Brightening

I was considering a dreary, mumbly post on the unseasonably cold weather, but then I learned about Cumberbombing, photobombing with Benedict Cumberbatch. How is it I did not know about this meme? Apparently I've been living under a rock, but no longer. Thanks, Jimmy Fallon!



I suppose it says something about the erudition (or aspiration) of the fans that so many favorite Cumberbatch recordings are literature, a favorite craft item is a bookmark. Needless to add, I made my own – and so can you thanks to Ginger Nifty.



The bouquet of Benedicts cheered me up so much – the power of craft! – I frogged my climate march sock and started an Ixslein instead.



I'm loving how the slip stich Xs pull on the fabric, giving a quilted look that I hope will survive washing. The little swags that form the Xs alter the skinny stripe repeat just enough that the sock in progress looks quite different from its predecessor, which makes me happy. It's a good day after all.

And for an even brighter tomorrow, come out in the cold and see this green movie, The Human Scale, tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m.



More information here.

Everyday Lace: A Review and Scavenger Hunt

Right, where was I? The steady diet of woecakes is becoming pretty monotonous, let me tell you. But enough whinging, it's my turn for the Everyday Lace Scavenger Hunt!

Like several other participating bloggers, I responded to blogger and first-time author Heather Zoppetti's call for book reviewers and in due course was supplied with a pre-publication eBook review copy of Everyday Lace, published by Interweave/F+W, which I must delete after my review is complete. I received no payment or other consideration in exchange for my review. (That does rather provide perverse incentives to procrastinators, nu?) And although both the author and the Interweave Digital Marketer offered some guidelines, my words and opinions are my own.

As its title implies, Everyday Lace is an excellent introduction to making lace knitting part of, well, every day. The look of the book is appropriately quotidien yet still wonderful, more Rhinebeck than Downtown Abbey (not to knock DA, I love both). Heather's experience as a sought-after knitting instructor shines from each page, and the first chapter on Lace-Knitting Essentials and Glossary and Sources of Yarn at the end are particularly informative and valuable.

The heart of the book are three chapters of patterns, sensibly organized by ambient temperature – Warm, Transitional, and Cold. The esthetic is appealingly fresh, modern, and original – there are no vintage doily or tablecloth patterns re-purposed as garments here. There are written and charted instructions and just the right amount of guidance to help a less experienced knitter yet not annoy a more experienced one. I took a closer look at two patterns, Christiana Headband and Swatara Socks.

Christiana Headband is lace knitting at its most basic: a lace rectangle. Some designers might stop there and call it a bookmark, but our author cleverly folds the flat piece – great spatial reasoning! – into a stylish headband that looks great and fits great. It's not only an excellent first lace project, it's also a good use of the small quantities of handspun yarn that novice spinners tend to produce. What better use of a spinner's oh-so-precious first yards or meters than to wear them proudly on one's head? I made Christiana out of some Blue Suede Shoes yarn leftover from my handspun Simple Skyp Socks, wore it, and liked it so much that I started another out of linen Quince Sparrow. But life intervened and that project has the slows (sigh). I'm still dithering about going to Rhinebeck (where Heather will be signing books!); if I do go, I'll make yet another for the occasion.



Swatara Socks are more advanced, not only because they are socks but also because the graceful mirror-image center lace panel and the lace clocks repeat over different numbers of rounds, so some concentration is needed. I'm knitting mine as part of September Sockdown. As I prefer a taller sock than specified in the pattern, I added a full repeat of the center panel. Here's the sock before the heel flap, which is as far as I've knit.



Overall, I'd cheerfully recommend Everyday Lace. There's much to appeal to knitters of all skill levels and ages, although many designs are particularly aimed at younger and less experienced lace knitters. A knitter who works through the patterns will discover unobtrusive expertise, careful pattern-writing, and thoroughly modern style. Do have a look at the book on the publisher's website and all the patterns on Ravelry.



Gentle readers who have been following the blog tour know what comes next: the Scavenger Hunt questions!

Heather's question: Where does Heather live and work?

My question: How'd I do at the Garden State Sheep & Fiber Festival?

Good luck to happy scavengers and congratulations and thanks to our author!

