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Thank You! And You, and You, and You!

Thanks, blog-knitters and readers, for your cheerful comments! March has been a ferocious month for me, and I've had lots of reasons to smile when I read your comments and emails. If I owe you a reply, don't fret, it's on its way to being in the mail.

Speaking of mail! It's a Mail Call Entry Day!!

First, some lovely Rowan Yorkshire Tweed that I found on sale at Purls. It's for a project from my favorite stranded knitting technique book, Sweaters From Camp. My new wool is shown here with some waykewl vintage knitting mags that our steekin' Wendy sent me.

Retro! And with glove patterns galore. [happy sigh] Is Wendy the Blog Goddess of Knitting Goodness or what?

Also in the mail were 10 count 'em 10 balls of some Norwegian wool that I'm hoping will knit to Heilo specs. These came from one of my favorite ebay vendors, and they're a lovely shade of purple. I plan to combine these with some stashed greens, because Nanette's tam colors are inspiring!

Purpalicious.

Pups

Our good dogs had extra cuddles and romps this weekend, from my nephew and from my son and Jennifer. The pups are still in a great mood! No point in spoiling their puppy-joy by letting them know about this:

The pupaccino photo is courtesy of Cousin David in San Antonio, and I think he's trying to stir up some trouble here :-)

Wednesday! Little Jack says pump it up; we're on the downside to the weekend.
Happy knitting!

Hearts and Flora

The pups and I sent Buddy and Jennifer off to California on Monday, and then we started catching up on paperwork, office work, and Flora-work. I'm just a few rounds away from finishing the second full repeat, and then will work toward the armhole steeks.

Progress! It's pretty, isn't it.

It's wonderful to have a grown son who comes to visit every few months. In addition to being perfectly charming, he is also very handy with tools and such. This trip, Buddy installed a retractable screen door for the french doors, and it is such a relief to be able to have the house opened up a bit more. This house I'm in here in Austin came without window or door screens, partly because it's energy-efficient, I'm guessing, and partly because the previous owners didn't mind...apparently they just observed the changing season(s) by switching the thermostat from Heat to A/C. The pups and I are thrilled with screen doors and feel much breezier.

Everybody loves Buddy!

Happy Tuesday. We hope your day is filled with fresh air.

The Kids are All Right

The pups and I continue to enjoy our weekend visitors from California.

Happy Monday! We'll resume knitting and knit-blogging on Tuesday; hope to see you then!

Squaresville

Several hours spent in various waiting rooms Wednesday gave us time to consider our sock toes. We're not completely sure about the Bosnian Square Toe from Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks Warm Feet. We're not sure we like it. But we're not sure we don't like it, either.

The basis of this toe is a garter stitch square.

Check.

It fits on my toes nicely. But it's weird-looking, and I'm not sure if it's my knitting (have I picked up the stitches in a sloppy manner?) or just the unfamiliar look of the thing that is weirding me out.

Are you knitting the "Crenellated Toe Up Socks"? Please share your experience, and tell me if my square sock toe resembles your square sock toe, or if I need to rip back and read directions more carefully. I'm using two US 0 circulars with Fortissima Colori Socka Color. I can't remember the last time I had a sock question; it must have been way back when the Socknitters list was still small, and heavens! that's been years! So toss me some answers here, knitters.

Admin

It's official. I'll definitely be away from my computer for a few days. We're posting a bit early here tonight in anticipation. We'll see you on Monday, okay?

Pups

Thursday. Little Jack says Put a Little Purpose in your Stride.

It's good to have a plan, and good to have dachhunds. Tell me about square sock toes, okay? Cheers!

Less Filling More Vest

Only seven or eight rounds of knitting, but we like giving inch-by-inch updates. With Fair Isle knitting, each view is different and there is always something new to see.

An aspect of this vest that compares in an interesting manner to Wendy's version is the background color shifts—in Wendy's update photos, I can see at least two shades of blue-green. In the 1993 version, there are three different reds working as background in the floral motif, and I doubt you can see more than one in my photos. But the different shades are there, and I think it's a brilliant effect, and an especially clever way to manifest the shimmery watercolor-feel of the Flora vest. What an artist with color that woman is.

