I lied....

... about the blogging:) I nearly forgot to tell you about a new book I received. unfortunately I didn't have time yet to really read it through, but I usually spend a lot of time reading during the holidays, so I expect to finish it next week! so here it goes:

the book is by Leigh Tate, a fellow blogger I've been following for quite some time now. she (and her husband) bought a smallholding to live the dream of self-sufficiency.

I am not going to go down the same road; we don't own nearly enough land to keep animals other than a few chickens. goats/sheep etc. simply need too much land - and they also need a lot of time and dedication! but even though I don't have exactly the same life goals, I do find her writing very interesting. I live in a very different country with a different climate and surroundings - but basic principles apply here, too. and I like her style of writing, very informative, but not "dry". realistic, not the dreamy "I wish I was" or "if only" reading of others. but not heartless either, you can see how much both of them care for their animals and how sad it is to loose one of them.

there are even a few cooking recipes to try - but I still think that Leigh should publish those and more in a special "smallholding" cook book:)

 

if you are interested - you can find more information (and even a special offer for a few days) here. I got mine from amazon uk, but it's listed elsewhere, too - or you could order directly from Leigh. happy reading!

the last batch - for now

 this truly is the rest of my "new" books (do they still count from christmas?:) and I have to admit that several of them fall under "not strictly necessary"... I try not to ask for too many coffee table books, instead go for those with  new techniques. there's only so much shelf space (or rather: by now there's plenty of lack of space:), so I should really use it wisely. this is one of the books that is very nice to look at - but not absolutely necessary if you can make up your own patterns. I do like quite a few of the projects, but I don't think I'd do any of them for myself without change. judge for yourself... unfortunately one of the most beautiful patterns isn't on show - it's a "bridal cardigan" in white, with pink and green inlay and lace at the sleeve bottoms and along the lower edge. not for me, that's for sure - but gorgeous to look at:)

 when I saw the announcement for the book I was very keen on this one. another book about colourwork. this is in german, but the same book is available in english by now (I just couldn't wait any longer - for some reason the english translation took ages to be published). the knitting patterns are inspired by medieval murals in swedish churches. sounds odd, but the patterns are nice! a preview for the english book is here. the one odd thing about the projects is that nearly every pattern has bits in odd colours that don't really go with the main colours - at least for my taste. easily rectified though, no reason not to like the book:)

 and yes, another one about colour knitting:) obviously I do like knitting with several colours... this one is definitely more a technique book. all colour knitting techniques are described in some detail, plus there are nice patterns in it, too. I have to say though that it doesn't quite match up to my colour knitting "bible" by Margaret Radcliffe. that's not to say that it is a bad book - it's just not as in-depth as Radcliffe's book. on the plus side it does contain more complete projects (pillows, garments etc.) - and a preview is available here.

one not (only) about colour knitting:) the odd one out...  when I put it on the list I wasn't sure about the contents, I just found the under title "colour, structure and design" interesting. and the book gives plenty of ideas for this - if you're into making up your own patterns this should be interesting for you. but when you hunt for complete patterns to follow - you'll find that pretty much all the garments in this book are worked in modular style! I am not necessarily a fan of this, but I think some of the ideas the author shows can be used for "normal" (ie not modular) knitting as well. and she gives plenty of information about how to construct knitted fabric for a project, lots of knitted pattern samples, too. definitely a keeper...

another odd one out - I received this book in an exchange:) I like doing exchanges once in a while; you get rid of something you don't need any longer for something you want (and hopefully also use at some stage!). because I've planned to do some more rigid heddle weaving eventually, I was looking for a book that gives more ideas about how to add patterns to "plain weaving". Jane Patrick is well known in weaving circles and the book didn't disappoint me! I think I could spend a very long time trying out all the different ways to add pattern to fabrics on a simple loom. given that this is most likely the furthest I'll ever go in weaving, I think I can put this book to good use....

the last one - for now:) I have plenty of crochet patterns here and there in mixed craft books, but I lacked a single "encyclopedia" with all the basic information I might need. this fills the gap. all the basics of how-to are well covered, also plenty of separate patterns - plus a completed project for each chapter. those aren't necessarily sensational, but I wanted the book more to have an overview, something to check when I need to know something and don't want to hunt around on the net. the book has been revised and updated and I think it's well worth the investment.

 

those are my last books on the list - but never fear, I am sure I'll put a few on the wish list for my birthday:) can't help it, I am a book addict!

 

btw - the mystery of the missing fire pix is solved. not satisfactorily - but solved nevertheless. it wasn't a hacker - it was DS, who put up his own fire pictures - and deleted mine in the process:( the annoying thing is that I took the trouble to dig out the tripod to do the night pix properly - his are all wobbly and out of focus:(  teaches me a lesson... hide away all your pix in folders straight away - and hope for the best!

 

not again....

