Archive for the 'Books' Category
If I formed an early music ensemble, that’s what I would call it. What I love about early music is the absolute happiness it conveys—at least in its upbeat moments. The shawms, the sackbuts, the recorders, the bagpipes. When they all get happy together it’s a glorious thing. And when they move from frivolity to spiritual, the experience becomes positively transcendent. Last night’s first concert featured Piffaro (the YouTube video is much, much mellower than anything we heard them perform) and The Concord Ensemble (their audio clips are definitely worth a listen).
We entertained ourselves during the interval coming up with early music t-shirt slogans that we could do up to sell on Cafe Press. The best?
The shawm’s da bomb! ©
Who you callin’ a sackbut? ©
(We are, of course, copyrighting them so we can retire on our sure-to-be-ample earnings.)
After that concert, it was off to a 10:30 performance by selected members of Philharmonia Baroque doing Corelli Concerti, along with some Tartini and Geminiani. We got home utterly exhausted, but quite uplifted.
This morning we have Piffaro again at 11:00. Tonight it’s Le Poeme Harmonique performing a brand new program, Venizia delle strade ai Palazzi. Of this performance the program notes, “Due to the improvisatory nature of Venizia delle strade ai Palazzi, details of the program may change during performance.” That should be interesting.
While wandering through Mrs. Dalloway’s before last night’s performances, I picked up a copy of Nichele Rose Orne’s Inspired to Knit. The title says it all.
June 07 2008 | Books and Knitting and Music | No Comments »
Not too long ago, I ordered several pattern booklets from Article Pract, all of which arrived while I was in Washington, D.C. Melissa was kind enough to pick them up for me. I have been enjoying browsing through them the past few days and wanted to share some of the highlights.
Nashua Handknits, Natural Focus (8 patterns, $14.95)
This booklet is so new that it’s next to impossible to find pictures from it on the web. You can see a few of the projects it includes at Patternworks. These patterns features lots of lacy stitches using Natural Focus organic yarns (the wool is worsted weight, the cotton is a bit lighter) to make transitional-weather garments. There’s nothing cutting-edge about these pieces, but they’re all attractive and look very wearable. I like the Lace and Rib Cardigan (on the bottom in the Patternworks photo group), with waist-defining ribbing. The Leaf Cardigan is one of the more substantial garments in the book and features both highly textured sleeves and leaves rising up out of the waist ribbing. The booklet features this piece in grey, which sort of undercuts its botanical charm; I’d love to see it in a sage or a spring green.
Classic Elite Yarns, Make It Modern (7 patterns; $14.95)
Don’t be misled by the ditsy Little Leaf Scarf on the cover; it’s the weakest piece in this group. My absolute favorite is the Soft Linen Hoodie.
Isn’t that a cute neckline? It’s hip and classic all at the same time, good for both mom and the high school daughter she’s always embarrassing (not that I’ve suddenly become a mother— just making a point). The collection also includes two lovely pieces with lacy bodices, empire shaping, and square necks, one with cap sleeves, the other with long sleeves. The Cotton Bamboo Girl Tank features two different moss-rib variations which add interest while maintaining a crisp look. You can go to Classic Elite’s web site to check out the full group of patterns in this booklet.
Rowan Classic Yarns, Summer Breeze (13 patterns; $17.95)
The cover pattern with all its ruffles appeals to my girly side. The look is a bit frivolous, but the piece is substantial enough to be of real use. A number of these knits are a bit square in their shaping—the sort of thing that bony Rowan models can pull off, but that’s apt to be less charming on your average Jane. I have a love-hate thing going with Blow.
You can’t see it so well in this picture, but the featured yarn is a marl and the color variation seems to be in an all-out battle for dominance with the lace ribbing. Even I, lover of variegated colorways, have to admit that this cardigan would look best in a solid.
Rowan Organic Collection, Pure Life (18 patterns; $17.95)
This is one of those Rowan books that you just want to move into: “Never mind the knitting; can I please just have a week to myself in that lovely cabin? Or the caravan maybe?” These knits tend to be a bit boxy, but they look practical and comfortable, the kind of things that get worn until they wear through at the elbows. I’m particularly fond of Snapdragon, a pullover that’s sort of a semi-gansey
This book features knit for women, men, and girls, making it a good choice if you enjoy knitting for others. The Knitting Garden has pictures of the full contents posted.
I’ve got no idea when (if) I’ll get any of these knit up, but they’re providing plenty of inspiration as I move back and forth between academic duties and the works currently on my needles.
