hassol with the excuse of looking for some more peach recipes.
P.S. A pair of yellow finches were just singing in our backyard, in the olive tree, but they flew away before we could snap a photo!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Hi all. I have some great news. Arctic Lace is going into its 5th printing, and I just got an email to let me know that it is a finalist in the Colorado Book Awards!
The Colorado Book Award is a program that seeks to celebrate the accomplishments of Colorado’s literary community. The Award is meant to both recognize outstanding authors and to promote those authors to Colorado readers. Our goal is to raise the profile of the literary community and recognize its contributors while increasing their accessibility to the everyday reader who will, in turn, appreciate and share their work.
This is a big deal, especially so in Colorado. They have an awards ceremony and all of that ridiculous stuff that you make fun of until you get invited. I'm very excited about it.
I'm especially thrilled that this is for Arctic Lace. My goal in writing knitting books was to use my love of knitting to transition from being a technical writer and writing computer manuals for corporations, into being a nonfiction author, writing books about all different topics for a general audience. Arctic Lace was an experiment in that direction, in that it is only half a knitting book. The other half of the book is the story of my visit to Alaska and the story of the Oomingmak Co-op that I learned on my trip and in my research. My other knitting books are all much more focused on making projects and the technical skills needed to do so. I have a few more books of this type in the works, but I'm also working on another book like Arctic Lace about knitting in Lithuania (still in very early research phase), and a memior about my life that has nothing to do with knitting (although I'm pretty sure knitting will show up at least once or twice in the narrative).
As I've mentioned before, Barbara Walker is my role model in this. In the 1970s (I think), she put together her amazing stitch libraries and wrote several other now-classic knitting books, then she stopped writing about knitting and moved on to other interests. Her more recent books are about feminism. Today, she speaks about critical thinking, feminism, and religion. There's a special interview with her in the 25th anniversary issue of Vogue Knitting that is really fun to read. She doesn't follow knitting at all now, and she seemed to be quite amused that the interviewer would think she still kept up with the minutae of the knitting world!
When she was asked if she thinks she'll ever come back to knitting, she laughed and replied, "I did a lace shawl recently, but I've moved on to other obsessions. My most recent one is mineral collecting. Throughout my early years as a wife, during the winter when you couldn't go outside, I'd study things. I'd go to the library and get all the books on some subject and give myself a course. I did that with various subjects until I got into the knitting, and theny my winters were spent knitting. But I like to study."
Bravo, Barbara. And to everyone else, don't be afraid of obsessions. Some obsessions are negative (being obsessed with the wrong guy, or with the thought that you'll get fired, or with the idea of revenge), but most obsessions are positive and should be embraced. If you love knitting or studying or cooking or playing the guitar, don't hold back. Let yourself fall into your obsession with wreckless abandon. Moderation is not a virtue.
If you get bored with something, even knitting, move on to the next obsession. Live life to the fullest.
The Colorado Book Award is a program that seeks to celebrate the accomplishments of Colorado’s literary community. The Award is meant to both recognize outstanding authors and to promote those authors to Colorado readers. Our goal is to raise the profile of the literary community and recognize its contributors while increasing their accessibility to the everyday reader who will, in turn, appreciate and share their work.
This is a big deal, especially so in Colorado. They have an awards ceremony and all of that ridiculous stuff that you make fun of until you get invited. I'm very excited about it.
I'm especially thrilled that this is for Arctic Lace. My goal in writing knitting books was to use my love of knitting to transition from being a technical writer and writing computer manuals for corporations, into being a nonfiction author, writing books about all different topics for a general audience. Arctic Lace was an experiment in that direction, in that it is only half a knitting book. The other half of the book is the story of my visit to Alaska and the story of the Oomingmak Co-op that I learned on my trip and in my research. My other knitting books are all much more focused on making projects and the technical skills needed to do so. I have a few more books of this type in the works, but I'm also working on another book like Arctic Lace about knitting in Lithuania (still in very early research phase), and a memior about my life that has nothing to do with knitting (although I'm pretty sure knitting will show up at least once or twice in the narrative).
