limedragon :)

A difficult decision? Not really…

I knew the Rockin’ Sock Club mailings had gone out last Friday from Blue Moon, and if the timing was right, there should be something special in my mailbox today. Yeaaa! I knew right away when I saw the Priority Mail envelope that it had arrived.

Another surprise, a new Vogue Knitting, was also in the mail. I was a little bit torn between the two knitting items while carrying the mail inside and sorting. Which I should open and enjoy first? This inner discussion did not last long at all; the RSC envelope begged my immediate attention.

Voila! View the fullsize to read details about what was included in the package. (I apologize for the so-so photograph… it was 5:30 PM and the sun had already gone down, so I opened the curtains to take advantage of the little light left.) I’m keeping everything piled up neatly here by my computer. That way, I can pet the yarn while it waits patiently for me to allot time to wind and start my socks later this week. I’ve seen other people are casting on already, lucky folks!
By the way, I’m a STR newbie… I haven’t had the opportunity to see, touch, or use this yarn, until now! So far so good… see–colorful goodness, touch–wonderful. : )

Book Review: 25 Cushions to Knit

25 Cushions to Knit by Debbie Abrahams

Back cover excerpt: Explore and experiment with color, stitches, and embellishment in this stunning collection of hand-knit cushion projects, featuring step-by-step instructions, scores of color photos, and a handy spiral-binding that lies flat for easy use.

The spiral-binding is a big plus for any book with knitting patterns. I’ve tested it and it also folds back on itself fairly well. That helps relieve some awkwardness for photocopying a chart. However, this book is rather large (10.5″ by 10″), so you may not always be able to fit the entire page onto one sheet. Photocopying will take a little bit of strategic positioning and patience.

The Table of Contents categories the patterns into several collections: Urban Cool, Shaker Style, Playtime, English Garden, and Modern Minimal. Tucked into the end of the book is a Techinques section.

Urban Cool surprised me the most; I expected the designs to be trendy. At first, the designs seemed rather sedate, but I realized my mistake quickly. I had expected novelty yarn to be used frequently, and the closest thing to novelty yarn in 25 Cushions… was a mohair-silk blend. This collection is about chic, not trends. There’s one pillow where you can use bleach to drizzle white lines onto denim yarn, and another incorporates the loop stitch as mini-fringe.

The other categories were as expected. Shaker Style makes use of traditional or country motifs, such as patchwork, stripes, stars and stripes (shown on front cover), and log cabin. Playtime is geared for kids or the young at heart. English Garden consists of delicate flowers and lace. Modern Minimal was my favorite, with its monochromatic textures or simple accents.

This is not a How To book, it is assumed that you know how to cast-on, knit, purl, increase, and decrease (eg: k2tog or yarn-over). The Techniques section includes basic instructions with accompanying color photographs for the specialized techniques required by some patterns (eg: Intarsia, cables, loop stitch, beads, or buttonholes).

Beads, buttons, and fringe were used as embellishment here and there. At least one design in each collection incorporated beads.

Ms Abrahams provided one or more colorway photographs for many patterns; this is a good visual for readers who may need inspiration with color choosing. There also is a difficulty rating system of one (level 1), two (level 2), and three (level 3) stars. I noticed that projects involving cables or intricate intarsia were rated 3 stars, and others with beading, bobbles, lace, or intarsia were given 2 stars. Overall, the designs did not appear complex, most patterns rated 1 star. Each category included at least one design with two or three stars. In matters of finishing, some cushion covers were assembled piece by piece, and others also required picking up stitches.

There are actually 26 patterns in this book and the cushion sizes ranged from 12″ x 12″ to 26″ x 26″ square or rectangular. There were unique shapes and sizes, as well, including a 10″ x 30″ x 3″ cushion, a 18″ x 7″ bolster, and a 11-1/2″ cube. The most common size was 16″ x 16″. As Josie points out in her Amazon review (available by clicking on cover photo above), you can create your own pillow form if you don’t have the correct size available.