I can't get enough of the smoky leaves; don't they look autumnal and damp?

Admin

We may have to be away from the computer for a few days. If that turns out to be the case, I'll post a note here for you.

Pups

Three dachshunds, one purpose. They're on a mission.

Wednesday! Mike, Jack, and Della say have a chat with your neighbors.

Enjoy your day!

Investment

Monday night I finished the first full repeat of my 1993 version of Flora; Wendy has pulled far ahead, but I can't help but be happy watching her progress along with mine . . . it's like seeing two different vests appear. I don't understand how the changes in colorway could make such a remarkable difference in the same garment, and can only believe that it is the artistry of Alice Starmore's color sense. The changes, btw, aren't wholesale. Wendy's vest and my vest share some common skeins.

Here's my full repeat:

I love the smudged look of the leaf motif; very mysterious how the colors blend to create the slightly blurred appearance:

Smudgy! Mysterious! Subtle! I think, from scrutinizing Wendy's VY version, that the leaf border is very similar in both vests regarding the foreground colors. But maybe not. Those those shifting and very different background colors that make both of these versions uniquely beautiful.

New Tiny BugKnits

We have email from Althea of Bugknits, who has added to the gallery that contains the tiny gloves that I covet. She writes that there are now "two Bavarian trachtenjackets, two variations on the Queen Elizabeth cardigan, a Beaded Tunic which is knit entirely in the round and has the beads (a miniscule size 22) knitted right into the design and also a semi-circular lace shawl made from the finest weight Shetland cobweb wool." You can see the tiny goodness here. Wild!

Pups

The pups had a long Monday, and so we are blogging quickly in order to spend more time with them. We were all too tired to think of firing off flash-photos in our eyes, so here's a photo of Mikey and Cousin Della from the weekend. I think they are deciding who has the right-of-way.

Happy Tuesday! Enjoy your day, have fun with your knitting, and yield the right-of-way to bigger dogs.

Monday Knit Bit

I didn't finish the first full repeat of Flora (by Alice Starmore) before quitting knitting for the day, but I'm still quite happy with the progress made. Weekends really should be longer. But! Flora is coming along beautifully, and I'm only six rounds short of the full repeat:

I waited a few minutes too long to take photos outdoors Sunday evening, but the colors are surprisingly close to The Real Thing.

Isn't it lovely? I think so. The colors seem to me to be rather smoky and old-fashioned, in a good way. So Scottish. So Garland-y. Just Lovely.

Waiting Room Knitting

Since I'm in physical therapy three times a week, I have to spend time waiting at the rehab center. (Rehab. Doesn't it sound easy? Sorta like Reupholstering furniture or something?) And since we despise idle waiting and are incredibly neurotic about handling the magazines found in doctors' offices, we need a portable project. A project that will not be affected too much by our tightening tension as we wait and wait and wait our turn for the therapist, even though we arrived not only ON TIME but professionally and politely-slightly-early and if only the place were being run like a business instead of Purgatory for people in pain, we would certainly encourage the scheduling of appointments more efficiently and why *do* the receptionists at the center wear surgical scrubs, anyway??? I mean, what is having the receptionist dressed in surgical scrubs supposed to signify to a client?? What is the point?? (Have I mentioned that the anti-inflammatants seem to be making me slightly irritable and prone to excessive punctuation??? Not so You'd notice, but I notice these things, being a sensitive type of person.) So. About the damn portable project. It's a damn sock, and I have forgotten why I wanted to tell you about it, dammit.