Rainy Day Mail

Today's mail brought a welcome surprise: Sweet Shawlettes by Jean Moss. By happy chance I won a copy when the author's World Blog Tour was hosted by ConnieLene in New Zealand, and in due course the book arrived from GMC Distribution (corporate parent of Taunton Press) in East Sussex, England. World tour, indeed!



I first became acquainted with Jean Moss designs via an early Rowan magazine and have been a fan ever since, so I'm specially pleased to have her latest book. It's thoughtfully put together, with a pictorial pattern index as well as a traditional index. The patterns themselves range in style from country to couture, each prefaced with helpful insights from the designer. When I first looked at the book's project gallery, I was initially drawn to Mantilla, Twine, and Evergreen. Now that I have the book, I think I may try Green at Heart or Purple Patch first. Fickle, I know.

Many thanks to Connie for hosting a stop the blog tour and to GMC Distribution for a wonderful giveaway. I'm looking forward to knitting up some shawlettes!

Rhinebeck Car-Free

Most years I go to Rhinebeck via carpool, but this year the stars aligned differently. Not a problem, it was an opportunity to try a car-free trip – commuter rail from NYC to Poughkeepsie, shuttle bus from Poughkeepsie to Rhinebeck. As the shuttle route, 9G, is a NYS bicycle route, it also was a low-risk way to check out riding conditions for a possible future bike outing.

The first leg of the journey started with an alarming sight: multiple FDNY units parked on Vanderbilt Avenue outside Grand Central Terminal, with more responding, and NYPD blocking access to the building. I had a moment of concern for any victims and the responders, as well as a wholly selfish pang for my own excursion. Then I walked around the corner and entered by a different door. That was my first clue things weren't too bad.



All the activity turned out to be part of an emergency preparedness drill. Periodically the PA system announced, "DO NOT BE ALARMED. AN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS DRILL IS TAKING PLACE ON TRACK 15." I went on my way to Track 34 and the Metro-North Hudson Line train to Poughkeepsie, but a fair number of excited gawpers stood around taking pictures, perhaps unaware that a team of FDNY evaluators were on the mezzanine videotaping the exercise.

The train ride was a study in contrasts, traveling through some of the most magnificent and also some of the most scabby of the built and natural landscapes in the region. As its name suggests, most of the Hudson Line travels along the Hudson River, which is by turns developed for residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational uses. Roundtrip fare: $29.00.



From the Poughkeepsie train terminal it was on to the shuttle bus. The Dutchess County Fairgrounds runs shuttles for many events, although I believe this was the first year for the NYS Sheep & Wool Festival. (The driver was much more cheerful and chatty than this somewhat dour photo would tend to suggest.) Roundtrip fare: $5.00.



At the festival ($12.00), Dorre clued me in that this year Sanguine Gryphon is the new STR = long lines, bare displays. Some vendors tend to become a bit snappish under the pressure of crowds of eager festival buyers, but Sarah graciously posed for me while restocking. Sanguine Gryphon people are as beautifully impressive as their yarns.



Also beautifully impressive, Leann's cardi for her mother-in-law won a ribbon. Congratulations to Leann!



It was fun to see a whole flock of Lisa Grossman's unique tsocks on display in the Holiday Yarns booth, if only for their sheer wacky inventiveness.



The return trip was easy, sped on by one of my purchases, Amelia Garripoli's Productive Spindling. I read it cover to cover on the train – it's a slim volume, but full of deep insights for technical spindlers. The comments on the optimal relationships between crimps per inch, twists per inch, and wraps per inch (1:1:2) completely blew my mind, yet made such perfect sense.

While shuffling through the crowds, I overheard someone exclaim, "I guess the recession is over!" I think not – to me the mood felt somewhat somber and introverted, as if people are adjusting to new realities and are sorting out priorities. There were a number of changes among the vendors, a lot more men among the fair-goers. I see that as signs of continuing austerity, which makes me feel grateful for things like emergency services, regional infrastructure, and fiber crafters in all their disparate tastes and glory.

Summer Games: Bicycle Diaries

For my second Learning Experiences challenge for the LGRAB Summer Games I'm reading a book, the celebrated Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. For good measure, I reserved the book from my woefully underfunded local library using the excellent regional inter-library system, BCCLS, and biked over to pick it up.