When she was asked if she thinks she'll ever come back to knitting, she laughed and replied, "I did a lace shawl recently, but I've moved on to other obsessions. My most recent one is mineral collecting. Throughout my early years as a wife, during the winter when you couldn't go outside, I'd study things. I'd go to the library and get all the books on some subject and give myself a course. I did that with various subjects until I got into the knitting, and theny my winters were spent knitting. But I like to study."
Bravo, Barbara. And to everyone else, don't be afraid of obsessions. Some obsessions are negative (being obsessed with the wrong guy, or with the thought that you'll get fired, or with the idea of revenge), but most obsessions are positive and should be embraced. If you love knitting or studying or cooking or playing the guitar, don't hold back. Let yourself fall into your obsession with wreckless abandon. Moderation is not a virtue.
If you get bored with something, even knitting, move on to the next obsession. Live life to the fullest.
Friday, August 10, 2007
I mentioned the other day that I probably won't make a colorwork sweater from A Passion for Color because I am not very interested in knitting whole sweaters using colorwork techniques. But reading through the book, I found these fantastic hats & headbands, all of which I want to make yesterday!
Thursday, August 09, 2007
I've been thining a lot about dyeing (not dying) lately, so I did a search on ebay for "natural dyes" and I found this book:
I'd never heard of this book before (it's out of print, and was published in 1990, but Lacis appears to have it in stock). It hadn't shown up in any of my previous searches for natural dye information, so I was quite surprised and clicked "buy now" right away. Then I started searching on google to find out more about the author. Wow! She does some amazing work. On her website, The Natural Dye Company, she sells hand-knitted sweaters made in colorwork patterns, and you guessed it, all with yarns colored with natural dyestuffs. These are the kinds of knitted garments that I love, but will probably never knit. I prefer to knit either very simple projects that are meditative and require no thinking, or texture patterns such as cables and lace. While I do sometimes enjoy the rhythm of knitting colorwork mittens or socks, I'm not really interested in knitting Fair Isle sweaters. I don't know why. I also love Intarsia designs, but don't enjoy knitting them very much.
Here are a couple of garments from Susan's website that I'd like to buy, but since they are all around $1000, I'll have to save up -- or wait for the dollar to go up in relation to the pound! (There are many similar patterns in the book, so I might break down and make one myself. But only if I first dye the yarn myself. So that's a big project to tackle. Hmmm, spin, too?)
Indigo Rothko Cardigan
Silk, wool, cashmere. Length 24 inches
Exhibition Coat
Silk, wool, cashmere. Length 48 inches
Susanni Poppy Jacket
Silk, wool, cashmere. Length 30 inches
Here's a bit about how the sweaters are made, from the designer's website:
Each jacket takes on average about three months to knit, and the technique of weaving the yarn on every stitch gives the finished garment the texture and strength of cloth. Most are constructed on circular needles, thus eliminating seams. The designs, with the dropped sleeves, exciting shapes and unusual detail have a theatrical quality.
The silk, wool and cashmere blend of yarn is naturally dyed with plants in my converted farm buildings. I am always experimenting with different colours and new methods. The yarn is first washed and mordanted by hand to enable it to absorb the colour. It is then dipped into different dye baths, achieving an enormously rich palette of colours. Each skein is slightly different, and there can be as many as twenty shades in a single hank of yarn. When knitted, the jackets look almost painted, making each piece of knitting a one-off.
When I finish the books I'm working on (and that will be a few years, because I have several in the works and have just begun to seriously do research for a book on Lithuanian knitting, that will require at least one or two more trips to Europe), I want to start doing more artistic fiber work, more spinning and dyeing, and designing one of a kind items for myself or to exhibit somehow, objects that don't require pattern writing. Writing and editing knitting patterns is almost as detail oriented as computer programming, and it gets tedious after a while. Whereas making things up as you go and just letting your creativity run wild never, for me at least, gets boring.