Oh wait! I've remembered and it's really cool. It's a toe-up design from Lucy Neatby's book Cool Socks Warm Feet (ISBN: 0-9733940-0-5), and the toe is the very interesting part: a Bosnian-style Square Garter Stitch Toe. I like it just for its name! I'm looking forward to seeing how it fits. You cast on with waste yarn, then garter-stitch a small square, and from this small square, a sock grows up to a crenellated cuff (page 30, if you are following along). Here's how it looks tonight:

That's Fortissima Colori Socka Color #9077, and it's ready to go forward into the world so that I may Knit On, as the brilliant Elizabeth Zimmermann encouraged us all, while I wait for unpunctual physical therapists to return from wherever it is that they go while the clients are waiting. If I find out they are back there watching cartoons or the Fox Channel, heads will roll!!! Not that I'm complaining. Far be it from me to complain. But what *is* the point of those scrubs?

Pups

The weather was beautiful here, and the pups enjoyed that, plus a visit from Cousin Dyna. She's a cute little pup, and has bonded strongly with Mike and Della. Little Jack is beginning to get used to not being the littlest and snuggliest pup, and after a few more Dyna-visits, all cousin-rivalry for lap time should be a thing of the past.

Monday! Mikey says Embrace Your Inner Fluffiness.

Happy day; happy knitting!

All I Care About is Glove

Mari, who knit the marvelous Mary Allen's Gloves that we enjoyed viewing recently, has finished her Rose and Diamond gloves, and she's given me permission to show them to you here:

Aren't they splendid? Rose and Diamond is a Sanquhar pattern, and Mari has created a tour de force pair of gloves. Simply. Fabulous. If you visit Mari's gallery, you can see the process she followed to create these gloves, plus, you can enlarge her photos. Cool.

But Wait! There's More!

Mari also sent a link to a Glove Gallery that is so fabulous that it must be seen to be believed. Go ahead; we'll wait for you.

Thanks, Mari!

Flora (Gush! Squeal!)

I love this vest.
I love knitting along with Wendy.
I'm so happy it's Friday, 'cause that means Saturday is coming, and then Sunday, and Sunday is knitting day.
Knitting day means a full repeat and more on our Flora.
(Gush! Squeal!)

Shhh.

We wish our readers from Bali a perfectly still Nyepi Day, and a Happy New Year.

Pups

Sunny Little Jack says You Can't Make an Omelette Without Breaking Dachshunds. Keep your sunny side up; catch some rays today; have a great weekend!

Inch by inch (cm by cm)

Slow but sure (and satisfying) progress on Flora by Alice Starmore, circa 1993; I'm about three rounds away from the half-way mark of a full repeat. I would like a little more knitting time each day, please. Because I'm so eager to have a full repeat to compare to Wendy's VY-version.

The aspect of stranded knitting that I love most is when you get to the point just past the beginning rounds, where you can read your knitting rather than the chart, and the knitting itself begins to sing its own tune. Fair Isle can't reasonably be called mindless knitting, I suppose, but it does slip into a groove pretty quickly. I like it.

Talcum, Pepper, Elastic Smoke

You know we love hearing about Frankenfibers! Here's a couple (Link 1, Link 2) of short news items about some intriguingly engineered fibers, including one that can help your body absorb nutrients more efficiently. Awesome. I'm just waiting to be able to knit my own garden clogs, with soothing powdered insoles.

[12:28 a.m. editorial update: In catching up with a few blogs, I find Sweatergirl has already blogged about the talcum powder fabric, and she cites David on the nanofibers...I'm too lazy to revise, so you can read more about these textile developments on their websites if you like—certainly you should go see their lovely knitting. David's almost finished with his Aran!]

Pups

Actually, weather. It was 83 degrees here this afternoon. Right. In mid-March. The pups felt hot and hairy, threw their chow about, and drank extra water instead of practicing their Spanish.

It's Thursday. We hope your weather is just right, and that your knitting is humming along. Drink some extra water yourself, okay, and have an excellent day.

Pionta Guinness, le do thoil

Jo asked yesterday about A Scottish Garland (actually, she asked where she might find a copy). Hmmm. It seems to be an eBay-only item now; neither Alibris nor Powell's has a listing for it. Just going by eBay, it seems to be gaining in price by the day. Is it becoming as coveted as some of the older books by Alice Starmore? I don't know. But if you find a copy at a used book store, or a yard sale, or on a yarn shop shelf, snap it up if it's less than $75.00, which seems to be the current going price.

