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:)

funny....

...how half of europe is covered with snow - but not us! ok, during the last two days we did have a few sprinkly showers, but I wouldn't even call them flakes and they melted on impact. today we've had a few rain showers, but it's lovely to be outside and feel the sun on your back - for most of the time:) I hope my remarks about being snowfree aren't premature - but I think I am not alone in saying that we've had enough of winter by now (and over here we really didn't have all that much!).... slowly but surely our garden is waking up:

 the buds on my blueberries are opening - in different stages, because all are different varieties. one of the fruits that provided pickings last year, despite the miserable summer weather

easter is coming closer, and the daffodils are trying their best right now - at least the smaller flowered varieties are. the large ones take a bit longer, but there are feisty buds all over the garden!

 

spring is a good time for new plans - not only in the garden, but also where textiles are concerned. I would like to make a grandmother's flower garden quilt in the future - with all kinds of purple/lilac fabrics. not in a hurry, I still have to collect a load of fabric, but yesterday I received the first instalment - more by accident than by design, but I am going to keep those for my future project:) I have a few leftovers and a larger piece or two in stash, but I want it to be a big quilt and with lots of different fabrics, so I'll collect for the time being. btw, if you like hexagons, have a look at this

 

 remember the oddly shaped "sock" I showed you earlier? this is the result.... a pincushion granny:) when I saw that design on ravelry, I knew that I had to make one myself. a friend of mine loves nicknacks like that, so I made one for her birthday. the knitting isn't really difficult, the design runs over 24 pages, but it's very detailed and you can mostly work a whole page in half an hour or so; the body is done in one piece, with a lot of increases and decreases (even the nose is knitted in like that!), only the arms are done separately. the garments are a different story - it's quite fiddly to pull everything together and I took the liberty of changing some of the works. in the original the sleeves are knitted with the arms inside, which means that you don't only have to battle your dpn, but also the rest of the granny:) I decided after one sleeve that this won't do and knitted the other sleeve from the bottom up (see below) and fixed it by sewing it to the top. actually this was far easier and it looks just the same....

 of course it's not nice to have pins in your bottom, so the granny looks rather dismayed:) it was great fun to make her bun (handspun samojede dog's hair), to crochet a lace collar and the lace on the dress - but the best bit was making the glasses from wire! maybe that was because it was the last thing I had to do?

anyway, I think at some stage I'd like to make another "autsch" - but next time I'd make the base larger, choose nicer yarns for maybe a period dress design, maybe even make the lace in bobbin lace instead of crochet. we'll see - another future project:)

as you can see working the sleeves was fighting a hedgehog - the needles are 1.5 mm - and unfortunately rather too long for this tiny project. if I did do another granny I'd buy more suitable short dpn for this!

 

 I also worked some wearables - this is a collar by Andrea Delhey, done in crochet, in black handspun merino. I changed the size slightly, but the pattern is the same - you can find it here

 detail of "baroque collar"

 when the winter grey was at its worst, I decided I needed some colour for a perk-up, so I grabbed all the reds I could find, corriedale, throwster's waste, merino etc. and spun it all up whichever way it came.

the plan was to make a 2ply in exchange for the "poison" wollmeise skein I received as a surprise mailing ages ago. I read in Kristin's blog that she loves red, so I thought that it would be perfect to cheer her up a bit after an operation she had to have. I spun the leftovers into a second skein, but there wasn't enough silk left, so the 2nd one has less sparkly in it. the problem was to catch the right colour - no luck in rain or sunshine... the slightly fuzzy one on the left shows the colour changes better, but the right one hits the colours! traffic light red:)

 

 

when I sit down for a tea break at the table I need to have a small, simple project on hand to work a few rows here and there. after collecting a weekly mag incl. a small ball of yarn for a long time, I packed all the yarn into a bag and forgot about it for a year or two. it was meant to be a knitted afghan, but I didn't like knitting the squares much, so I decided to make a granny square blanket instead. the yarn is sheer poly, which I would never ever use for a garment - but I think it'll do for a simple blanket (might end up in the dog's box though:)