A Passion for Color by Sarah Burnett
I'd never heard of this book before (it's out of print, and was published in 1990, but Lacis appears to have it in stock). It hadn't shown up in any of my previous searches for natural dye information, so I was quite surprised and clicked "buy now" right away. Then I started searching on google to find out more about the author. Wow! She does some amazing work. On her website, The Natural Dye Company, she sells hand-knitted sweaters made in colorwork patterns, and you guessed it, all with yarns colored with natural dyestuffs. These are the kinds of knitted garments that I love, but will probably never knit. I prefer to knit either very simple projects that are meditative and require no thinking, or texture patterns such as cables and lace. While I do sometimes enjoy the rhythm of knitting colorwork mittens or socks, I'm not really interested in knitting Fair Isle sweaters. I don't know why. I also love Intarsia designs, but don't enjoy knitting them very much.
Here are a couple of garments from Susan's website that I'd like to buy, but since they are all around $1000, I'll have to save up -- or wait for the dollar to go up in relation to the pound! (There are many similar patterns in the book, so I might break down and make one myself. But only if I first dye the yarn myself. So that's a big project to tackle. Hmmm, spin, too?)
Indigo Rothko Cardigan
Silk, wool, cashmere. Length 24 inches
Exhibition Coat
Silk, wool, cashmere. Length 48 inches
Susanni Poppy Jacket
Silk, wool, cashmere. Length 30 inches
Here's a bit about how the sweaters are made, from the designer's website:
Each jacket takes on average about three months to knit, and the technique of weaving the yarn on every stitch gives the finished garment the texture and strength of cloth. Most are constructed on circular needles, thus eliminating seams. The designs, with the dropped sleeves, exciting shapes and unusual detail have a theatrical quality.
The silk, wool and cashmere blend of yarn is naturally dyed with plants in my converted farm buildings. I am always experimenting with different colours and new methods. The yarn is first washed and mordanted by hand to enable it to absorb the colour. It is then dipped into different dye baths, achieving an enormously rich palette of colours. Each skein is slightly different, and there can be as many as twenty shades in a single hank of yarn. When knitted, the jackets look almost painted, making each piece of knitting a one-off.
When I finish the books I'm working on (and that will be a few years, because I have several in the works and have just begun to seriously do research for a book on Lithuanian knitting, that will require at least one or two more trips to Europe), I want to start doing more artistic fiber work, more spinning and dyeing, and designing one of a kind items for myself or to exhibit somehow, objects that don't require pattern writing. Writing and editing knitting patterns is almost as detail oriented as computer programming, and it gets tedious after a while. Whereas making things up as you go and just letting your creativity run wild never, for me at least, gets boring.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
This is a powerful article that has nothing whatsoever to do with knitting. It might be difficult, but I don't think there's any excuse for not reading it.
The Terror America Wrought
By Robert Scheer
During a week of mayhem in Iraq, in which terrorists have rightly been condemned for targeting schoolchildren, it is sobering to recall that this week is also the 62nd anniversary of a U.S. attack that deliberately took the lives of thousands of children on their way to school in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Please read the rest and look at these photos. Then take a moment or so to consider what kind of country you want to live in, and what you can do to make America become that country.
The Terror America Wrought
By Robert Scheer
Please read the rest and look at these photos. Then take a moment or so to consider what kind of country you want to live in, and what you can do to make America become that country.
Monday, August 06, 2007
I've just discovered some really cool metal knitting needles that can be ordered with "stiletto" points! The needles are gorgeous, to boot. I'll be getting some soon. In addition to being well suited to lace knitting, these needles are also supposed to be great for knitting with fuzzy yarns (like my all-time favorite mohair). The company that puts these out is called Signature Needle Arts, and you can design and order your custom needles on their website.