I think blogger doesn't like me.... I tried to add the latest books to my list. first time no luck. second time no luck (yes, I did click on save and it showed the books both times) - third time... you get the drift. ok, at least all the books are visible in the entries. I'll leave it at that for now - maybe they are still flying around in the www and land later, when I don't watch?

 

anyway, I'd like to show you some more books (yawn:) - but this time they are not knitting books. I do bobbin lace as well and last christmas I took the opportunity to put some on my wish list. and those are the three that magically made it over onto my shelves (or rather into a book box, because there's no shelf space left.... maybe I should ask for more shelves, but then I'd have to ask for an extension to the house first!)

this is a ring binder with loose leaves. it doesn't look very inviting from the outside, but it's the best I've seen so far to teach torchon lace. this is supposedly one of the easiest bobbin lace varieties to learn, that's why many beginners start with torchon. Ulrike Voelcker publishes really good books, but most of them are a bit more advanced. this is a series of 3 parts (the 3rd one comes out this spring), so far I have no. 1 and 2 (looks the same, just red background). it's in german and english, which seems to be the case for most bobbin lace books nowadays. makes perfect sense, because bobbin lace books aren't sold in huge numbers, so authors/publishers have to try to reach as many readers as possible (the books are still quite costly, compared with knitting books).

the first part of the "book" covers all aspects of learning to do torchon lace, though you should know the very basics moves of "how to". with clear photos and descriptions, the first chapter shows the same pattern in lots of different yarns together with percentages of how to copy the pattern in the right size for each yarn. there are many patterns available - but the 2nd part is the really interesting bit if you're out for nice patterns! colourful scarves, the usual (and not so usual!) doilies, curtains, samplers .... enough to keep me occupied for a very long time! unfortunately I haven't found a good preview for the book (as is the case for many bobbin lace books. and amazon offers hardly any of them!). I took the liberty to take a photo of one of the scarves just to show you that bobbin lace is well past the look of granny doilies and old-fashioned bits! I hope the author forgives me, but maybe they should start to show more of them in those lace shops that sell the books!

the good thing about the loose pages is that you can take out just the page you need, without the need of copying etc. and you can buy each part separately. if you already know how to do it, just go for the patterns! I am going to get the 3rd part too, when it is published, though it is supposed to help understand the lace in depth, rather than give many more patterns for it....

 

 the second book I received looks rather boring at first glance. no patterns, just pages and pages of text/lists. but for a bobbin lace maker this is a small bible! it contains (probably) all available yarns for bobbin lace, exactly measured and compared, so that the lace maker can see at first glance how to replace a yarn for a certain pattern. I should really have bought this ages ago, because I always have to guess the thickness and have done quite a few false starts with that. the only "complaint" I have here is that the cover should be a bit sturdier - but I solved that problem myself by covering it with

rhino book covers:)

this is one of the few bobbin lace books that has a preview available on amazon. the downside is that the text is french - but from good photos and diagrams the patterns are still easy enough to follow. because I'd like to do a small bobbin lace gift here and there I asked for the book - just to find out that most would probably still take too much time to qualify for a quick/small gift:) but the patterns are still gorgeous, I just have to plan well ahead!

 and before you fall asleep from all the book reviews: this is the first deluge sock - with a few adaptations. it fits well enough, though as I said - I cannot really see the point of going through the trouble with the specially formed left and right toes. knitting is so stretchy that the simple ones fit well - unless you have extremely oddly shaped toes that is...

I had a bit of a problem to get close enough with the zoom and still end up with the whole foot in one pic -but missing one row of rib should be ok, nothing exciting to see there:) at least you can see the rain drop pattern, though the pattern in the foot is barely visible. I like the colour better than the one I am knitting with now, because it's less blue and more grey - but on the other hand more grey would fit perfectly with the name of the pattern?:)

 

 

 maybe I shouldn't mention the word spring anymore - hardly a blog where there's no moaning and groaning about spring - or rather the lack thereof! but if there's none to be had - I make my own! lots of greens, a bit of yellow and some white - I spun myself a snowdrop yarn! only, the snowdrops to take a photo are gone by now...one skein comes with small beads, the other one is the same, just without them. it's all merino (only the yellow is corriedale) and I plied with a commercial viscose thread. which had a live of its own during plying, that's why I had to break the yarn with beads on one - it became so kinked that I just couldn't get it apart (story of my life just now:)... all the fibres apart from the viscose are from derryaun crafts here. all in all I should have enough for a medium sized project - it's just that I have no idea yet for what. nothing unusual in that, I have to admit:) it'll go as a show & tell to the spinner's meeting of our group, the Connacht Textile Crafters this weekend, and after that it can hang in my room for a while - until the real spring arrives and I have to make another yarn. maybe one with a lot of grey and very tiny specks of blue this time - for the real spring we are having??? as you can see from the header - the fluffy clouds and blue skies are gone here! 