April 03 2008 | Books and Knitting | 2 Comments »
Today being at work doesn’t feel nearly as burdensome as it did Friday. The office re-do courtesy of my friend Ellen certainly helps. I also dug out a crystal that had been given to me by a friend years (about 23!) ago and hung that in the window, so I can give it a spin and watch the wild dance of spectra.
Saturday was the memorial service for a dear friend of mine who died unexpectedly last month. This is the first friend I’ve had who has died of more-or-less natural causes, and I am simply not ready to accept that someone in my peer group has been around long enough that it’s appropriate for her to be leaving. She was a good match for me—we shared all sorts of semi-obscure interests, including a fascination with space exploration, an enthusiasm for ballroom dance, and an occasionally eye-rolling appreciation for the choreography of Michael Smuin. It only takes one good connection to make a friendship, but she and I had all sorts of connections, so there have been and will be many moments when I come across something I want to share with her, then realize that opportunity has passed. The service, which we held at the local Quaker church, was surprisingly comforting: I’d been resenting the need to mourn and to mark her death in such a definite way, but I loved getting to meet her different circles of friends and getting to see the affection and appreciation others had for her.
Sunday, I felt able to step a bit more solidly back into my own life. Melissa helped me get a start on the week’s cooking, including several good recipes from the latest issue of Vegetarian Times (definitely worth checking out, even if—like me—you’re not a vegetarian). And heedless of the number of projects I currently have on the needles, I cast on for something new—
one of the “Grand-Plan Capelets” from Wrap Style. I’m knitting it in (surprise, surprise!) Malabrigo, the creamed carrot colorway, which glows like a spring sunrise.
Now that I’m properly caffeinated and have indulged in a perusal of the new patterns on Ravelry, I’ll settle down to my “real” work. I have class enrollments to check and a syllabus to finalize, but I’m hoping I can plow through those quickly enough for a bit of backyard knitting while the sun’s still out.
March 31 2008 | Books and Knitting and Malabrigo Worsted | 3 Comments »
Donna Druchunas has written exactly the sort of book I love: not just a collection of patterns, but an introduction to an entire genre of knitting with the goal of helping readers design their own patterns. Ethnic Knitting Discovery (Nomad Press) begins with a chapter on working without patterns that outlines basic sweater shapes, sizing, gauge, and ease. In chapter 2, Druchunas explains techniques common to all the chapters: circular knitting, cutting (!) arm and neck openings, colorwork, and the like. She then moves on to individual chapters on the knitting of each region that are designed to teach specific skills and that include a set of sample patterns readers can knit as is or vary to suit themselves.
The first regional chapter, on the Netherlands, focuses on knit/purl patterning, centering motifs and horizontal patterns, standard drop-shoulder styling, and picking up sleeves at the armholes (as opposed to sewing sleeves in after knitting). The list of techniques grows more ambitious with each chapter: welts and half-gussets in the Denmark chapter, for example; cut armholes, boat necks, and colorwork in the round in the Norway chapter; steeks, puntas (scalloped edges), and alternate techniques for K and P stitches in the Andean chapter.
If you’ve done some sweater knitting, but stil can’t imagine making the jump from following patterns to designing your own, this book will see you comfortably through that transition. Each of the regional chapters also offers patterns for two sweaters and an additional accessory, but the reader has the option of approaching the patterns in three ways. One can follow the pattern as written, use a template to customize the pattern for any yarn weight and finished size, or follow a schematic for quick, improvisational knitting.
Ethnic Knitting Discovery includes an index—something I’d like to see in more knitting books, as it facilitates working specific skills/techniques into one’s own knitting repetoire.
My one regret is that this book doesn’t include any photos. The techniques and projects are amply illustrated with clear line drawings, but how I wish it included some regional photos for inspiration. Some shots of an Andean marketplace, for example, could inspire knitters to leap far beyond the frameworks offered by the book.
[Side note: while tracking down a link for the above paragraph, I wandered off on a tangent that led me to this tank cozy worked as by knitters and crocheters from across the EU and US and coordinated by Marianne Joergensen.]
This book is a good investment not only for those interested in ethic knitting, but for aspiring designers as well.
P.S. The Cameo Shell Stitch Shawl with the unplanned band of contrast color along the bottom? I am so loving it. It does wonders taking the bite out of the cold in Melissa’s cement-block, not-centrally-heated, artist’s-loft apartment.
December 15 2007 | Books and Cameo Shell Stitch Shawl and Knitting | 1 Comment »
Knitting keeps me sane. And when there’s no time to actually knit, just thinking about knitting can usually save me from going over the edge.
It’s in that spirit of preventative mental-health maintenance that I picked up a copy of Cables, Diamonds, Herringbone: Secrets of Knitting Traditional Fishermen’s Sweaters by Sabine Domnick.