The Textile Museum

If I still lived in the Northeast, I'd be off like a rocket to 2320 S Street, NW, Washington, DC, to check out the latest exhibits at The Textile Museum. The Museum does have a new feature, though, for interested but far-away folks like me: an educational website about textiles. Long Flash intro, but worth the wait. Right now it features weaving traditions and traditional patterning from Bhutan and Guatemala. Give it a whirl!

Flora

So pretty! So aptly-named! Wait 'til you see our version tomorrow, dearies! Only 14 colors, but my! how wonderfully chosen they are, and how beautifully arranged!

Pups

Wednesday. And St. Patrick's Day, too! Mikey says Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

Pardon our Gaelic. We say Dachshund go bragh! And, enjoy your knitting!

Vest Zest

Flora is a frisky knit; how intriguing it is to knit away on the version from A Scottish Garland and compare to Wendy's VY version. Wot larks. We are aware that some curmudgeonly knit-bloggers frown on inch-by-inch knitting reports, but we loves our progress, precious.

Nowhere near a full repeat, but I'm enjoying it so much, and Wendy's Flora-knitting adds zest—piquance!—to my knitting. Ingeborgers? You've got a treat in store.

Distant Glover

Theresa has new gloves. We love gloves. Theresa's are beautiful. And knit with one of our favorite patterns in one of our favorite books. You, there! Go see!

Little Glover

Althea Merback over at BugKnits also has some new gloves. Oh, how we covet these tiny things. Were they ours, we would frame them and hang them someplace where we could see them first thing every morning.

Pups

Tuesday! Della says It's Good To Be the Princess.

We hope you take some time today to exercise your royal prerogative. Enjoy your knitting, too!

Vestward Ho

Katherine had such a great suggestion in the comments last week regarding the dueling AS vests vying for my attention—she advised starting the new one (Flora) until the pattern was established, then switching back to finish up the old one (Morning Glory). So that's what I'm doing. Thanks! I love it when knit-bloggers grant me knitting dispensations. (And Katherine, happy new house!)

While I didn't have a lot of knitting time this weekend, I did have time to finish the Flora-ribbing. Twelve or so rounds of ribbing may not seem photo-worthy, but, once it stopped raining here and I was able to look at the ribbing in some natural light, I was so pleased with the Starmore artistry that I'd like to share:

Isn't it lovely? The color shifts are both subtle and striking; I'm very pleased and eager for the knitting time it will take to see what happens next with this pre-VY version of Flora.

More Props

Thanks to some assiduous searching on Terri's part and a little bit of luck, I am now the owner of the Mary Maxim pattern I've been seeking for several months: the Most Coveted! Number 484!! Hoedown!

I LOVE this one! Do-si-do-ing couple, musical notation, and bars of music. Too, too retro. And sweet, too:

Aren't they a cute couple? Terri was so diligent in her search that she found several copies for me; I was so worried about having one intact version that I bid on everything...and here's where the lucky part comes in: I now own three of these patterns. When it rains, it pours so lavishly sometimes! Thanks Terri! And the rest of you? Go have a gander at Terri's beautiful Mt. Rose (13 March entry). Gorgeous. Not Hoedown, but gorgeous, nonetheless.

Pups

Lots of rain this weekend, so the pups were busy keeping their bellies dry. But while the sun was out briefly Sunday afternoon, the new grass seemed suddenly as high as a dachshund's eye.

Monday. Mikey says A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Dachshund. We hope your Monday contains quick steps toward the fun stuff. Cheers!

100 Free Hours!

Flora v. Morning Glory? Turned out to be an easy decision! My ball-winder, 26 years old, broke while I was winding my first skein for Flora, and I'm certainly too lazy to wind skeins by hand. So! Rather than fret, I hied myself away for the evening to join the Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin.

To my great delight, the evening's program was on building your own drop spindle from CDs, then spindling away with some lively Kool-Aid-dyed merino roving.

See my spindle! See the beginnings of my overspun single!

I've seen this before, but never tried making one of my own, much less spinning on one. WOT LARX AN BLEVE ME .