 

 

I've also done several pairs of socks in the meantime, I am working on a "fia" (with lots of changes:); I have to start on several gifts soon - and of course gardening is starting in earnest now. but I'll still be able to make a hexagon here and there I think.... off to swing the needles:) oh yes, and I have to finish my 2nd "deluge" - I love that pattern, but I am going to knit the next pair without the fussy different toe shapes (for left and right foot).  

yesterday evening.....

 

it looked like above. after a day with real spring feeling in the air yesterday we're back to normal today - it has been raining or at least drizzling all day here. and just to prove that we did indeed have snow:

well, ok, it looks more like icing sugar, but at least we had some:) didn't last long though, 2 hours later the sun had burned everything away. that's from a week ago - we've had real april weather during the last few days....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also finished the corriedale I bought from hedgehog fibres. while spinning I thought I might spin a fine silk yarn from hankies I had dyed in similar colours, but it would have taken ages to spin that up, and because I was impatient, I plied with shop bought merino lace yarn instead. I have about a pound of yarn now, but I am still not sure what to use it for. never mind, it'll keep - right now I have "FIA" on my mind!

 

 

 

 

this is how the top looked before I spun it up. the mix with the fine merino made the yarn feel much softer; soft enough I think to wear as a shawl....

 

 

 

 I also finished the valentine's socks. the leg is quite long (for my taste at least), but there was still a good bit of yarn left over. size 43/44 - with a very simple knit/purl pattern and stockinette under foot. nothing spectacular, other than they're my first 6ply socks:) the second was started immediately; my side project when I don't fancy knitting fiddly and don't want to spin either! they're for myself - so no due date for those.

 

 

 

 

 for the last few months nothing happened with the lemons my small tree had set. during the last few days however they started to get lighter and more yellowish! do I see ripening lemons here? I hope so, there are at least 5 or 6 on it and I had planned to try salted lemons with them, because I know that they are untreated and "bio"!

 

 

 

 

 

 

sorry for the out of focus pic, but this is a smaller lemon (I know, it looks the same size:), which is still much greener in comparison.  

 

other than this the garden is still more or less miserable. only the snowdrops look spiffy, everything else is still in hiding or just visible by leaf tips. I can't wait for spring, I've just had it with winter for this year.... though maybe I shouldn't be complaining? the longer the winter, the more time I'll have to work on my Fia sweater....

that's better!

it works again! I can upload directly from my files, which is a great relief, as it only takes seconds to do... I hope it stays that way! was that just a hiccup - or did somebody at blogger actually listen to my complaint?:)

I have to finish some more gift projects before I can start my next bigger project (but I know which one it's going to be - have a look at this: Fia). I might just start a small sample to check out how it looks, but I can't start it yet, because I have to finish these socks, among other things. I've bought two balls of 6ply sock yarn, which I've never used before. I had to check out the difference in stitches, but it knits up nicely - and faster than 4ply:) which is good, because I have to hurry up a bit..... the colours are nothing to write home about, but you know - men and sock colours.....

I also took the chance to get my hands on more "normal" (aka 4ply) sock wool in lovely colours, when I was asked if I "needed" something from wollknoll in germany. what a question:) the two balls on the left are singles with a lovely blend of colours (stronger in reality). I tried the yarn before, it knits up nicely, though it has a very slight tendency to bias. works well with some patterns though! the hank on the left is a 4ply, can't go wrong with a bit of purple....the dye behind is purple, too - for dyeing in the machine. I have some terry fabric in white, that I'd like to dye with this.

and this is my second project on the needles (apart from some stuff I am spinning of course). it's done with dpn 2mm and silk blend sock yarn. it started to look like a small sock. then a heel.... and then what? no, I didn't make a mistake - it won't be a sock! the skin colour might be a hint.... and I can tell you that the very narrow bit on the needles - is a neck! no more clues - but all will be revealed in time:) it's a bit fiddly, but at least the 24 pages of instructions are very detailed and knit up pretty fast!

