Vacation!

 

I will be on vacation, YAY! I will not post again for a week. 

But I will catch you up on everything, including my trip to Maine!

Think I can find some yarn shops while I am there?? I sure will look.

Two Library book reviews

3 Stars

Knitting socks and knitting with hand-painted yarns are two hot trends. But what are knitters to do with leftover sock yarn? Or when they burn out on knitting socks? Sock Yarn Studio comes to the rescue with a delightful mix of projects--from one-skein hats, mittens, and scarves to multi-skein wraps, sweaters, and more--created with fingering or sport-weight sock yarns. And there's plenty of helpful advice for selecting yarns and knitting smart with tricky hand-paints and self-patterning yarns.

MY OPINION -

I guess for a new knitter this book would be OK. But, I didn't find anything new and exciting here. Most of the items I didn't even really care for and the ones I did I had already seen patterns similar. 

Now I am an experienced knitter and it is hard to impress me. 

The pictures are good, lots of pics, bright and colorful.

The patterns seem easy to follow.

As I said - This would be a great book for a beginner, it was just not for me.

Just wish there were some novel ideas.

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 5 Stars!!!!!

Curiosity cabinets were collections of treasures-fossils and feathers, plants and paintings, skeletons and statues-assembled to help their owners make sense of the world. Offered here is a knitter's interpretation of a curiosity cabinet. This is a collection, not of rocks and seeds and gemstones, but of fancy edgings, delicate lace, and captivating stitches all brought together to create charming sock and accessory patterns. You're sure to find something that deserves to be added to your own store of knitted treasures.

MY OPINION -

Now THIS, to me, is a great book!  Lots of new fresh patterns that I haven't seen before. I am bookmarking lots of patterns! There is a real nice variety in here as well. 

From socks, hats, shawls, scarves, cowls, and mitts. And really - all beautiful!

But I would say that this book is mostly for experienced knitters (not really beginners). 

The pictures are great, several pictures of each item all in color.

Here's some inside pics. Aren't they gorgeous? I can hardly wait to start knitting!

I've added this book to my Amazon wish list!

Fun Friday!

Who knew knitting could be this funny!

"Betty Lou Lace Cardigan"

As some of you know - My daughter (24 yrs old) is getting married on Aug 2. We just had her bridal shower (which was wonderful!) and the talk of the party was - grandchildren!
Well I have been informed by the daughter that they want to wait about 2 yrs before they start trying :-( We shall see about that!

As you can see I have already started knitting baby things!

This is real cute sweater from "Vintage Baby Knits: More than 40 Heirloom patterns from the 1920's to the 1950's", by Kristen Rengren

 The sweater I am making is actually the one on the cover!

This is the yarn I am using, it is Cascade Yarns - Pacific (It is soooo soft!), it is 40% superwash Merino wool, 60% Acrylic, and it is color #04.

"Lacey Summer Footlets" - Finished!

Knitting book reviews

I am going to try to post a knitting book review every Saturday (this might be random during the summer).
So for my first Saturday I will post two! Both books I downloaded from Netgalley, so I would like to thank them for the chance to review them!

3 Stars

Handknit Holidays

Melanie Falick

ABOUT THE BOOK -

In Handknit Holidays best-selling knitting author Melanie Falick presents an eclectic collection of more than 50 original gifts, decorations, and clothing pieces for Christmas, Hanukkah, and the winter solstice, providing year-round inspiration for knitters of all levels.

Created by top knitwear designers, the projects include colorful ornaments; funky and classic Christmas stockings; a wire-and-bead menorah; sparkly ribbon scarves; a poncho and matching dog sweater; and a range of super-quick projects for that last-minute holiday rush, from a Santa hat, to elf caps, to flower pins. Rounding out the volume are a few grand projects—an Aran tree skirt, a patchwork afghan, a lace shawl—destined to become family heirlooms, plus features on such topics as the origin of the Christmas stocking, the meaning of the winter solstice, knitting for charities, strategies for finishing holiday knitting (on schedule!), and even a delicious recipe for festive crescent cookies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -

Melanie Falick is a bestselling knitting author and editorial director of the STC Craft line. Her previous books include Kids Knitting and Knitting in America as well as the STC titles Weekend Knitting, Knit: A Personal Handbook, and Knitting for Baby (with Kristin Nicholas). She lives in Dutchess County, New York. 