To be honest, I won’t be knitting anything out of this book soon—the projects are challenging and time-consuming—but I’m loving it just the same. This book includes history, a part-by-part discussion of knitting techniques (saddle shoulders, set-in sleeves, etc.), a stitch dictionary, and some gorgeous patterns: everything I need to keep my imagination humming. As long as I’m too busy to do anything but dream about knitting (ok, it’s not quite that bad—but close), I might as well dream big.
The Smooshy hat I’m working on for The Golden Fleece is almost done, but I’ve decided I started the decreases a bit late. This means I need to unknit a dozen or so rows, which isn’t all that difficult, but I’ve been getting home from work so bleary-eyed, that I’m afraid to slip the work off my needles for fear that I’ll do something horrible and irrevocable in my delirium. One way or another, I will have it finished by Saturday so that Melissa can photograph it and I can deliver it to the shop. Please note that I am still loving this yarn, even with the prospect of tinking.
December 06 2007 | Books and Knitting | No Comments »
Melissa has her ipod collection of revival songs playing on the computer, and we are having a luxurious Sunday at home. (Melissa notes that she is an agnostic, pagan Emersonian, but that doesn’t preclude a love of revival music.) We’re drinking Peet’s JR Reserve ($24.95 the half-pound), which Melissa got for free at work, since it’s past its date. Actually, it’s vacuum sealed and still plenty fresh, but you don’t want to risk annoying folks who are willing to pay fifty dollars a pound for coffee, so we reap the benefits of Peet’s legendary quality and customer service.
We’re feasting on banana-mango-cranberry fruit salad with lime zest and a bit of prosciutto on the side.
I have to knit today. It would be irresponsible not to knit, since I am working on my Smooshy hat for The Golden Fleece.
I love Smooshy. If I were not already promised to Melissa, I would spend my nights under Smooshy’s window, singing serenades in honor of its 100% Australian merino goodness and begging it to marry me and make me the happiest knitter on earth.
So while I “toil” away at my hat and Melissa slices giant sheets of 100% cotton rag paper into the proper size for more prints, I leave you with a few more images from Animate Creation.
Lemurs…
… the best primates ever.
Tarsiers…
…not quite lemurs, but just as wonderful.
Bats…
… the only mammals to know the joy of true flight.
December 02 2007 | Books and Non-Knitting | No Comments »
Ok, so I can’t buy yarn. We didn’t say anything about knitting books. So today when I went to buy cat food I stopped at The Golden Fleece (quelle coincidence—it is only two blocks away from the pet supply store) and picked up a copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop. Pretty much, I had to. I mean I’ve been knitting for over four years now and still didn’t own a copy. My Knitters Cred (like Street Cred only fluffier and more decorative) was on the line. Now I can have a go at rib warmers, tomtems, and baby surprise jackets.
Things are getting festive in Santa Cruz.
Ho, ho, ho, Dude!
November 29 2007 | Books and Knitting | 2 Comments »
Like many knitters, I’m unable to resist the temptations of yarns that catch my eye, but at least I usually manage to limit myself to a single skein when I’m buying a yarn without a specific project in mind. This habit leads me to a second addiction—knitting books that promise to show me amazing things I can do with just one ball of yarn. The latest of these is a follow-up to last year’s One-Skein Wonders—
—101 Designer One-Skein Wonders. Both of these books come from Storey Press, and both are edited by Judith Durant, who also authored Never Knit Your Man a Sweater.
First off, a project tally. Six of the projects are crocheted; the rest are knit. This book offers patterns for…
Shawls/Scarves/Wraps: 22
Hats: 20
Bags/Bowls/Containers: 18
Kids: 14
Socks/Slippers: 8
Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 7
Belts: 4
Toys: 3
Bath Items: 3
Vest/Shrug: 4
Jewelry: 3
Ties: 2
Plus a cat toy, a set of egg cozies, and a pillow.
(If my numbers don’t add up—and I just know there’s someone out there who will do the math for sheer perversity’s sake—it’s because some projects fall into more than one category.)
Like the first volume in the pair, 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders is organized by yarn weight, which makes it convenient for browsing. Go to the stash, choose a skein, flip open the book, consider the possibilities.
Of course, not all skeins are the same size. In the laceweight category, three patterns call for four-hundred-and-something-yard skeins, which are pretty typical. KnitPicks‘ laceweight yarns come in 440 yard skeins, for example. But the remaining projects in this section require skeins measuring anywhere from 875 to 1736 yards, which strikes me as a bit of a cheat, given the one-skein claim.