You can find instructions all over the Internet on how to turn those pesky throwaway CDs into useful and even somewhat elegant, certainly nicely balanced, drop spindles. Here's one link, you may know of others.

Guilds and fiber societies are like many other organizations, in that the more you put into them, the more you receive from them. I never belonged to one until the past few years I was living in NJ, and mygoodness, I love my Shore Fiber Arts Guild! I feel quite lucky that I've been able to move here and find such lovely knitters and spinners and weavers plying their crafts in such creative and friendly ways.

Circular Sutures

There have been some questions about my use of this term as a method for closing up little holes and such in knitting. It's a technique described in the Lucy Neatby book Cool Socks, Warm Feet, and I don't feel competent to describe it in my own words. Neatby says, in the introduction to this little book, that "Great knitting is a sum of small parts." There are a wealth of "small parts" in this book, which I think make it worth the price (around $20). A number of decorative cast-ons (yeah! I'm using them on gloves!) and many, many techniques, including the circular suture, explained very clearly, and there are six patterns with multiple variations for self-patterning yarns. You can see a few of the socks here. I don't have my copy handy, but I believe Neatby mentions that the circular suture for knitting gets its name from the surgical technique. This book is like Sweaters From Camp in the sense that while perhaps you won't make all of the items in it, the techniques gathered between the book's covers make it invaluable. JMOSVHO.

Pups

Friday! Mikey says Tramps Like Us, Baby We Were Born To Stroll.

Enjoy your Friday! We wish you a happy weekend, with lots of time and good weather for both strolling and knitting. Hey! Maybe you can do both at the same time!

Flora! Flora! Flora!

Ho! We didn't think we would be able to knit along, but here is proof-positive that we can, direct from Canada and delivered to our door this afternoon:

And inside?

Slurp.

Anne of SheEweKnits put this together for me. And what a sweetheart she was to hurry it on its way to me! Isn't it a lovely bunch of wool? Anne included with the wool a question about Morning Glory, another project she helped me assemble, and naturally, that made me remember Tuesday's vow to finish up the WIPs before moving on to Flora. Here's Morning Glory, where we left it, right at the armhole steeks:

It's pretty, isn't it. And just languishing there. Hmm. Me must fink, as Lucia would say. Cast on Flora? or finish Morning Glory?

Teresa's Got it Going On

I love this sweater. If you haven't seen it yet, go take a look at the Shirt-Tailed Fair Isle from Sweaters From Camp by Ann Feitelson that the lovely Teresa is knitting. (T, are you feeling much better today? I hope so. Woofs to Sade.)

Pups

Mike and Della are enjoying being Top Dogs since Dyna's arrival.

Thursday! So many choices! Mike and Della say When in Rome, do as the Dachshunds do.

Happy knitting!

Herringbone Herringdone

They aren't washed or blocked yet, but I'm finished, so here you are:

And a view of the lovely salt and peppered palm:

I'm very pleased with these gloves, as you've been hearing all along ;-) My gauge varied slightly from the original pattern, 9 st per in rather than the called-for 10 st per in. Using the Koigu for stranded knitting makes a very soft and cushiony glove; they are very comfy and will be very warm. I used the Double-start Cast-On from Folk Knitting in Estonia with doubled wool, and unblocked, it only rolls a little. Next pair I will probably add a discrete Purl-When-You-Can (per Meg Swansen) row immediately after the cast-on.

Let's see, what else...oh, yes, Caroline F's took a little over one skein of the background color, while mine took nearly exactly one skein of each color (had a little leftover of the handpaint). The charts for this pattern are terrific, and if you are left-to-right challenged, as I sometimes am, scan the charts into an image editing program and flip them for the second glove. I used sizes US 2s for the hands and US 1s for the fingers.

I'm going to finish the second blue and white "Landra's Gloves" as I promised myself, but I'm going to use it as a secondary project while I finish up some odds-and-ends before Wendy begins her Flora. I'll be knitting along with her, and making the original version in 2-ply shetland, rather than the extremely luscious but very expensive version that is made in VY's Hebridean. Flora has long been a favorite of mine, so I'm going to clear WIPs as fast as I can.