Visit her at her website - HERE

  

MY REVIEW -

I have always loved Melanie's books and have always given them rave reviews, but this one fell short for me.

The pictures are great, as usual. The instructions are clear and easy to follow (as usual LOL). But it was the choice of patterns that I didn't really care for. There wasn't really anything in here that I would make. And I even thought some of the items kind of silly.

I do agree that this is purely a matter of personal taste and someone else might just love everything in here! It just didn't suit my tastes.

Here are 3 of the things that I did like, but the only one I would ever make is probably the slippers.

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Knitting book review #2

5 Stars!

Knit Your Own Dog

The second litter

Sally Muir & Joanna Osborne

ABOUT THE BOOK -

The knitted dog is an ideal pet—there's no feeding, barking, walking, or vet bills, and he'll live forever! Since the publication of Knit Your Own Dog, dog lovers have been howling for even more breeds to knit. This second volume includes easy-to-follow patterns for 25 all-new breeds, including a Beagle, Golden Retriever, Shih Tzu, Yorkshire Terrier and 21 others.
The dogs are surprisingly easy to make—with a few evenings of work you can have a covetable companion for life. Scores of photographs show the finished dogs, as well as close-up shots of their detailed and adorable features. Authors Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne also include brief accounts of the characteristics of each breed and offer tips and advice on sewing up the dogs.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS -

Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne run their own knitwear business, Muir and Osborne (www.muirandosborne.co.uk).  They have a shop in London and export their knitwear to stores in the U.S., Japan, and Europe including Barneys, Saks, Liberty, and The Cross. They won the UK Fashion Export Small Business Award in 2002 and several pieces of their knitwear are in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  Their previous book, Pet Projects, was featured on The Martha Stewart Show.

Visit their website - HERE

MY REVIEW -
This book is ADORABLE with a capital A (well, actually with a capital A D O R A B L E! LOL), and I'm not even a dog lover!

Oh my goodness I had so much fun looking through this book. I sooo want to try some of these! These would make great gifts.
There are several pictures of each knitted dog. I haven't tried one yet so I can't tell you what the patterns are like, but I did read through one and it seems pretty straight forward to me. This might not be a good place to start for beginners though.

This really makes me want to go back and look at the first knitted dog book! If you are a knitter and a dog lover - you are gonna love this! This is a great idea if your son, daughter or grandkids have been begging you for a dog, or for a person who can't have pets in their apartment, and better yet for a college student! Really the possibilities are endless.

OK I just did a search and found out they have a "Knit your own cat!!! I am so getting this!
Update - I just ordered the cat book  :-)
Alright friends and family - you are getting either a knitted dog or cat for Christmas!

Here are some of the doggies you can create, haha! aren't they so stinkin cute? -

Yorkshire Terrier -

Greyhound -

Chinese Crested (I always thought these were ugly! But it is cute knitted!)-

Fun Friday knitting!

Hahahaha! Oh my word! this is funny stuff. Did you ever know knitting was so funny?

Hahahahahahha! I literally did laugh out loud when I saw this!

So how many partial projects do you have started? Be honest!  I have tons, really! And the thing is I know that about half of them I will never finish so I should just rip them out... but I don't have the heart.

"Lacey Summer Footlets", Project update -

They are coming along nicely. I am doing the one long circular needle two-at-a-time method.
It should be pretty quick from here.

Latest project -

I am knitting little "ped-type" socks. I love these kinds of socks for summer. They are super quick to knit up and usually can get a pair out of one skein.

This is the back, the heels -

 And this is the front -

This is the yarn I am using - it is "Red Heart Stardust" and has little sparkles in it. It is gorgeous!
It is 70% superwash wool, 25% nylon, 5% other (other???)
It is #1, super fine with 191 yds.

This is the pattern I am using - Its called "Lacey Summer Footlets" even the name is cute!

 

This is the book it came from - "Sock-Yarn, One Skein Wonders" Edited by Judith Durant. This is a great book! Lots of great patterns! This book is from my own collection.

Get yours at Amazon - HERE
Or from B&N - HERE