 

two more....

two books that is - and two more purple skeins untangled:)

I've always been a book fan - even as a child my favourite christmas and birthday gifts were books. as soon as they were unwrapped, I became silent and started reading! nothing has changed, I still ask for books as gifts - and here are two I received for christmas (or at least bought with money I received for christmas:):

this is a weighty tome of a book - well, it has to be because practically everything about knitting is in it. I thought the price was very reasonable, though the book does not contain any colour pictures, just drawings. it really does cover pretty much anything you could look for - and it has been totally revised and chapters were added. but I still prefer my smaller "dictionary" written by Montse Stanley. it might be out of print, but is available very cheaply - and well worth it!

another "bible", albeit a small one. it does however contain everything you'd need to successfully knit socks, and all in one small book. the spiral binding keeps it open nicely and the smaller size fits easily into my "knitter's corner". I am sure that I have all the different heels, toes and insteps explained somewhere else, but if I have to start hunting around for them it tends to take a while to find the stuff I want - and also I get waylaid far too easily, when I start to leaf through books and mags! the one downside - it's not exactly cheap for the size of the book - at least compared with the one above!

second in line....

... but the first in my opinion:

 if you only buy one new knitting book this year - I'd go for this one! it's full of basic instructions for beginners, but also shows brilliant ideas even for the advanced knitter and covers everything about colour knitting that you could imagine - even double knitting and entrelac instructions are to be found. stripes, intarsia, stranded knitting, colour basics or knitting with multicoloured yarns (you need tips to use up all those multicolours that look awkward when knitted into anything but socks? here they are!) all included... and all for the measly price of less than £ 9!! there are also design tips and finishing techniques - and a few projects, but I wouldn't buy the book for those (not very exciting - I have no idea why they were included). this is by far the most useful book I've bought in the last years, and I wouldn't want to be without it anymore!

 Nicky Epstein must be one of the most prolific knitting book writers around. I like some of her ideas, but have to admit that quite a few are way over the top for me. but the book is full of good ideas - and all of the given patterns can be toned down either by using less colour or fewer styles in one garment. the different chapters show anything from circular lace patterns to colour work and cables - and pretty much anything in between. there are basic ones about "how to knit a circle" - which can be used in lovely colours - or decorated with i-cords, leaves or flowers.

there are also full garments with instructions, all either completely made from circular designs or at least decorated with circles. many not necessarily my style, but I didn't really buy the book because I wanted the garment patterns - the ideas for simple circles of all kinds were what I was after! and they don't disappoint - plenty of choice to use in my own knitting....

and this - has nothing to do with books at all. this is my latest and most desperate project:( my machine dyed silk-viscose blend yarn - that ended up in a huge tangled ball... and yes, I know how to tie skeins before dyeing. there were three ties on every skein and to be on the safe side I added 2-3 more for each. didn't help one bit though - somehow the very smooth yarn managed to get tangled viciously anyway. I somehow untangled one skein by leaving in  on the table and going over and under for endless hours until I had several balls wound... but I cannot usually spend at least half a day without moving from the table - so I decided I needed a different setup for the next 6 skeins. I took out all but one tie and tried to finger-comb out as many kinks and knots as possible. then I fixed a clamp to the table to put the skein over it - before removing the final tie. still going over and under for hours, but at least I can leave my place and come back to it later! this skein is halfway done - only another x hours to work on:( but I will manage - at some stage! possibly not before next christmas, but luckily I don't need the yarn for an urgent project:)

quite a few new books

way back I promised to show you a few new books that found their way onto my shelves (haha, or not, most of them are still in boxes or on heaps, because the shelves are bursting:). but somehow I got distracted by other stuff. but today's the day - or rather one of several, because I am a book nerd and can't help myself when it comes to textile craft books (or cooking ones, another one of my sins....). so here it goes - followed by a new one every or at least every second day (don't nail me on that one though:):

the first one is by a very well known knitter, Deborah Newton:

 

at first I hesitated, because I already have two "bibles" and tons of other knitting books. I was sure that everything I need is covered already. but I found that it is very handy to have a specialized book just for finishing! once you've done all the knitting, you (or at least I:) want to finish quickly. I tended to not bother to look up other possibilites and used the same techniques I've used for years. there's nothing wrong with that, but sometimes the finish would have looked nicer and more professional if I had used a different technique! and while reading the book (or rather parts of it - so far) I found many ideas and tips I never even thought about! yep, there's a reason why she's famous in knitting circles and I am not:) ok, she's also a great fan of sampling, something I often tend to skip, esp. if I work on projects for myself. but she doesn't just work a 10 x 10 cm square! she makes larger samples and tests other project ideas around the edges of the sample, such as collars, pockets, edgings etc. brilliant idea - I should really try this out myself!