[Update—12:33 a.m.—Wendy's started Flora! I thought Ingeborg was next on her list! All bets are off on my knitting along!]

Pups

Pups are dashing through the dandelions with Dyna. What a life, right? Woof!

Wishing you dandelion-dashing time today. Enjoy your knitting.

I See Herringbones

We had a treat in our e-mail inbox today; some photos of a completed Herringbone Glove knit by Judy, sometimes found here, but always here. Imagine our delight!

Here's Judy's Herringbone Glove back:

and here is the salt-n-pepper palm:

Fabulous! Could our e-mail delight get any better? Since you've asked, why, Yes! It did get better! Judy also kindly sent along a photo of one of the finished pair of socks she knit recently for her sister-in-law. Get a load of Herta's Socks, color knitters:

Isn't it beautiful? And so restful on the eyes! Judy says she knit the socks with Jawoll at ~8 st per inch, and that the pattern is based on a design by Woolen Collectibles. I love love love it when color work is done in shades that differ so subtly from one another. Sometimes I think that the closer the colors are to one another, the more sophisticated the outcome. Beautiful! I feel quite honored to be able to introduce you to Judy's Herringbones and Herta's socks.

Judy also knit a pair of gorgeous Sanquhar gloves during the Glorious Glove Project; you can see them here. Her pair of Herringbone Gloves makes me stop to think how many knitters have been knitting these...hmm. Saku first? Then Minako and Noriko, Mari and I joined in soon after. Caroline F, now Judy... that's seven pairs of Herringbone Gloves that we know of, each completely lovely. Anyone else out there working on Herringbone Gloves from the ABCs of Knitting? Let us know, please; since we have enough for a gallery!

Two-End News

I found out today that I am indeed going to be one of the lucky participants in the very small workshop being given in Austin by Carol Rhodes on Two-End Knitting. Carol Rhodes translated the recently published Two-End Knitting, and is an expert two-end knitter in her own right. My assignment is to learn to cast on continental-style. I'll have to look it up, but I don't mind, because I want to be ready to twine when this workshop happens.

Pups

The fascination with Dyna continues; here is Little Jack looking quite gigantic while he adores Dyna-mite:

Tuesday. Little Jack says Discretion is the Dachshund part of Valor. Semper Knittus, you-all.

Construction Zone

Slowly, I'm completing the Herringbone Gloves, but before they are finished and never referenced again, I'd like to note what I think is the distinction between the glove patterns at ABCs of Knitting and other gloves, and why that distinction seems to make the gloves appear much more elegant than, say, The Good Basic Gloves designed by Rita Buchanan. (I hasten to add that Rita Buchanan's gloves are a joy to knit, and exactly as described in the design name: Good Basic Gloves.)

In a manner that is similar to the Sanquhar Gloves, the Herringbone Glove designs by Tata and Tatao includes something more than a simple tube for the fingers. Knitting the Sanquhars (three-sided fingers) and the Herringbones (four-sided fingers) in the traditional manner makes the fingers seem more boxy than round. I tried to find a photo of this effect on the Sanquhar gloves, but you mostly have to guess at it in my photos (scroll down). Here it is in the Herringbone Gloves, though:

I hope you can see the difference (and thus what I'm trying to explain) between the decorative space between the fingers in the Herringbones, and the plain space between, say, the Austrian Gloves.

I prefer the Herringbone and Sanquhar type of fingers; don't you agree they are more elegant?

Oh! Oh! Oh!

I have been loving these mandalas (and potential tam tops) created from images of Mt. Fuji. Select any one of the mandalas, and you'll see the image of Mt. Fuji from which the mandala was created. Beautiful. I'm using one of these images on my desktop each day this week as an homage to the creators of the ABCs of Knitting.

Pups

My big dogs (gee! until just last Thursday they were my little bitty miniature pups!) are completely fascinated with Sister's new smooth baby dachshund.

