Wednesdays are for Books (A Stash of Ones Own)

I think I first read about Clara Park's A Stash of Ones Own on the Knitty blog. I was pretty excited about it. When I saw it offered on NetGalley I couldn't press the "request now" button fast enough. The book is a collection of essays by different knitting personalities, focusing on stash - what it is, why we have it, how much we have, what it means to each of the authors.

Stash is a subject close to my heart - one I blog about frequently, and spend quite a lot of time considering, so an entire book dedicated to the subject is quite a treat. Each chapter, or essay, is by a different author, and each (so far) is completely different in tone and content. So far I've read one by Meg Swanson, one on the stash stats on Ravely, one by the queen of stashers - the Yarn Harlot and an essay by Amy Herzog arguing that, although she has a years worth of yarn around she doesn't actually have a stash!

I'm reading these one each day:It feel like each chapter should be savoured and considered. I've made the mistake before of reading anthologies as if they were novels, and I tend to find that gets wearisome. So far I'm really enjoying the thoughts this books has raised about stash, and it's a fun read too! I'll be back next Wednesday with a review of the next seven essays.

Ardmore socks - finished

I finished Leon's socks yesterday and I am so, so happy with them. Kate Davie's Ardmore Guernsey charts translated nicely onto a basic top down 68 stitch heel and gusset sock pattern:





And the Socks that Rock yarn shows those cables beautifully. I know that sometimes the  STR loose a bit of colour after a lot of washing, but that is worth the amazing stitch definition. Just look at those cables.They are delightfully plump and beautiful.

I tried to get a picture that showed how the jumper and the socks match, but all I got what I got was this picture of Leon looking rather awkward.  Still, as the self appointed queen of matchy matchyness, I am very happy to present a matching jumper / sock set.

Next up...

Leon’s Ardmore socks are going well. I predict they will be done by tomorrow afternoon.

The Wollmeise yarn I ordered for my next project hasn’t arrived yet. I’ve got a tracking number, but it’s not working, so I have no idea when it is going to arrive. I ordered it two weeks ago, which I thought would be plenty of time. I guess this is an argument for having a stash, rather than buying as you go.

I think I’ll make Rachey an Endless Rainbow shawl. She was browsing the internet at Christmas, and asked for one, sort of as a joke, sort of seriously. I’m not sure if she’s a shawl wearing kind of person, so I’ve been hesitant, but I may as well make it. I’ve got this beautiful yarn for the contrast colour and picked up some wool/silk from Wool Baa yesterday.

I was nervous about the yarn bleeding prewashed it just to be sure. And I didn't retry the skien. just before I chucked it in the washer to spin dry I thought "hmm, should I tie this in a knot? Nah, she'll be right." and now it's a rather tangled mess. My bad.

Working in white might be quite interesting, given how many public places I tend to work on my projects. i'll have to be a bit more careful about not dropping the yarn on the floor in pubs, public transport or the park!

Wednesdays are for reading (Reincarnation Blues)

I'm reading Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore.

It's another ARC from the good people at NetGalley. It came up on Robin Hobb's feed, and she hasn't steered me wrong yet.
Here's the description: 

 What if you could live forever—but without your one true love? Reincarnation Blues is the story of a man who has been reincarnated nearly 10,000 times, in search of the secret to immortality so that he can be with his beloved, the incarnation of Death. Neil Gaiman meets Kurt Vonnegut in this darkly whimsical, hilariously profound, and wildly imaginative comedy of the secrets of life and love. Transporting us from ancient India to outer space to Renaissance Italy to the present day, is a journey through time, space, and the human heart.

 I'm about halfway through, and really enjoying it. It reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five,  except it makes a little more sense. It's a book that requires suspension of disbelief, but I have had absolutely no problem just going with some of the absurd aspects of the premise, because it is really well written. i'm really looking forward to going home tonight, curling up with this book and finding out what happens next.

Matchy, matchy, matchyness

The other day I mentioned that I have a new splint for my broken finger. It's black. When I got it I asked if I could have another colour. Remember my bright blue hand brace? I was hoping for hot pink this time. My finger therapist said “no. this is Melbourne, almost everybody asks for black.” So I got a Darth Vadar black finger splint.

 

Continuing the theme, I got my nails done to match. Because everything must be matchy in my life. 

Finished: Ardmore Jumper

As I mentioned, I finished Leon's Ardmonre jumper and we're really happy with it!
It looks fantastic, and it fits really well from the front:

The back has a tiny bit of flare at the hem, which improved with blocking, but is a slight flaw, which I cannot work out how to fix. If I'd known earlier I would have made the back a tiny bit longer than the front, or thrown in some short rows, but, well, hindsight is 20/20 and for this one I actually just followed the pattern. Maybe it's because of Leon's well developed shoudlers and tiny waist?

I love the yarn - Blue Moon Fiber Arts Woobu. The bamboo gives it a silky shine and the semi solid dye is just wonderful. I've got enough left over for a jumper for me, I'm going to make Romi Hill's Manzanita.
here's a photo of Princess Daisy helping with the blocking:

But back to the point on hand: Leon, looking handsome in his handsome new jumper:

  

A knitting and a finger update

You know how I love everything to be matchy matchy – when I bought the Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn that I used for Leon’s Ardmore, I bought a matching skein of sock yarn in the same colour – Meet brown, Joe. They look a little different because they are dyed on different bases, but they are the same colour:

I finished the jumper this week, it’s blocking now and we’ll do a photoshoot on the weekend. I cast on a matching pair of socks – I’m using the Ardmore pattern transcribed onto a 68 stitch sock.  This is such fun, although it has progressed slowly this week, partly because it is quite cabled:

But look how the cables pop in the Socks That Rock! Mainly they have been slow because we’ve been out every night this week. I saw my finger therapist this week and he gave me a new splint:

I’m seeing him again in two weeks. Hopefully I’ll be done with the splint by then. I want to finish a project at the same time as I get free of this splint, because it’s probably affecting my tension. I asked my hand therapist if I could take the splint off to cast on – I tried to explain how the long tail cast on is difficult without being able to use my fourth finger. He gave me a blank look, and then said “no”. Well he took about six sentences to do so, but the summary was no. At least the new brace holds my finger in perfect knitting position.