As its title suggests, Bicycle Diaries is a collection of the author's experiences and musings traveling and bicycling around the world. That said, the first thing I noticed about the book was its unpretentious retro-cool design: cloth over cardboard covers, take-me-along size, eminently readable typefaces, fine-grain, matte photographs. A tiny bicycle wanders back and forth across the bottom of some pages, and of course I had to see what happens when one flips the pages rapidly (grin). There's tremendous visual and tactile appeal and a subtle assertion of the experience of reading a book that directly parallels the once-learned-never-forgotten experience of riding a bike. As soon as I touched the book, my fingers knew I'd like its contents just as surely as they know good wool.

Indeed, I enjoyed the book so much that I'd rather not spoil it for other readers by commenting at length on the essays. It's worth noting that the whimsical bike racks sketched in the back of the book actually did get built and temporarily installed around NYC. Also note: the author's voice is intelligent, urbane, and tolerant; a few reflections include R-rated material. That said, I highly recommend the book to readers interested in cycling, city planning, travel, and contemporary culture, particularly music and visual arts. I'll be adding Bicycle Diaries to my personal library of bicycling books.

For more David Byrne on bicycles (literally), see this NY Times video short, David Byrne: Live on Two Wheels.

For more books on cycling, see the LGRAB suggestions or The Christian Science Monitor, 10 great books about cycling. Or see the LGRAB Summer Games blogroll – I can't help thinking that in our modest way, participants are generating our own bicycle diaries.

Thy Name Is

Thanks to everyone who voted in the evil computer name poll! After I tried swapping cables, wall outlets, surge protectors, hibernation schemes, etc, I was contemplating dubbing the beastie Lemon and drop-kicking returning it, but found an unlikely suggestion on a troubleshooting website: disconnect the power cord, flip the voltage switch on the back panel from US to European voltage, wait 5 seconds, flip it back, plug in.



The simple fix seems to have tamed the powerup and powerdown woes. The little green light in back and the overly bright blue light in front turned on immediately, the computer hibernates on command, and 12 hours later there's been no nonsense about opening or shutting the pod bay doors.


Given this week's SnB discussion of hussy women and other fun stuff, one hesitates to confess this, but... I tired of Handsome and swatched for the Myrtle Leaf shawl (p. 142 in Victorian Lace Today) using Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace. Teehee.



The leaf lace is lovely to be sure, but... after knitblogless Eileen mentioned she plans to knit Kew, I thought I'd join her in making leaf lace socks rather than a shawl.

So I started a half-hexagon Spider's Web Fichu, p. 44. There's something irresistable about the shiny promise of a beaded edging (!).



The beads I plan to use call for a sporty look, so I'm using KFI Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, a blend of 41% cotton, 34% hemp, and 25% modal (reconstituted beech tree fiber, essentially a type of rayon). The yarn is two strands of multiple plies, which takes a bit of getting used to – it knits like string, yet the fabric is supple and light, with the best characteristics of its component fibers. The fibers reflect light differently, giving the yarn a beguiling gleam, softer than the brilliant shine of mercerized cotton or rayon. The yarn does not smell like hemp, which sometimes has an odor I find disagreeable.

The spider's web pattern is quick and easy to knit. It would be a good project for a newbie lace knitter, with the caveat that the expanses of stockinette stitch and the strict geometric lines mean even small variations in gauge or errors in stitch placement are glaringly obvious. I added another chevron, then decided it really isn't necessary (but wasn't about frog back to take it out).


As this is my second project from VLT, a brief book review seems in order. Overall, the projects in the book are lovely, covetable, and I plan to make several. Not one is beyond contemplation* for reasons of time, technique, practicality, or cost. The last chapter, Techniques, Tools, and Talk, equals the entire rest of the book in worth for the outstanding, very clear illustrations of stitch, blocking, and design techniques, the excellent lace yarn directory, and the author's commentary on the fabulous photo shoot locations.

The book is not without shortcomings. The most serious is the lack of an index; at minimum, I'd like an index of designs and stitch patterns. A list of designs and page numbers is given in the online errata sheet – [eyeroll] an index is not an erratum. Technique is a strong point of the book, yet some projects, such as Handsome, employ awkward stitch techniques even when better options exist and are used elsewhere in the book.