It's good to be fascinated! Especially on a Monday! Enjoy your day, and we sincerely hope you become fascinated by someone or something pleasant.

Peeries, Stars, Crests?

One of my new books from (God Bless) Dover is Traditional Japanese Family Crests for Artists and Craftspeople (ISBN: 0-486-42273-9). I wanted it because the designs are small, historic (11th century) and range from the floral to the ornate, and I thought there might be some good knitting inspirations to be gleaned.

Here's a sample:

Aren't they interesting? And full of fearful symmetry? And wouldn't they make some interesting Os in XOX designs on a Fair Isle sweater?

As I was turning pages and thinking about graphing some of these small family crests/motifs, my knitter's-eye spied the back cover of my McGregor book, The Complete Book of Traditional Fair Isle Knitting (ISBN: 0-7134-14324). Remember your McGregor? It's a tumble of Fair Isle Tams with a few pairs of gloves and a set of mittens. Don't remember? Here, have a look:

Now. Maybe it's the Celebrex talking, but am I the only one seeing some similarities between 11th century Japanese crests and Fair Isle Wheel designs? Coincidence? No way for me to know. But this little Dover book is full of designs that would suit the top of a tam as perfectly as if some little old Shetland knitter had studied Japanese textiles before designing her next tam-top. I know that many patterns, the Sebu/Norwegian star, for example, have traveled through history from ancient times to the present. Are some (certainly not all) Japanese family crests another example of universal designs finding their way into every culture's knitting fingertips, so to speak? Within the pages of this book are lotus blossoms and floral arrangements that look as if they came right off the sweaters in Poetry in Stitches, for example. Tell me more.

Props

Thank you for your kind words and wishes re: my recalcitrant neckbones. I was feeling very frustrated Wednesday night over my knitting. I want to get back up to speed as soon as possible. And, because I was feeling sorry for myself as well as frustrated, I decided to treat myself to Flora from A Scottish Garland (ISBN: too far away for me to reach right now). I am going to work my physical therapy show and aim for being knit-ready when Wendy starts.

Pups

Guess what Sister has as of 4:30 Thursday afternoon?

Little Jack extends a dachshund greeting to the newest member of the family:

Are we lucky or what? I think so! Dachshunds for everybody! We hope you are lucky today, and that your weekend bubbles over with perfect health, happiness, and prosperity.

Glove on the Rocks

Ordinarily, we stick to our knitting on this blog. But I haven't finished my Herringbone Gloves!

How, you ask, can it possibly be taking me so long to finish a pair of gloves? Minako, Noriko, and Caroline F all have their beauties completed. And Mari finished a lovely pair today— go see them at her site. Beautiful! Elegant! Stylish! So, why are mine taking so long?

The answer is here in a paragraph where I don't stick to my knitting. Did I ever mention that I despise discussing health issues? Especially mine. But. Overachiever that I am, I simply cannot *stand* the idea that you might be thinking I'm a knitting-slacker. So I feel compelled to tell you why these and the Landra's Gloves are not finished yet. I've got a couple of protruding discs in my neck that are making knitting a bit of a chore after about the first five minutes. I'm in a good physical therapy program, and have new protocols to deal with getting neck-things back on an even keel. And, as you may remember, I told myself I couldn't start anything new until I finished these items, because, as Wendy says, That would just be wrong.

It's Here!

My copy of Two-End Knitting by Anne-Maj Ling arrived from the Schoolhouse today, and I'm very eager to begin to learn how to do this. The examples in the book are very cool, and the illustrations for how-to directions are wonderfully explanatory. I think I can learn to do this just by looking at the pictures. I think it's an excellent book, one that belongs on the bookshelf of any knitter who enjoys the cultural diversity and history of historic knitting techniques. I have a lousy photo with a flash in the center of it here:

but you can also read all about it here. I think it's well-worth the money, and will (as you've probably guessed already) be blogging with extreme enthusiasm about this technique as soon as my knitting muscles are back in action. Possible Amazingly Lucky Bonus: The translator, Carol Rhodes, is giving a workshop on twined knitting here in Austin, and I'm on the list!