Overall, I was pleased with this book. The yarn requirements, sizing, and notions were all clearly listed. The thing I liked best was that the back panel was also displayed, not just the front. Most were different from the front, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes dramatically. Many times, I found myself preferring the back over the front! I would have liked measurements included with the button information, in case I wanted to shop early before making or finishing a cushion.

This arrived yesterday!

Who doesn’t like getting packages full of yarny goodness? : ) I was VERY surprised to find this box at the front door today from Herrschners.I ordered last Saturday, and received my eMail confirmation, no problem. But later this week I didn’t receive any eMail updates, and Order Tracking did not reflect this new order. Seemed a bit strange, but I thought perhaps they were very, very busy with National Craft Month sales.
So, it was totally unexpected that the box arrived today. I found out later that they had trouble sending out a weekly newsletter, so maybe something was wrong with their computer system?

“What did you get?”

That’s twenty skeins of white Four Seasons Bongo in the bags. The Addi Turbo US 7 circular needle is the 60″ (150 cm) length; I wanted something this length to work on an afghan I’m planning. In the foreground are soft Clover ring markers in one of my favorite color schemes, green and purple. The DPN set was a last-minute purchase… it consists of five DPNs each in US 000, 00, 0, and 1. I was thinking these sizes would be good to keep handy for sock projects. Funny thing, though, the description didn’t mention the brand name… they turned out to be Susan Bates. I’ll see how they work out.

“But what’s the yarn for,” you may be wondering. (The amount here might be indicative that I have a project in mind, and you would be correct!)

Last Saturday, before ordering, Mom and I went to Jo-Ann to get buttons for the pillow covers I’m knitting for Mom. For fun, we looked through some little booklets at the fringe of the yarn department. Mom showed me a sweater, saying she liked it. I commented that the sweater would suit Grandma.

To be honest, I’m not sure why this is called “cropped.” A quick glance at the schematic-less pattern shows the length to be approximately 19-20″… seems fairly average to me?

So, we bought the booklet and I shopped around for a lightweight worsted cotton in white, light yellow, or beige. I found a couple of possibilities at Elann, but ultimately, we chose Bongo. This yarn has a nice shiny appearance (that surprised me). I’ll see how it knits up while swatching for gauge soonish. (I tried to find a website for the company, Four Seasons, because they were new to me… but no luck. The yarn label has Gründl, Germany on it.)

My “eh” site

It’s kinda ugly and messy looking… but it’s definitely a work-in-progress. Someday I’ll get around to adding sidebars, etc. For example, see that teeny logo up there? If I leave it at the actual size… it overlaps the links and stuff. We can’t have that! I’m still experimenting with skins and themes.Here’s what it’s really supposed to look like:

Looks prety good, doesn’t it? I think so too. : )

There’s a bit more to the story of my new logo: a little bit sadness, a little bit humor, and a happy ending. : ) I’ll try to post it soon.

I give, I give!

I’ve been working on this site on and off for more than two years now.

I’m too much of a perfectionist. I’m also too pressed for time. These things result in never having enough time to work on this and get it to the level I want.

I’ve also been wanting to post about my knitting achievements and/or tribulations… and I can’t do that if I keep this site closed and fuss with the settings or the appearance.

So….

I give in to the temptation of being able to record my projects.
I give up (with just a tiny bit of teeth gnashing) any hope of having a nicely setup and nice-looking site anytime SOON!

I’m opening this site as of today. I’ve uploaded some older pictures I had from late 2004 and early 2005 of past projects. You can view my gallery by clicking “pix” on the top menu above.

I’ve promised myself that I would start recording current and ongoing projects and be consistent with that goal!

Meanwhile, whenever I can grab some time I’ll work on the theme/skin. I can handle it! As long as I have content and pictures to post, I will be happy. : ) (Even if the site isn’t pretty.)