 

I am also getting together my seed orders and gardening stuff. it's february very soon - and this means that over here at least the gardening season won't be far away! plenty of stuff already peaking out, even though we had miserable, monsoon like weather the last few days. but I can see the first fat crocus buds and the daffodil leaves are nearly full size! my tulips from last year are halfway out - only the freshly planted bulbs need a bit more time to show. it's time - I don't want winter anymore and hope for a nice spring this year (seems to be all we're  getting now, the summers are so ugly that they don't qualify for that name anymore....)

 

I also had plans to show you a few of the books that made it onto my shelves over christmas, but I think I'll push it into the next entry....

not again!

I don't know why, but somehow we seem to be irresistable to dogs, when we cycle to town or back. last week DH was followed by this fellow. her name is Dobby (like our dog) and we know the owner, so we were able to ring them. 15 min. later he picked her up. she is a lovely dog, very well behaved and friendly. just a bit wet that day:)

 

do you remember her? yep, that's Moggy... when DS came home from school today, he was very late and we thought he had a flat tyre - again. not so, he had to walk, because as friendly as Moggy is - she has no manners at all:( she jumps in front of the bike or even tries to get up on it (delighted to see us:) - even when the cyclist tries to get away! have you ever tried to outcycle a very large dog like that? better don't try, it doesn't work! by the time you could be up and rolling - she has jumped on top of you and pulled you down (yes, I tried, I had to walk halfway into town 2 weeks ago because of her.) the owners let her roam freely it seems - I am just waiting to find her killed at the side of the road - or shot, because she was caught chasing cattle:( what annoys me most is that she is still young and trainable - and such a lovely dog! now DS will have to walk to school tomorrow - with Moggy in tow to hand her back to her owners! and she's soaked wet - the whole house is wet with her (luckily we have tiles in most rooms, and she isn't allowed into the rooms with timber flooring until she's dried off)! and you can't just put her outside, because she wants company and in search of that she starts scratching on doors!

 

I haven't blogged for a while now - and when I tried just now, I found that apparently I cannot upload pix directly from my computer anymore:( who's crappy idea has this been? I had to open a picasa album, load the pix I want into that to put them on the blog. if that isn't changed again soon, I might stop blogging altogether, because it takes even more steps now!:( why is hardly anything changed for the better???                                   anyway, of course I did finish a few things since my last blog entry. and started even more:) this is a bookmark I found in one of the interweave Jane Austen mags. I changed it slightly - the original features a heart, where I put in the diamond. and I didn't use beads, because I didn't have any that would have fitted the colour of the yarn or its size! it's half silk, half wool, handspun and dyed with the leaves of red-leaved elder... I added a bluish ceramic button - it's not an easy colour to match!

 

 

 I also finished the Fletta cardigan to give to my mother-in-law. in hindsight I should have left out the green; I don't think it does much for the pattern. this photo is awful, but it shows the colours reasonably well.

the photo below shows the pattern better - but for some reason it doesn't let me write text beside it (what's wrong with blogger now?) I still have quite a lot of old rose left, but only one skein of the darker cardinal. not sure what I'll do with the leftovers.......

 

I ordered some felt squares from the uk in mid november, which I wanted to use for some christmas decos. didn't work out quite like that, my sterling draft was apparently lost in the mail and it took some time to sort it all out. a few days back I received my 20 ordered squares, so now I can make easter decos with them instead:) there is a great choice of colours here - but unfortunately it was either no proper light at all or strong sunlight - which makes the colours look a bit garish, which they aren't at all. plenty to do - but first I'll have to clean all the floors tomorrow, when hopefully Moggy has gone back home:)