Today's mail also brought some Dover books that I want to talk about tomorrow. Dover. Bless 'em.

Free Colorful Art Knitting Patterns!

Intarsia-lovers, get your freak on with this and/or this free pattern(s) courtesy of Peruvian Connection. (PDF files)

Pups

Thursday! Thursday! Yes yes yes! Mikey says People who Live in Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Dachshunds.

Happy knitting! If you'd like to get rid of your useless old copy of Spin Off magazine, Winter 1996, I'll take it off your hands. Even while suffering, I'm noble like that.

Midweek

Wednesday: The dachshund justifies the means.

Nothing to blog here; move along please.
(Or, you could go look at Murmuring Maa's Fair Isles and other knitting. See it under the "Stuff" link.)

See you tomorrow.

Itchy Fingers

The weather has been very mild here (for months), but especially mild today. It made me think of the upcoming Texas knitting-season, summertime, with the a/c blasting. So, I got home from work and opened my mailbox and woohoo! Waiting for me was the newest issue of Wool Gathering! The sweater design in this issue (#70) is called A Knitted-Stitch Pullover, and it features a pattern of highly stylized knit stitches on the body, while the sleeves are stylized purl stitches. Brilliant! Hoo-boy! Is that clever or what?

This design is first on my list for when the air conditioning goes on full-time. You can see a color photo of the original design about mid-page down on the right side of the Schoolhouse Press home page. Me? I've had a bag full of Campion wool sitting about for a few years, in colors Marjoram and Rye. I'm thinking this might be an excellent combination, and a refreshing return to knitting full-sized garments. (Imagine! I have to start thinking of 50 Ways to Leave Your Glover.)

What do you think? I wish those were the actual colors, but they are closer to this, which I still like very much, and of which I have lots:

I love the idea behind the charted designs on this sweater; it's a knitter's mantra, beautifully rendered. Cool.

Celebrate the Glove!

C'mon! It's a celebration over at Pink Tea; Caroline F has finished her completely beautiful Koigu Herringbone gloves. What elegance! What style! I love this pattern! And Mari is helping me track down a pattern for Mary Allen's Gloves, the reproduction of Yorkshire Dales gloves that both she and Wendy have knit so beautifully. You saw Wendy's yesterday if you chose to select the link; today take a look at Mari's. And while you are at Mari's, click around and view some more of her masterpiece knitting.

Barnes and Noble is Doing What???

Check this press release, and remember, the LYS you save may be your own. First they added Starbucks, and now this. What next?

Pups

Tuesday. Della says Don't go near the dachshund until you learn how to swim.

Cheers, everyone! Have a grand knitting day!

Inspirations

I'm still working on my Herringbone Gloves, inspired by Saku and Minako and Noriko. I'm not allowing myself any other knitting until this pair and the Landra's Gloves pair are finished.

I was thinking this weekend about how much I was enjoying all my new gloves skills, and thinking about inspirations. I think two knitters in particular are responsible for starting me down the road to glove, and those two are Wendy and Nanette. Wendy's replicas of some Yorkshire Dales gloves from the 1800s can be seen here, and no matter how many times I've looked at this photo over the past few blogging-years, I'm always amazed at how beautiful these gloves are.

More recently, Nanette's Sanquhar gloves made me want my own (scroll down to the bottom). Now, when I was looking through Nanette's archives for her Sanquhar gloves, I found and remembered how totally inspired I was by her version of Landra's Gloves; what a difference different wool makes, right? I will trade my blue and white ones for Nanette's red ones any day of the week!

I point out these gloves and bloggers to you because I feel so lucky to have an international community of glovers to turn to for inspiration. Knitting blogs are wonderful! I really don't know how I got along without them and their inspiring authors.

Fingerpainting

I love this, and you won't get your fingers messy, either.

Another Miniatures Knitter

This woman's work is as astonishing as the other miniatures knitting sites we've been visiting lately. Go see, here.

Pups

It's Monday. Mikey says Dachshund is as Dachshund does.

Have a good one!