crankygrrrrrl

we have returned from our whirlwind vacation of vancouver and seattle. and may i say, if you don’t go and visit for the beauty, culture or sights, you have to go for the food!

i was a bad blogger and did not take many pictures. but no matter, upon our return my computer decided to flash me to blue screen of death. luckily, i can use my daughter’s computer…but alas, no photoshop for editing photos. since that is the case, i’ll keep this short and post my koigu (!!!) and travel knitting pictures later.

but i won’t leave you empty handed, knit blogging-wise. have i told you that i bought new pathways for sock knitters by cat bordhi?

a fantastic book!!

many other bloggers have mentioned this book. i personally love the book. anything new for socks is exciting for me!! like her previous books, cat’s writing style is easy and conversational. however, some people may find her instruction somewhat confusing. stick with it, though, and you will have a new arsenal of sock knitting techniques at your disposal. containing a number of new recipes for sock construction, it’s worth buying just to examine the architectural innovations. (i’m also a shameless groupie. buy the book, cat rocks!). she also includes instructional videos via youtube for some of the techniques used in the book. the video quality could be better, but i’m still happy to see the value-added content.

i need to work on this technique. i get ‘perfect tension’ except for the last stitch…so i keep falling back on figure 8.

i even found a kal via ravelry! it is called the new pathways knitalong. i’ll be keeping an eye out for their projects.

have you seen the book yet? what do you think?

i really have been knitting, er, crocheting lately…just on the down low. here’s some crocheted dish cloths i made from my first taste of peaches and creme worsted weight

crocheted ballband dishcloth

crocheted ballband dishcloth for grandma kathleen
peaches and creme worsted in strawberry cream,
daisy ombre, sea mist and gumdrop
started: august, 2007
finished: august, 2007
hook: G or H
notes: made smaller for wringing ease

in the near past i’ve acquired a number of books and had a little bit of stash building….i’m going to start off with the vogue knitting book:

the best of vogue knitting: 25 years of articles, techniques and expert advice

i’ve actually had this book for a while. when i first received it, i thumbed through the pages and was turned off by the photographs from the 80’s. i put the book on my desk and peeked at it from time to time. slowly, i came to realize that i treasured this book. not only is it a piece of knitting history, but i also gives the reader “how to’s” for techniques from casting-on, to shaping and design, to binding-off.

this book contains no knitting patterns; it is more a reference. however, it doesn’t read like a knitting reference, as it shouldn’t,
since it is a collection of articles. but by the same virtue, it is difficult to find a specific technique if you just leaf through the pages. however, this may be overcome with the thorough table of contents and index.

you won’t sit down and read this book from cover-to-cover in one shot, but you will enjoy the timeless advice contained within the articles. pick this up if you want a quick shot of knitting reading, but i would not recommend purchasing it as an end-all, be-all knitting reference. this is a great coffee table book! i’m glad i bought it sight unseen!