Archive for the ‘Knitting With Needles’ Category
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Bookish Thursday: Twinkles Weekend Knits
Well last week I promised you the book that made me go SQEEEEEE!!! When this one hit my hot little hands I knew we would be friends!
Remember this?:
Well enter it’s match! Twinkle’s Weekend Knits: 20 Fast Designs for Fun Getaways
Wenlan Chia fashion designer/ knitting designer has done it again. A book full of knits with her signature chunky yarns. Talk about a quick knit! I had two sleeves of the done in two hours! Unfortunately, I had another project take priority or I would definitely be showing you a finished object by now!
This book is broken up into three weekend getaway categories:
- Friday Night: Twinkle through the night.
- Saturday Morning: Fun alfresco!
- Sunday Afternoon: Last night away.
Friday night is filled with knits for your night out, a lace wrap, a sexy cowl neck tunic, and even hanger covers for unpacking for your weekend getaway.
Saturday morning is all about fun in the sun! Sweaters for relaxing and even a cozy for your iPod!
Sunday Afternoon includes some more complex designs in serene color palettes, the cloudburst cardigan is sure to be an eye turner, and some interesting techniques like feather and fan stripes, knot ridge stitch, and a wrapped yarn increase add interesting details to the pieces in this section.
All in all I love this book. Wenlan’s bulky knits are not for everyone, but I like the bold look and the quick results, and there are also knits in finer weight yarns that are sure to please.
The book is set to be released next week, so look for it in your local bookstore, or you can always preorder!!
Just a little note if you get the show Knit and Crochet Today on your PBS station they did an interview with Wenlan Chia in episode 105, their cables episode. You might want to check it out!
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Bookish? Thursday: How Elizabeth Zimmerman helped me get my laundry done
You can only ignore your laundry so long.. Then the piles start to attack! The kids start running around the house naked. and you can’t find something decent to wear.
Sigh.
Just when will the invent self cleaning laundry?
Enter.. Elizabeth Zimmerman.
Yes.. Elizabeth Zimmerman. See she must have foreseen that I would need something to do whilst endlessly folding load upon load of laundry.. the part I really hate! (especially the matching of the socks!)
So she and her daughter taped this really great series of shows about knitting. One of the benefits of being in my knitting guild is that they have an extensive library of these videos. So I borrowed some, and off I went folding away as I watched. On occasion causing my husband to run in from the next room when he heard me exclaim, WOOOOOWWW, or GENIUS, to see just what I was going on about.
Needless to say, my laundry is nearly done, and the knitting lobe of my brain has grown at least two sizes.. and I have only watched 5 of the tapes!
If you have the opportunity to borrow or obtain these videos I highly recommend them. They are much likeher books intermingled with little bits of life and fun as Elizabeth and Meg, and various others interact. Not left out are the cats and the camera man who interjects when they are checking their math on occasion!
All in all the videos manage to keep me from running out of the room screaming when the laundry attacks.
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Nearly Finished Friday!
I should be able to finish these up tonight! Which is good, I need to show them off on Tuesday.. and then sell them on Sunday!
I restarted on Brian’s Sweater! It is slow going I need to get through one repeat of the cables and then I will have a solid picture of what I am doing so it will get easier!
And with this weather he will need it soon!
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Does This Book Make my Brain Look Fat?
My mission for the next bit is to do some reading and learning. I also plan to get some ‘official’ knitting credentials on my resume starting with the CYCA certified knitting instructors program. With that in mind the following books have been procured and added to my library..
- I had planned to buy The Knitter’s Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn
by Clara Parkes (of Knitter’s Review fame) at Rhinebeck, and get her to sign my copy. That carefully thought out plan was thwarted by the publisher when they offered me a review copy. Now who am I to turn down a free knitting book? So rather than a signed copy, Clara, also agreeing that no one should turn down a free book, kindly signed the back of my Blogger Bingo card, so I might paste the sentiments into the book when it arrived. I planned, sight unseen to keep this book forever.. and now that I have it… not even the temptation of 10 pounds of qiviut could pry it from my hands.. er.. well.. I don’t think so. A full review later. Lets just say I am devouring this book quite in the same manner my children are devouring their Halloween candy!
- Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop
, if my brain looked skinny before reading this book, it has gained about 10 pounds after getting through about 1/2 of it. I have learned so much from this book and I think that even dedicated loom knitters would benefit from this one! So if you are at the library and they have it check it out!
- This one hasn’t hit my mailbox yet so it is not in the pile but I thought No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo & Other Delights
by Amy Singer, was a must have! I made a trade for this one on Ravelry, and look forward to learning a bit more about these non-wool fibers, though this book might be a bit redundant after reading the Yarn book.
- Barbara Walker’s Knitting from the Top
has been tauted as a must read. I will be looking at this one carefully, and seeing how knitting from the top can best be applied to looms!
- A beautiful volume fit for the coffee table is the book Unexpected Knitting
Debbie New nudges the creative side of knitting in this book, which includes a knitted lace BOAT!! yes.. you heard me right, a knitted boat! (and yes it floats!)
- Modular knitting is demystified in Dazzling Knits: Building Blocks to Creative Knitting
by Patricia Werner, I am hoping that I can wipe de-mist from my brain and learn some of these techniques!
- Another review copy came along with the Clara’s book,Kaffe Knits Again: 24 Original Designs Updated for Today’s Knitters
this book is gorgeous! Another coffee table book for knitters! I had to immediately look up the location where the photos were taken.. and sigh… it is in England.. Anyway a full review on this one later too!
- I also recently added Marla Richard’s Knitting Board Book to my library as well. This is a great little volume for loom and board knitters. Great instructions on many of those ‘fancy’ stitch patterns like cables, and ripples and lace and all for knitters who balk at needles!!
- An old classic Mary Thomas’s Book of Knitting Patterns
is another great one to wade through slowly.. trying EVERYTHING out as you go. The organization of this book is so well thought out, each technique is explained, then built on I have barely had time to touch the surface of this one and plan to have a whole lot of swatches by the time I am done with it!
- And what knitter doesn’t need a little know how with a hook? Crocheting School: A Complete Course
should help with that, but I think I might just pick up a crochet class at the local Joann’s as well.
- Last but certainly not least, the DVD A Knitting Glossary
I picked this up at Rhinebeck as you know, and it is very much worth every penny and more! Not really an item for new knitters, but if you are in the advanced beginner, or intermediate level, then you will want to add this to your Christmas list! I am surely glad I picked this one up!
I will have to share some of my other goals tomorrow.. let the learning commence!
- I had planned to buy The Knitter’s Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn
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A Finished object that I can show you!!!!
Isn’t that exciting!!
WOOO HOOO!!
Specs:
Heart Hat
Pattern : Elizabeth Zimmermann,
Book: Knitting Workshop
Yarn: Cascade 220, used a bit of each skein.
Needles: Addi US #6, 16″
Alterations.. none really. I pretty much just followed the pattern blindly!
Changes I would make: None really except to use a longer needle, the 16 inch was a little tight.
What I learned: How to knit an applied i-cord after the fact! Genius!!
Love it!! Would be an easy pattern to translate to the loom, a small gauge or extra small gauge loom would work fine. The decrease rows in the heart part would be a bit fiddly, but it’s worth it!
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Ahh the wonders of television!
I got up early last Saturday to watch the second episode of Knit and Crochet Today and was treated to 4 minutes of dead air then 8 minutes of Curious George followed by the remainder of the episode of Knit and Crochet Today! I had missed pretty much all of what looked like a really cool way to embelish items with a crochet snow flake!
WAHHHHH!!!
I went to the website, and no dice. They didn’t have the episode information up. But this week they do!
So I can see how they did it!
So there is another great resourse on the web for tricks and tips an patterns!!
Go check it out!! Knit and Crochet Today
Paying the bills…
Coming April 13th