 

the book is a hardback, quite big, with large, very clear photographs - you can check out a preview on amazon or look at the patterns included here. it contains everything from simple seaming or blocking down to edgings, putting in zippers, buttons etc., but also special finishing such as felting, lining, steeking - and even using old knitting for something new. in contrast to this book by the same author

 

it also contains patterns for the project in this book. I also have this book by Newton, which is very good (well used by now:) - but the downside here is that the patterns are not included for most of the projects on show! which means that one day I'll have to make up my own for the gorgeous picture sweater with a silver moon and cherry blossoms:)

more hands, please!

I could do with a few spare ones.... so many ideas and not enough time to try them all out, it's a shame really. but some things have to be done in time - such as the easter bread, colourful eggs etc. no good in doing any of these things after tomorrow:)

anyway, there is something I've been meaning to show to you for a few weeks now. when I came home from my trip I found an unexpected envelope on my mail heap. it contained a book! ok, it's a book for children, but of course as a textile nut I like it as well, even though I don't have small children around. have a look:

 the book is written by Mairead Sharry, a fellow textil crafter, who lives in the southwest of ireland. she tells the story of Sive, a little girl, who lives in America. one day she plays with a kite - and suddenly the kite takes off and brings her over to the Aran Islands.

she visits her granny and some other family members and looks at all the things the islands have to offer. life is very different here - and Mairead does not only show this in her collage pictures; on the other page you'll find the story together with some real photographs about things special to the islands. as a spinner and knitter I love the "woolly" things most, of course:) and granny makes a nice pink sweater for Sive so that she has something to take home again, when Sive's dad picks her up some time later.

I like the handmade look of the collages in the book. it does not only tell the story of Sive, but also  of Mairead's love for her grandchildren - because this book is written for one of them. this is her second book like this (she also published a book "yarns", short stories about life on the Aran Islands); the first one was "Ronan - a children's guide to the Aran Islands" - and you can contact her on her blog if you'd like to get one (or both:) for yourself. the book would be suitable as a picture book, but of course you could also read the story to your little ones. they'll discover a lot to look at in the pictures and you can explain things like shearing sheep etc. as you go. they might even ask for a pink sweater:)

thanks, Mairead, for giving me this book. I've enjoyed it myself, but I also showed it to our textile group and everybody commented on how lovely the book turned out. I am sure your grandchildren will treasure them as something very special their granny made for them!

weird times

while in the mediterranean, china and some places elsewhere people suffer extreme floods - we "suffer" the opposite. ok, it's not a drought yet, but seriously: you'd expect much more rain in the west of ireland than we've had for the last weeks! the only thing close to rain were the clouds in the picture above - so close, but nothing happened.... today I saw that perennials, which have been in the ground for years are starting to wilt! well, they'll have to wait and hope - I can't/won't start watering those plants or very soon I'd have time for nothing else! maybe the colour for this week - brown - will be fitting for our garden soon?

of course the most important "brown" in our house is dog Dobby (naturally her aunt Timmy is just as important, but then she's black/white:)), followed by Mr Schindler, the cat that adopted us. Mr Schindler is on no 2 simply because he has only been here for a few months....

the rest are small brown "things" that I came across when walking around in the garden: my clay witch in the front garden, now nearly covered in roses. a bit of rust on a dilapidated shed roof, some brown and pretty dry soil in a container - and a fly, not in the ointment, but stuck on a piece of freshly painted window sill.  

oh yes - and my last book order arrived today! just in time to send one embroidery book away again as a birthday present. but the other three will stay here. all three are bobbin lace books; two of them in french (not really a big problem - though I don't speak very well, I can read it ok and the drawings are the most important bit anyway) and about torchon lace - the third one in englisch, german and - danish I think - about bobbin lace in clothing - though the title is slightly misleading, because for me clothing means pants, blouses, jackets etc. - but the patterns are of the decorative sort, not full garments. I like the style though,easy enough to work and pretty modern - I am just not the type to wear frilly and/or flowery stuff. the book contains large photos and explanatory drawings and most of the patterns are on separate sheets, which is very practical, because I don't have to torture the book to copy the patterns!

as I said the two french books show torchon lace and I like pretty much  all the patterns (mostly "tableware", but also bookmarks, card inserts etc.) - but they are not for the faint-hearted, where the amount of bobbins is concerned! I think I saw one hankie corner with "only" 40 pairs, but that is the exception. the avarage is probably around the 80 - 100 pairs and 160 plus is on offer, too! good thing that I bought the stackers a while back:)) of course most of the patterns could be adapted for yardage or even as a square "collar" for a blouse - though I do like making runners, mats and doilies. the problem for me usually is what to do with the finished product - apart from giving it away! to be honest I would be far too lazy to wash and iron those things all the time - and given the fact that I live in a household full of "piggies" - this is just what happens. on the other hand - I don't really knit or spin a lot for myself anyway:)) there's only so much one person can wear! hm - another possible conclusion could be that I should stop buying craft books altogether.... good thing that DH doesn't read my blog:)) oh, sorry, I nearly forgot to show you the book covers:

the one thing I don't like about those two french books - no separate sheets, all the patterns have to be drawn by hand or copied from the books..... on the other hand: compared to prices of some other lace books they are reasonably priced. the problem with those books is that in contrast to knitting books the publishing numbers are pretty low! and every additional feature such as extra pattern sheets will make them more expensive - can't win them all:)) now - where do I find that elusive 2nd pair of hands......