There’s enough variety in these patterns that every knitter will find something to love—and something to roll her eyes at, too, no doubt. Leslie Barbazette’s Wave Jumper for infant girls, makes wonderful use of a single skein of sock yarn. The photo of this piece in the book uses a dark yarn, but I’d love to see it knit up in a really loud self-striping yarn that would make any baby the center of attention (as if babies aren’t that already). The Little Green Wristlets by Therese Chynoweth are charming, simple and decorative at the same time, with just a bit of shaping to ensure a good fit. The eggs in my house will have to make do without Miriam G. Briggs’s Egg-Cozy Hats—but these might be just the thing for a wee friend’s dolls.
You may also want to visit the One Skein Wonders web site and sign up for their Skein-of-the-Month Sweepstakes. What a great way to put the book to use!
November 17 2007 | Books and Knitting | No Comments »
Several weeks ago Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries held their big used book sale in the Civic Auditorium. The main floor of the auditorium is covered with table after table of books sorted by topic, with the stage area dedicated to rare books. I never even made it up onto the stage this year because I wound up spending an inordinate amount of time going through a box of back issues of Piecework magazine.
Melissa, however, did make it to the stage and made me a present of this wonderful book, which dates back to the 1870s.
Look at the beautiful cover lettering.
Sadly, someone had gone through it and sliced out all the color plates—even with rare books, individual plates can often yield a greater profit than a bound volume can. Lucky for me, Animate Creation is chock-full of black and white illustrations and is also a genuinely delightful read, so I can still derive an immense amount of enjoyment from it.
In honor of Tuesday Mewsday, here are some of the big cat images from its pages.
Sparky is absolutely convinced that the right-hand illustration is a portrait of him slaying Scoldy Squirrel, who is always haranguing him from up in the trees. I am humoring Sparky in this and have refrained from muttering “as if” within earshot.
November 13 2007 | Books and Cats and Non-Knitting and Spartacus and Tuesday Mewsday | No Comments »
I confess that I’m an absolute glutton when it comes to stitch dictionaries. If I’m in a bookstore or yarn shop and find one I don’t have, you can bet I’ll be taking it with me when I leave.
Stitch dictionaries are really what got me hooked on knitting in the first place. Shortly after I’d learned to knit and purl (at that point I was making garter-stitch scarves almost exclusively), I came across a stitch dictionary on my mom’s bookshelf and asked to borrow it. Being typically generous, my mom said, “Just take it. You can keep it.” (Or maybe this wasn’t generosity—maybe she realized that one stitch dictionary was all it would take to finally turn one of her daughters into a knitting addict.)
The whole stitch dictionary concept just blew me away. I stuck with scarves, which were an easy template to work from, and started knitting up one after another. I loved choosing a yarn, choosing a stitch, and finding out how they worked together. And with the near-infinite possible combinations of yarns and stitches, I could spend hours browsing through my books and my stash, deciding what to try next. Some of the results were gorgeous. Other times I had to face the fact that the stitch I’d chosen simply wasn’t what the yarn wanted, and I’d unravel the whole thing to start again.
Later, I started playing with stitches on hats, which opened up the opportunity to develop different decreasing strategies. Happily, hats were even quicker projects than scarves, and it only took a day or two to test out the possibilities I dreamed up.
Given this, you can imagine my delight at discovering a copy of Lesley Stanfield’s 150 Knitted Trims at my local independent book store, Bookshop Santa Cruz.
This book is a bit along the lines of Nicky Epstein’s Knitting on the Edge, offering a variety of patterns loosely organized by genre (”braids” is one category).
The production quality of this book is wonderful: heavy, glossy paper, with bright, detailed photos. Paging through it is a treat even before the knitting begins. And the possibilities it conjures up! On Knit Picks’ site this book is briefly described as “5 projects—128 pages.” That’s an understatement—this is a five-project book only for those completely devoid of any sort of imagination or knit-itching fingers, which pretty much rules out every knitter I’ve ever met.
Imagine this corkscrew fringe (second from top) edging a throw pillow or lamp in a girl’s bedroom.
Now imagine these trims knit up in cotton (anything from crochet weight to dishcloth worsted) and attached to pillowcases or kitchen towels. It wouldn’t take long to turn utilitarian necessities into visual delights.
I would love to try inserting this leaf band (second from top) into the cuffs of a sweater, perhaps used to gather the sleeves in a bit, then working back out into a small ruffle.
I also want to play with inserting ribbons or contrasting yarn through the holes in some of these trims, which would allow the wearer to adjust the size of a finished garment.
If you like to design your own pieces, if you’ve dreamed about designing but haven’t known where to start, or if you just want to customize the patterns you’re working up, this book will give you endless pleasure.
October 24 2007 | Books and Knitting | 1 Comment »
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