The founder and president of the company, Cathy Bothe, is a knitter who was frustrated by the blunt points on the needles available at yarn and craft stores. Cathy is also president of Bothe Associates Inc., a family-owned business that manufactures metal components, so she took a pair of needles to work, sharpened the points, and then polished them. Amazed by the vast improvement with such a simple change, she decided to start her own line of knitting needles.
Check them out. Now I must go and order a pair!
P.S. Don't be tempted to take these on planes, and I'd also advise against using them in the car, especially if you're sitting in the front seat with an airbag.
The founder and president of the company, Cathy Bothe, is a knitter who was frustrated by the blunt points on the needles available at yarn and craft stores. Cathy is also president of Bothe Associates Inc., a family-owned business that manufactures metal components, so she took a pair of needles to work, sharpened the points, and then polished them. Amazed by the vast improvement with such a simple change, she decided to start her own line of knitting needles.
Check them out. Now I must go and order a pair!
P.S. Don't be tempted to take these on planes, and I'd also advise against using them in the car, especially if you're sitting in the front seat with an airbag.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
On my semi-regular google search for "Lithuanian knitting" to see if anything new has cropped up, I found this photos, among others, taken in Vilnius:
This photo was taken on March 16th, 2007 in front of St Anne’s church (Šv Onos bažny?ia). It's from the Knitted Landscape website. It's somewhat mysterious who is behind this, but they appear to knit mostly flowers and plants and photograph them around Europe.
I really love this idea, although I'm not sure why. It also reminds me of Knitta, a group that knits colorful strips of fabric that they use to tag trees, posts, and signs around the US.
This photo was taken on March 16th, 2007 in front of St Anne’s church (Šv Onos bažny?ia). It's from the Knitted Landscape website. It's somewhat mysterious who is behind this, but they appear to knit mostly flowers and plants and photograph them around Europe.
I really love this idea, although I'm not sure why. It also reminds me of Knitta, a group that knits colorful strips of fabric that they use to tag trees, posts, and signs around the US.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Oooh, I forgot I had this yarn in my stash:
Sorry for the flash but this photo shows up the lustre of the yarn much more than the no-flash shots I tried. This is silk yarn I bought at one of our local yarn shops that has since, alas, closed. I bought it to dye and to use for a lace stole. The only question is, should I dig up some of this madder and see how red a red I can get, or should I go for acid dyes?
I also have a huge bag of dried madder roots in the garage. A couple of years ago, Dom thought he'd get rid of the madder so he dug it up and chopped up the roots. He must have missed some, because it came back with a vengeance.
I think I'm going to make a sideways knit stole from this stitch pattern designed by Dorothy Reade from her book, 25 Original Knitting Designs.
I'm doing a new version of this book, with permission of Dorothy's daughter, and it will include not only the charts for her original lace stitches, but also projects by about 20 different designers. The book won't be out for a while yet, because the projects are not due to me from the designers until the end of the year, but it's a lot of fun working with so many great designers. I'll be visiting Dorothy's daughter soon to see more samples of her mother's artwork -- she worked in many other media in addition to fiber. It's very exciting to learn more about this woman who was so influentual in the original development of the qiviut products knitted by the Oomingmak knitters in Alaska.
Sorry for the flash but this photo shows up the lustre of the yarn much more than the no-flash shots I tried. This is silk yarn I bought at one of our local yarn shops that has since, alas, closed. I bought it to dye and to use for a lace stole. The only question is, should I dig up some of this madder and see how red a red I can get, or should I go for acid dyes?
I also have a huge bag of dried madder roots in the garage. A couple of years ago, Dom thought he'd get rid of the madder so he dug it up and chopped up the roots. He must have missed some, because it came back with a vengeance.
I think I'm going to make a sideways knit stole from this stitch pattern designed by Dorothy Reade from her book, 25 Original Knitting Designs.