btw - I bought the books from here.

books, books, books

I bought a few new books lately. this one has lots of patterns for "home improval", pillows, blankets etc. different styles, everything from frilly to modern and because I liked the preview in "knitter's", I decided to buy it. I've been asked many times why I make so many things just to give them to others, while I don't have many handmade items in my own house. true enough, it's just that with a 12 year old, 2 dogs and a cat most textile decorations seem a rather futile effort. on the other hand there's no excuse really to use potholders that fall apart or ugly dishcloths with holes in them. so - the plan is to use some of the patterns to change this asap (not that there are any potholder patterns in this book....) 

the book about brioche knitting was another new addition. I used to knit brioche patterns a lot, but haven't done any in the last few years. when I saw the preview on knitpicks, I decided that I'd like this book. it contains a lot of patterns of course, but even more interesting are the explanations about different brioche patterns and the details e.g. with increases, decreases etc. very useful, I think - I am glad that I bought it.

the last new knitting book is a gift I received a little while back. I already have the first book of Homespun Handknit and I liked the previews of the 2nd one, so when I was asked, which book I'd like - this one was on the list (ok, there were two others on it as well, but those weren't available yet:)).

then there are the spinning books - I ogled those two for some time before I bought them, but I heard lots of good things about them - and like them both. they are quite different in style and concentrate on different aspects in handspinning, but I find they cover a lot of ground, even if you're not new to handspinning. if they'd been available at the time, I'd have gone for those two and left the amos "bible" on the shelf.... (anyone looking for this one?)

the last one (I know, I buy books in larger doses - but I resist for a long time before I grab what I can:)) is very different - a book about canvas embroidery. I knit and spin all the time, but sometimes I like to do something different such as bobbin lace (ahem, 3 books about bobbin lace are still on their way:)) there goes the last of my birthday money....) or embroidery. every now and then I like doing "no brainers" (not to be misunderstood - I don't think people who do cross stitch are brainless - it's just my expression for following a bought pattern!) - but sometimes I do my own, using handdyed and/or handspun threads etc. this book is certainly inspirational for the latter - there are no finished patterns to follow, but lots of ideas and advice about techniques and also some finished projects to drool over!  

this is it for now - where books are concerned at least. there are so many books still on my WANTED list - but I have to be reasonable, I know. it's not only due to lack of funds - available space is nonexistent as well by now:(( good thing that I borrow most novels etc. from the local libray - with the amount of books I go through - I'd have to own a 20 room villa to store them all!

new yarn, new knitting, new books

I have been spinning lace yarn for some time now - it took me a while to fill one small bobbin each of mulberry lace and lambswool top. I spun fine singles and plied, nothing to write home about. the fibres were dyed with alder buckthorn berries; both are sage greens, a muted colour, but the yarn is very soft and would make a nice shawl to wear close to the skin. I have enough to do at least two, if not three more skeins - so I suppose I can plan ahead for a reasonably large project.... eventually! any ideas?

I also received two knitting "books". ok, the knitting traditions from interweave is a magazine, but a thicker one and with loads of info to boot. the contents are from old publications of piecework and cover a wide range of knitting projects, anything between turkish socks, twined knitting to orenburg scarves. there is a project for each topic, but also some history around it. I only managed to read the first bit - I'll have something to read for a good while!

the other one isn't as widely advertised - but I found it quite interesting nonetheless. Crazy Lace is not a book for people, who like to follow a lace pattern to the dot - but it's perfect for people like me, who like to make up their own projects. you do get the basics about how lace knitting works, how to read charts, how to do basic shapes - but you also get a good push to let go, to just knit without charts, without much thinking - to knit crazy lace as the title suggests. I am sure I'll do just that - I find the idea of just knitting YOs and decreases or increases whenever I fancy quite fun! if you can't find the book, esp. in europe - I ordered mine here. you can of course order it directly from the author herself here. even if you don't want to order her book - have a look at her gallery, you'll find some inspiring stuff there.

first I do have to finish the vest though - no lace knitting yet, be it freeform or traditional. I managed to finish about 1/3 of the project - I knit all three pieces in one, so there'll only be shoulder seams to do at the end. I do have quite long rows though and I have to be careful in those rows where three colours are used. actually I finally learned the english method of knitting - and use it, whenever I have to work a 3rd colour. I keep the two main colours on my left finger and the 3rd one doddles around on the right somewhere until I need it. and all this only because DS started to learn knitting in school:))

back to kitchen duty now - more about "messing with colour" soon....

socks, socks, socks....