My last quibble is a pet peeve. The author notes Victorian women often did not fit the gilded cage stereotypes and strictures of the time, yet there is a certain wispy sameness to the projects: they are all fine indoor shawls. There's nothing that enterprising Bathsheba could wear to the Corn Exchange or patient Tess could wear at Talbothy's – so much laceweight mohair is equally impractical in many work environments today. The patterns are also simple and repetitious, lacking the design sophistication of the best Shetland shawls. Happily, the reader has the option to make substitutions to turn delicate flowers into rustic or sporty beauties and some readers (notably the mighty Wendy) may prefer simple to ornamented.

[ETA: In the comments, Deb raises the important matter of period authenticity. In some designs, VLT author Jane Sowerby borrows freely from multiple sources over several decades. Antique furniture connoisseurs might call that "pastiche" (ouch!); my esthetics are in a different place (and the book is clearly titled), but Victorian lace "re-enactors" will want to consult facsimile publications such as Weldon's Practical Needlework rather than VLT. The author also sprinkles mention of working class women's attire throughout the book and indicates she's worked favorite designs in multiple weights of yarn. I would have liked to see the shawls, not just hear about them. But, as I've indicated, that's a personal preference.]

For the knitter of limited means, VLT or A Gathering of Lace or Lace Style would be an excellent introduction to the craft. While VLT is all Victorian shawls and scarves, GOL draws upon a wider variety of lace traditions and includes patterns for garments other than shawls and Lace Style is mostly clothes, which may or may not strike the reader as an advantage. At the other extreme, the knitter with a shelfload of lace books will find VLT an interesting and worthwhile addition to the collection.


Finally, please send some bloggy love to new blogger Kim, who has gone from blogless to posting like Athena from the head of Zeus. And many thanks to Debby for suggesting the Cycling Knitters webring. Now that the computer is obeying working properly, I've joined and posted the ringcode [g].


*I should note I love tour de force projects – wedding gowns, greatcoats, lace coracles, nano-knitting, etc – things I admire greatly but probably will never make.

Bought the Kool-Aid

Greetings, fellow Twisted Knitters! While I'm an experienced knitter, I've been spindling for only a few months and have never dyed fiber or yarn, so the first two installments of the Dye-Spin-Knit-Along are a voyage of discovery for me. I've been gathering up the ingredients.



Pictured are

• Resources: Besides D-S-K-Along hosts Margene and blogless Karen, my guides into the unknown are The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook by Lynne Vogel and Spinning in the Old Way by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts. I bought the beautifully illustrated Twisted Sisters some time ago just for the section on colorwork knitting. Now I'm enjoying the other two-thirds of the book that deal with dyeing and spinning! Spinning in the Old Way is a recent acquisition, but an instant favorite, particularly valuable for its emphasis on top whorl drop spindling and its distinctions between spinning techniques for weaving and spinning techniques for knitting.


• Fiber: a generous bit of Finn top, purchased from Halcyon Yarn in Bath, Maine (once DH and I figured out the shop is in the opposite direction of the mighty shipworks). Priscilla Gibson-Roberts writes that Finn is her favorite fiber, having a blend of long hair and short hair that is ideal for soft yet durable socks. It seems somewhat scratchy to me, but I'm giving it a go. After all, Plan B is to buy undyed fiber at Rhinebeck. [g]


• Dye, otherwise known as Kool-Aid. Seems like a harmless enough way to dip a toe in the pool. I don't think I'll like the residual fragrance(s), so preferentially wanted to try Easter egg dye, but that's a seasonal product and not currently available. Soon ditto Kool-Aid, I suppose. I have some vague scruples about playing with (= wasting) food, but maybe Kool-Aid isn't really food. Curiously, all the formerly blue and green flavors seem to have gone colorless ("invisible")... er, did I miss an FDA memo about unsafe food colorings?


• Spindles: my Made By Ewe Golden Leaf and my red cedar Bosworth Featherweight, both currently occupied spinning that never-ending braid of jewel-toned Blue Face Leicester (notice how different the colors on the spindles are).

Reading ahead, the directions for steaming a batch of dyed fiber sound rather ominous (two turkey roasters? bricks??). I wonder if my old wok will do – after all, it's designed for efficient steaming. Has anyone ever tried this?