I'm doing a new version of this book, with permission of Dorothy's daughter, and it will include not only the charts for her original lace stitches, but also projects by about 20 different designers. The book won't be out for a while yet, because the projects are not due to me from the designers until the end of the year, but it's a lot of fun working with so many great designers. I'll be visiting Dorothy's daughter soon to see more samples of her mother's artwork -- she worked in many other media in addition to fiber. It's very exciting to learn more about this woman who was so influentual in the original development of the qiviut products knitted by the Oomingmak knitters in Alaska.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Here's why I haven't been able to knit much for myself lately. Well, there really is no excuse, becasue test knitters made most of these things, but somehow when I'm working on designing and writing patterns, I have no energy left to create anything for fun.
This is for Cheryl Potter's next book that will be about yarn substitution. Each project is made twice, in a "best" yarn and a "good" yarn, then there's a swatch made with a yarn that is not appropriate for the project. I'm ashamed to say that I am late sending this project in and am partly to blame for the book's schedule being delayed. This shawl is made with a modifcation of a stitch pattern from Susana Lewis's book, Knitting Lace, and a border that I made up.
These projects are for a Learn to Knit Lace pattern booklet I've written for the craft store market. All of the projects are made in medium weight yarns, most on size 7 and 8 needles. In addition to the projects shown, there's also a bookmark but I forgot to photograph it before I shipped everything to the publisher.
This is for Cheryl Potter's next book that will be about yarn substitution. Each project is made twice, in a "best" yarn and a "good" yarn, then there's a swatch made with a yarn that is not appropriate for the project. I'm ashamed to say that I am late sending this project in and am partly to blame for the book's schedule being delayed. This shawl is made with a modifcation of a stitch pattern from Susana Lewis's book, Knitting Lace, and a border that I made up.
These projects are for a Learn to Knit Lace pattern booklet I've written for the craft store market. All of the projects are made in medium weight yarns, most on size 7 and 8 needles. In addition to the projects shown, there's also a bookmark but I forgot to photograph it before I shipped everything to the publisher.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Don't tell, becasue I'm supposed to be finishing a stole for a submission that was due a week or so ago. OK, I am working on the stole every night. But it's a lace pattern, so I can't knit on it in the car or in meetings, because it has to be as perfect as possible for the photography. But I finally have some inspiration for personal knitting.
This weekend, one of my local yarn shops, Woolen Treasures in Loveland, Colorado, had a Christmas in July sale. Of course I had to go, even though I was not planning to buy anything. I can't resist yarn sales, even when I'm not knitting. Although I try to keep my personal stash small enough to fit in a hope chest, and am generally successful, sometimes I splurge when I get the urge to knit something immediately. So here's what happened....
First, as soon as I walked in the door, I saw a copy of The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters: A Knit-to-Fit Workshop by Lynne Vogel. I'll let the review I posted on Amazon tell this part of the story:
I knew I had to have this book the moment I saw it previewed online several months ago, and I've been waiting for it to come out. The other day, I went to a local yarn shop for their Christmas in July sale, and lo-and-behold this book was sitting on the counter display so I nabbed the last copy they had in stock. It is not a disappointment. Just as in her book on designing and knitting socks, in this book, Lynne Vogel features the designs of the Twisted Sisters knitting group and provides a detailed map that leads the reader from yarn selection and sizing to finished sweaters. The projects are all beautiful, ranging from simple stitches in gorgeous yarns to more complex colorwork and texture patterns. There's even one Aran sweater! The sweaters are all simple silhouettes with minimal shaping, made bottom up or side to side, so if you're a fan of fitted garments and couture shaping, this book won't meet your needs. But for those who have never designed a sweater before, it's a great introduction. The opening chapters provide an overview of the Twisted Sisters' design process, including hand-holding through the calculations, and each sample sweater features copious details about how the designer conceptualized and made the garment. A gallery at the back of the book will inspire you even more. One of the most interesting parts is where the author talks about mistakes several designers made along the way, and how they incorporated them into the finished designs. Especially wonderful for hand spinners, who may find that their custom yarns are not always well-suited for commercial patterns, this book is a must-have for every independent and adventurous knitter who wants to go beyond knitting from line-by-line patterns.