I received a parcel today with two (signed) books for my collection: Janel Laidman's two sock books, the enchanted sole and the 1st one, the eclectic sole. a friend in germany (thanks, Uli!) ordered them directly from here, and sent them out to me. I saw a few of the patterns in previews and pretty much liked them all - and when I heard that a 2nd book is going to come out soon, I decided to wait to get both of them together. and I like them - a lot! the patterns are very imaginative, a lot of colour and patterns and even a few beads here and there. DS liked the socks with a small pocket inside them, I like the Galadriel stockings, even though I wouldn't know where to wear them:)) but I think I'll make the "tree of life" socks first - as a present. I have enough sock yarn, but I will have to dye it first. I need two colours for the pattern, one black and one in muted sky colours - but I suppose I could just as well use a very dark blue or purple - and maybe some "sunset" sky colours:)) somehow, when I saw the pattern inside the book, I realised that this has given me an idea for another hp themed sock: a whomping willow with maybe the sign of the deathly hallows on the foot? or a "normal" looking sock - but with a small pocket, which contains a small felted rat? we'll see....

I still have to do a lot of cookie baking - so I'll better stop ranting here!

new books

now that I have finished the black socks (I pulled the thread through the last loops around 4 a.m.) I am free to just do what I want and have fun with it - for a few days at least:) one thing that very often happens to me the moment I have managed to keep a deadline and the project is on its way to the recipient - I am in limbo and start wasting my time. I just sat in front of the finished pair of socks this morning and wondered how many stitches it takes to make one pair. calculater out and off I went... (am I going nuts? I did something similar with the last shawl!). of course size 46/47 isnt' necessarily average, but I guess it gives an idea - if I didn't miscalculate I knitted over 14.300 stitches on just one sock! sounds amazing - and our handknitted socks nowadays aren't exactly knitted with sewing thread yarns. imagine how much work it was to make knee-highs with the extremely fine yarns the elizabethan knitters used! puh... I am quite glad that I don't live in these times - though that's just one of many reasons! I tried to take another pic of the finished socks - but it's not better than the last batch, so I spare you another yucky one!

I didn't just knit during the last few weeks - I also ordered some new books. Vivian Hoxbro is well known by now for her ideas around domino knitting. I had seen a few of the projects online that are featured in "knit to be square". the technique itself isn't new anymore - but some of the ideas in the book appealed to me, e.g. the pyramid-shaped pillow (reminds me of the "cusheens" by Vivian Prideaux), the bucket bag, the tea-cozy and of course the lace-style projects, where the squares aren't finished and thus leave gaps in the knitting. it's quite easy to change the designs or sizes and I think the technique is great fun for all kinds of projects. the book is from interweave, with their usual layout and style.

I also bought "knit one below - one stitch.many fabrics" by Elise Duvekot. this I saw in the "knitter's" magazine, published by xrx. I have several books published by them and do like their style. they always give a lot of "how-to" explanation and the photographs are well done, with close-ups of special areas. of course the technique of "knitting into stitches below" isn't a new technique - but most books only show a few typical brick patterns etc. - if the patterns are featured at all. this technique is very easy to do - but can result in very interesting blends and patterns. you can achieve a very complicated looking blend of colours - simply by knitting with a single colour in each row! no complicated fumbling with several yarns on one finger or twisting of threads needed! the book shows loads of designs, everything from shawls, scarves, socks, kids projects, jackets, afghans and sweaters is covered, for men, women and children. I am sure I'll use this technique in a project or two very soon!

on another note - I am a voracious reader even when I shouldn't, because I have to finish projects. even though I am well past the age to fit into the group for "teenage fiction" - I like reading some of those books. quite by chance I discovered the first book of a new trilogy: the book is called "the poison throne" (Moorehawke trilogy) by the irish writer Celine Kiernan. it's set in a medieval phantasy land and the characters in it are described so lively and well, that I couldn't stop reading the book and finished it in record time. of course I had to look for the author's homepage to find out when the 2nd book will come out (I have to wait a bit longer:(() and was surprised about the very personal way Celine Kiernan keeps in contact with her readers. I also found out about a new way of reading: one reader described it as "inhaling the book" and I thought this described pretty well the feeling I had when finishing this lovely book:))

back to some more practical things - I'll finally be able to start on the pattern "Harmonia's Rings" by Sivia Harding - needles and yarn are at the ready....

fiddling about with colour, but....

