A couple of months ago I had the good fortune to come across one of those rare out of print knitting books that certain knitters hope to find and only dream about buying. As you might imagine, I could hardly contain my excitement as I pulled the book off the shelf and started flipping through the pages. Straight away, I came across this book plate on the the very first page and was unexpectedly touched it’s message.

This knitter’s book has indeed given me much enjoyment and I’m grateful to her family for honoring her memory by making it available to others. It’s such a tender and touching way to keep her memory alive.

Is a famous Scottish knitting designer selling her old computer on ebay?

Or perhaps someone wants us to believe so.

By now any normal knitter would have these Fair Isle socks finished, but not me. Ripping out and redoing is just part of the process for me.

Earlier this week things were going fine. I even had half of the leg of each sock done. Here’s what one looked like (photo on the left).

But as the leg grew and I tried on the sock several times, it became even more apparent that the ankles were just too tight. If I left them as is, I would never wear them. So, you guessed it, I ripped out one of them and started the heel again.

I left 2/3 of the foot before starting over and added two sets of increases before the heel (see picture on the left). This seemed to work fine, but if you look closely at the photo (pop-up for closer view) you’ll see that the fabric looks puckered compared to the other sock. Yes, I’ll now admit it, I was too lazy when redoing the heel last time and didn’t wash out the kinks. At this point I could no longer stand the crumpled look; out came everything except the toe.

This time the yarn was washed and dried before starting over. I also added four more stitches to the toe, hoping this will improve the fit. Perhaps I’ll add 4 more before starting the heel. As of this morning, the foot of this sock is almost finished and looks great. There’s no doubt in my mind that washing used yarn really makes a big difference in how the fabric turns out.

While waiting for yarn to dry, I started thinking about the Firebirds cardigan and whether I’ll need to make any adjustments. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to start the swatch later this week.

I been so heartbroken this week.

I found out that this guy has a large tumor near his spleen which is probably cancer. X-rays were taken and smaller masses were found near his lungs. Not much we can do at this point but spend quality time with him and make his final days happy.

When I started knitting a few years ago he quickly decided that he didn’t like sitting on my lap while I was knitting. I became the backup lap (whenever I wasn’t knitting). This week I can’t bear not to have my lap available for cuddling so I haven’t been knitting.
We’re doing ok at this point but it’s been difficult to know that we might need to make a very difficult decision soon.

I love this picture of him. While he doesn’t like knitting needles, he does love wool sweaters. He’s sitting on an almost completed sweater in one of my knitting baskets.

I’m thankful that we were able to spend 8 years together.

I don’t crochet but can always use another knitting basket.  Never thought of actually making one until I found this book at Kinokuniya. It has 16 bags/baskets crocheted with regular natural twine. It also includes a few other misc zakka. This one would be perfect to hold all those tasty morels that we’ll find this spring (crossing my fingers).

ISBN: 4-277-43052-x

This week I’ve been working on this Smoke Ring with Lace Edging pattern designed by Jackie E-S of Heartstrings Fiberarts. I didn’t want to go out and buy more yarn so I salvaged some from a scarf that I started last year but never got around to finishing.

As I knit this smoke ring I keep wondering what got into me when I purchased this yarn. While it is the softest I’ve ever found (a blend of merino/cashmere/silk), the color is not all the inspiring. In fact it reminds me of the swatches in Vogue’s Knitting Stitchionary book.

After the lacy middle part is finished, I’ll be knitting another three inches of stockinette stitch and then the pattern calls for a decorative edge. I was having a bit of trouble figuring out the instructions for this edge, but after tinkering a bit, I think I’ve got it.

While the pattern describes the bound off edge as being worked in rows it doesn’t mention that these are very short rows of only two stitches. Basically, you knit a couple of stitches turn and then decrease. Each decrease picks up a stitch from the left needle until there are none left.

I’m still in research mode this week and have been spending time at libraries and used bookstores chasing down old knitting books.

Last week I ran across this book at a local used bookstore.  Apparently
Threads magazine use to offer articles on knitting by the leading
experts of the day. This book is a collection of reprinted articles that cover several knitting techniques from all over the world, including twined knitting. Several articles are devoted to Scottish knitting and are written by Alice Starmore. I feel pretty lucky to have picked it up for only $8.

LC-USF34-014621-D

This week I’ve taken a bit of a break from the needles so that I can do a little bit of reading and research on both lace and two-end knitting.

I’ll be back next week.

Once in the grove of lace  knitting, the movements became very fluid and muscle memory started kicking in. I was really surprised that I was able to stick to this project and complete it in a few weeks.

By the way, this stitch pattern is really similar to one called Print O’ the Wave that appears in a book on Shetland lace knitting called Heirloom Knitting. Eunny also has a version of this lace pattern which is available via a free PDF download.

I’m glad that I followed through and ordered the kit from Virtual Yarns. The yarn was a joy to knit and the right weight for a cold weather garment.

They’re finished! Too bad you can’t feel how comfortable they are. So cozy to wear around the house with my sheep skin slippers. Too bad Rowan is no longer making this yarn.

It’s been one of those odd weeks. Work has been hectic, I’m feeling uninspired with my current knitting projects and my mind keeps floating back to my recent trip to Japan.

To fuel my desire to learn more about Japan, I picked up Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa.This quick insightful read was just what I needed to help take me back to Japan. Not only did it cover aspects of Japanese culture that I missed but also reminded me of previous home stay situations that I’ve encountered in the past.

Unfortunately I probably won’t be going back to Japan anytime soon so to satisfy my craving for things Japanese, I went to the Kinokuniya book store within Uwajimaya grocery store yesterday. I was curious to see if they carried a 2006 calendar that I saw at their Shinjuku store but didn’t purchase.

Not only did I find the calendar but I also ended up browsing through the Japanese knitting books and found one on how to make mittens, gloves, and socks.  Despite the fact that I do not read a word of Japanese (and have no idea what the actual title of this book is) I purchased the book because of its wonderfully detailed diagrams and pictures. It walks the knitter step by step through the whole process, sparing no detail. Gosh, this book puts almost all of my English books to shame. The prices also wasn’t that bad; only $10.

Today, I’ve been studying the “Ladies’ socks” in this book; learning yet another method of  doing short-row heels. I think it shows a way to use “Japanese short-rows” for shaping sock heels, but I’m not sure until I try it out and compare it with some of my printed resources on Japanese short-rows.