As I've been reading this book, I found several inspiring projects including one super-easy sweater made wtih hand dyed mohair boucle yarn. I'm about to order some of the yarn so I can dye it in September and start knitting when it cools off. I just can't imagine working with mohair right now in the summer heat. So you can expect to read more about that project later.
I also found some great ribbon yarns, 30% off (anything red or green) and 40% off (anything sparkly). Monika, the shop owner, had a sample tank top made out of one of the ribbon yarns hanging up as a display. There was no pattern for it, she'd just made it up as she went a long. I bought 6 balls of the yarn, and took it home. As it turns out, it matches the gauge for a basic tank top in one of my old-standard knitting books, so I am using that as a baseline and adding details as I go. I got one ball of a contrasting ribbon to work a crochet edging when I'm done. My writer's group had a writing marathon over the weekend in Denver, and I carpooled with a friend. She drove, so I got to knit for over 2 hours in the car. Here's a sketch of my design idea and a photo showing how far I've come. You can't really see how the details will work up because the back is plain St st.
This weekend, one of my local yarn shops, Woolen Treasures in Loveland, Colorado, had a Christmas in July sale. Of course I had to go, even though I was not planning to buy anything. I can't resist yarn sales, even when I'm not knitting. Although I try to keep my personal stash small enough to fit in a hope chest, and am generally successful, sometimes I splurge when I get the urge to knit something immediately. So here's what happened....
I knew I had to have this book the moment I saw it previewed online several months ago, and I've been waiting for it to come out. The other day, I went to a local yarn shop for their Christmas in July sale, and lo-and-behold this book was sitting on the counter display so I nabbed the last copy they had in stock. It is not a disappointment. Just as in her book on designing and knitting socks, in this book, Lynne Vogel features the designs of the Twisted Sisters knitting group and provides a detailed map that leads the reader from yarn selection and sizing to finished sweaters. The projects are all beautiful, ranging from simple stitches in gorgeous yarns to more complex colorwork and texture patterns. There's even one Aran sweater! The sweaters are all simple silhouettes with minimal shaping, made bottom up or side to side, so if you're a fan of fitted garments and couture shaping, this book won't meet your needs. But for those who have never designed a sweater before, it's a great introduction. The opening chapters provide an overview of the Twisted Sisters' design process, including hand-holding through the calculations, and each sample sweater features copious details about how the designer conceptualized and made the garment. A gallery at the back of the book will inspire you even more. One of the most interesting parts is where the author talks about mistakes several designers made along the way, and how they incorporated them into the finished designs. Especially wonderful for hand spinners, who may find that their custom yarns are not always well-suited for commercial patterns, this book is a must-have for every independent and adventurous knitter who wants to go beyond knitting from line-by-line patterns.
As I've been reading this book, I found several inspiring projects including one super-easy sweater made wtih hand dyed mohair boucle yarn. I'm about to order some of the yarn so I can dye it in September and start knitting when it cools off. I just can't imagine working with mohair right now in the summer heat. So you can expect to read more about that project later.
I also found some great ribbon yarns, 30% off (anything red or green) and 40% off (anything sparkly). Monika, the shop owner, had a sample tank top made out of one of the ribbon yarns hanging up as a display. There was no pattern for it, she'd just made it up as she went a long. I bought 6 balls of the yarn, and took it home. As it turns out, it matches the gauge for a basic tank top in one of my old-standard knitting books, so I am using that as a baseline and adding details as I go. I got one ball of a contrasting ribbon to work a crochet edging when I'm done. My writer's group had a writing marathon over the weekend in Denver, and I carpooled with a friend. She drove, so I got to knit for over 2 hours in the car. Here's a sketch of my design idea and a photo showing how far I've come. You can't really see how the details will work up because the back is plain St st.