.....somehow it doesn't work! I am still working on the yarn for the baby sleeping bag... I wanted bright colours, so I painted the finished skeins with blue, red, green and yellow... but when I wound and knitted the first skein - it just looked blotchy and overbright (a bit like a parrot, but not as nice). after thinking about it for a day - I decided to overdye it with some Gaywool blue (called musk). I put a small piece of yarn into a very small amount (I still had some dissolved dye liquid on hand) - but of course even a tsp full diluted resulted in a very dark yarn. but I liked the colours that formed, purple, green, blue and some dark teal. so I took the rest of my liquid, added a tablespoon more of the dye and put in my skeins - garnet colours are the result! I love those colours - I am just not sure that they are a good choice for a baby garment! and I have over 500 g - so I'd have enough maybe for a nice moebius wrap or similar. well, I am still not sure; I did knit a small sample - and I started to spin some more of the same yarn! I might keep the woolly white it came in - before I end up doing more colours I don't think fit the project:)

I am also still spinning the small dye samples I did for the OLG workshop in june. the "ball" in the middle doesn't belong, it's schappe silk with wool, a small sample bag I found when sorting through my stash for the workshop. it gives a slightly lumpy yarn as the wool and the silk are very different in length and don't spin evenly. the three balls (white, blue and pink, upper row) are viscose, very shiny. I'll probably add them as a binder to a less lustrous yarn at some stage. the light rosy and blue below are ingeo, corn fibre, which doesn't take either natural dyes or acid dyes well. the stronger red to the left, the white cone and the bigger ball in blue on the left side are ramie, which was easy to dye with both pigments. the greyish purple in the middle is soy silk - dyed with cochenille and some added iron. and the blue cone on the right is bamboo - which does not only feel very similar to the ramie, but takes up dyes in a similar strength, too. which makes me wonder why people don't buy more ramie and go for the more expensive bamboo instead? maybe it's because ramie has been around for a while - and bamboo is still the "new broom" for handspinners?

the weather is still very changeable - very windy and some showers today - but it's going to become warmer every day, which makes it very murky and sticky indeed! but - the forecast gave some hope for the end of the week! of course, by then the holidays are over, which would be totally typical - miserable weather for 9 or 10 weeks in a row - and a nice september, when the kids are back in school:( I have been reading some thrillers from an Icelandic author, Arnaldur Idratson (not spelled properly, I know) - which fits perfectly! not only is the leading detective a bit of a gloomy, not very happy character - the weather in "tainted blood" is just as miserable as it is over here! I do like the style though - thanks to Kristin I pre-ordered all his books in the library. unfortunately she has mentioned a few other books in her blog - and most of them have been available via the local library too, so I have quite a few books still to read on the shelf:) the trouble is that I really have to pull myself away once I start reading - I tend to get stuck to the book, unwilling to put it aside until it is finished! I was told that this illness isn't curable - and I have been suffering from this ever since I joined the library for the first time - I think I was maybe 7 or 8 at that time! I still remember the groans of my mother, when I came home with a huge bag full of books, barely able to carry it up the stairs! or the day when I had visited the library in the town, where I went to school, went on the bus for the ride home (took me more than an hour!), fell asleep in the heat of summer and only woke up again one stop after my usual one! the problem: my bag full of books was too heavy to just walk back - I had to wait nearly one hour until the same bus came back again! the face of the bus driver upon seeing me again was - well, le'ts say, he looked more than just surprised:) and I got a nice earful to boot, because I came home so late! but whatever it takes to get my hand on good books - I'm prepared to do it!

oh yes, Francine asked about the books from holland! they came from holland, because Rachel from the olg had some 2nd hand books for sale. I bought:

Folk Bags by Vicki Square (interweave)

Time to Weave by Jane Patrick (interweave)

Traditional Japanese Crest Designs (dover)

and Traditional Japanese Stencil Designs (dover)

as I said I very much like some bag designs from Folk Bags! the weaving book is one for people without special looms, simple projects, not all with traditional weaving yarns either. both books from dover show black and white designs, useful for painting, quilting, embroidery etc. most of the stencil designs are fairly elaborate, but the crest designs are simple to work with - I definitely will use some for a quilt I haven't finished yet.

but now - back to the sleeping bag yarn. I better finish something soon - it's been driving me nuts for weeks now!:(

books, books, books

when a friend asked me to order a book from amazon online - I couldn't resist the temptation and added a few wishes to her order (I asked first, of course!). when they came yesterday, I had a nice few hours browsing:

this is the first one - nice designs, classics really, mostly sweaters, but some socks, scarves etc. also - each design is shown in handspun and commercial yarn. I quite like it, but I think more info on spinning and also some more information about the yarn structures for handspun would have been nice! it's more a knitting book than one about knitting with handspun.

I already have the two others by Francoise Tellier-Loumagne, one about knitting and one about embroidery. I like the latter best, full of inspiration and I browse through it pretty much before each embroidery project I start (apart from 0815 cross stitch maybe:)). the knitting book contains a lot of information about machine knitting, but many of those ideas can be transformed for handknitters, too! I do like all the inspirational photos in the felt book, but there isn't all that much information about the techniques in felting at all. this is not a book for a beginner felter! and I think they could have done the book with fewer photos of clouds and sky! ok, the topic of felting is explained by "the sky" in all its various forms, but still - there are only so many photos of clouds one needs! a very "artistic" book all in all....

this definitely qualifies as my "star buy" of the year (so far:)) or even longer! thanks to Helen for the tip - it's worth it! I have quite a few books about natural dyeing already; most of them are similar: this plant with this mordant gives this colour... informative, but not very exciting, esp. given the fact, that natural dyeing is not really a reliably repeatable process, i.e. if you need a certain colour at a certain date, better use some other method of dyeing, because you can never be quite sure you end up with what you intended! which to me is the fun part with natural dyeing! the book is nicely made up, hardback, fabric covering, bookmark inside... good photos and loads of new ideas! I mean really new ideas, not just a new dye plant here or there! pounding flowers into fabric, solar dyeing, eco printing etc., plenty of tips and advice, all with an eye on ecological sustainability - and not a traditional recipe in sight:)) which is a good thing in my opinion, as most of them don't usually work anyway - for me at least. if you can only afford one new book about dyeing - take this one, honestly (and no, I don't know India Flint:))

I was also rather surprised to receive a back issue and the first issue of "stitch" in the post. I only send the order and payment out on friday - fast service or what? I have been buying this on and off for a while now, but eventually I gave up on the plan to just order it via the newsagent. for some reason it's impossible to get it ordered regularly - in contrast to some other magazines:(( I don't like all of the designs; some are very fussy and require investment in gadgets such as "soldering irons" (no, I know that's not the correct name, but the thing is used like one - you burn fabrics away with it) and such, but I usually find several projects I do like - or at least some new ideas for a design of my own. I always wonder when textile crafts turned into something, where you have to have electric gadgets for each technique you want to work - it's a bit like households, where people have a gizmo for every job in the kitchen! maybe I am a dinosaur, but I do prefer the "slow craft" approach, which to me includes not to rely on electricity for every small job I do!

oh yes, I nearly forgot to mention it, even though I put it up in the book tip list before: at the last spinner's meeting in castlebar I bought Sheila Smith' Felt to stitch: Creative felting for textile artists from Suzie. a nice book too about felting, this time with basic information on the techniques such as wet or needle felting. but mainly the book is about embroidery on felt - in the wider sense - it also shows stencilling, shibori, nuno, hollow forms, cobweb felt etc. no exact instructions for projects, but who wants to do an exact replica of something anyway?

that's enough about books now (though my wish list is still quite long - and I expect it to stay that way. as soon as I have bought some I wanted - someone publishes new ones I would like to own!). I did some practical jobs too; I finally finished the second of the socks "ayer's rock" (sock wool from stahl socka country1), nice and warm just now, when summer has disappeared. and I started the 2nd one from "alaska" (same wool), which has a colour scheme that reminds me of lichen, moss and grey rocks! bought from Martina here.... and I am working on the present in cotton chenille - an EZ variant soon to be finished!

"creative spinning" book

I had meant to put this up earlier - not enough time, the usual problem.... I received the ordered book about spinning a while ago, the 2nd book in the series by Gaia Craft Books. it's been written by two of my OLG colleagues, Jane Deane and Alison Daykin - and I heard about the efforts involved in getting this printed during my wpsg (steering group of the OLG) time and was quite keen to get my hands on it.

the book shows the basic "how-to-spin" instructions with drawings in the first part. everything is there, but I wouldn't have bought it just for this, as I have quite a few books about handspinning already. what makes this book stand out (at least IMHO) is the second part - with stunning photographs of the fibres used, the yarns spun and a small sample showing the yarn knitted up. and a photo of the inspiration for the yarn (or maybe vice versa, the yarn was there first? the old question about the hen and the egg?:)). each yarn is described in a short "recipe", fibres used and amounts given - and then a brief description how it is spun and plied. I am sure I don't have all books about handspinning - but it is the first I have laid my hands on that really made me want to dash to the stash, dig out some fibres and sit at the wheel to start spinning some of them up! all kinds are shown, shortwools, longwools, rare breeds, silks and man-made fibres - in scrumptious colourways, some even with beads. I wonder why knitters still bother to buy commercial yarns for extortionate prices - surely it must be far more satisfying to make your own for a fraction of the price? the one downside is that I have no time to start experimenting yet - I have to finish all the xmas stuff beforehand! but as soon as that is done I'll start fiddling about - there are several rather tempting ideas that I'd like to follow up! (if you want to order it, contact Jane - jane@janedeane.co.uk - or Alison via her blog - www.willingtonweaver.blogspot.com )