No-Bull Book Review: Knitting 24/7 by Véronik Avery

It is indeed a red-letter day when the UPS man brings me a copy of a brand-new book by my pal and girl-crush Véronik Avery.



I couldn't wait to get my sweaty little hands on a copy of Knitting 24/7: 30 Projects to Knit, Wear, and Enjoy, On the Go and Around the Clock (Stewart Tabori & Chang 2010) and a review copy arrived late last week.

I'm in heaven.

Knitting 24/7 is designed for the busy knitter: people who are passionate about knitting but never seem to find enough time to knit due to pesky little details like day jobs, family obligations, and chores. As Véronik puts it in her introduction:

I designed the projects in Knitting 24/7 to be portable and to make use of our "extra" time -- those nooks and crannies in our lives when we are busy, yet our hands are free to practice our craft. Many of us like to knit while we travel, wait, watch or listen, and times like these call for projects that can be easily stowed in a bag and contained in our laps. They also call for easily memorized stitch patterns so that charts are not needed once the pattern has been established.

Ostrich Plumes Stole

The book contains 30 projects designed to fill those little bits of time that knitters have -- while watching hockey practice or sitting in the car line or commuting on the bus -- with interesting, stylish, but do-able knitting.

Modern Pillow

The book is divided into three sections: A.M., P.M. and Weekend, each referring to different times when a knitter may be able to sneak in a few rows. (Each section begins with a brief list of suggestions for ways to sneak in more knitting -- in line, waiting for the pizza to arrive, while watching a movie.) A.M. begins with a gorgeous pair of stranded mittens knit in Harrisville Shetland:

Patterned Mittens

as well as lounging socks knit in DK yarn, a cute wool skirt (well, for those with trim little butts), a button-front "grandfather" vest, a lightweight transitional scarf shown in merino/tencel,

Transitional Scarf

a shawl, lovely arm warmers,

1965 Armwarmers

a cabled beret, a fetching colorwork pillow, and a pair of mesh kneesocks. (So many of these would look terrific in Black Bunny Fibers yarn, no?)

Arrowhead Kneesocks

P.M. begins with a cute spiral cloche with large button,

Spiral Tweed Cloche

a clutch with a clever knot at the handle, a pretty shrug, a fine-gauge turtleneck, a linen market bag, another lacy scarf, a slouchy hat, a pretty stole and a pair of slippers -- one version for winter and one for summer.

Weekend features a very smart-looking fleur de lis hat,

Fleur de Lys Hat

an acorn-styled tea cozy, a pair of toe-up socks, a pretty mesh tank top for layering, a striking striped cowl and mitts combo,

Redwork Cowl & Mitts

another pair of stranded colorwork mittens (I love this pair, too),

Heilo Mittens

a headband, a bookmark, lacy cable socks, and lovely red cabled gloves.

Cabled Gloves

If you're looking for a tally, that's:

• 2 pair of mittens and 1 pair of gloves, along with 1 pair of armwarmers and an armwarmer/cowl combo;
• 4 hats & 1 headband;
• 3 pair of socks, plus 1 pair of kneesocks and slippers (with 2 variations);
• one turtleneck pullover;
• one vest;
• one skirt;
• 3 home dec items (pillow, tea cozy and bookmark);
• one tank top;
• 2 bags (clutch and market bag )
• 2 scarves;
• 3 wraps (shawl, stole and shrug).

Olive Heather Skirt

Yarn weights are all over the map, ranging from fingering weight (e.g., for the pullover and some of the socks) to sportweight (e.g., the lovely St. Denis Nordique is used for bookmark, beret and headband), to heavy worsted (cloche & tea cozy) to chunky (the shrug). Techniques used in the patterns include lace, felting (one pair of the slippers), cables, and stranded colorwork, as well as a few stockinette items like the pullover sweater. Most of the items are one-size-fits-most, although the pullover is sized from 30.75 inch finished circumference to a 48 inch finished circumference, and the vest goes from 32 to 52 inches finished circumference -- generous sizing.

Fir Cone Shrug

As usual, it's a gorgeous book from cover to cover. It's paperback, about 128 pages, all color, with mouth-watering photos by Thayer Allison Goudy. The book contains a very brief section of special techniques but otherwise doesn't waste time on how-to-knit instructions. There are schematics and diagrams where appropriate as well as charts. We see nice clear shots of the stitch patterns, and close-ups of pattern details are thoughtfully included. With a MSRP of $21.95 (available via the link for a mere $14.93 as of this writing via Amazon), this lovely book full of beautiful patterns is worth every penny!

Leafy Knot Clutch

There is a certain knack to creating patterns that are easy and accessible to knit, but which are elegant and sophisticated-looking -- it's nowhere as easy as it looks. Thank goodness for us multi-tasking knitters that Avery has this knack. Knitting 24/7 is full of gorgeous but do-able patterns, great for making for yourself or giving as gifts.



All photos copyright 2010 by Thayer Allison Goudy.

March Book Report

For whatever reason, I've been reading a lot lately... so I've got lots of books on the list for March.

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, started out the month on a great note. You may have seen the movie, starring Kate Beckinsale, but it's worth reading the book, too. It's a satire of all the British books that idealize the country and the country life. The story is simple enough: After Flora's parents die, the young woman arrives at her aunt's country farm, Cold Comfort Farm. Flora immediately decides that she must take her eccentric relatives in hand and improve their lives. Flora is a kind of anti-Emma: whereas Emma meddles in other people's lives only to learn that she doesn't always know what's best for other people, Flora meddles in other people's lives and succeeds spectacularly. I found this book really amusing and clever, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

I finished Nemesis by Jo Nesbo (the sequel to The Redbreast, which I read a few months ago). This series features Norwegian Inspector Harry Hole, ambivalent about his job and struggling to overcome his alcoholism. At the beginning of the book, Harry is in a relationship with a woman he met in the previous book in this series; he is still haunted by the death of his police partner (also in the previous book); and he is assigned to solve a bank robbery. As Harry delves deeper into his bank robbery case, an ex-girlfriend turns up dead and Harry may turn out to be the prime suspect. There's a lot going on in this mystery as plot lines cross and recross, weaving in strands of plot from the previous book and depicting Harry's emotional turbulence as he tries to solve all the crimes.

The Marx Sisters by Barry Maitland. After enjoying a later book in the Kolla/Brock mystery series, I went back and found the very first one, newly reissued. In this book, newly-assigned Kathy Kolla is called in with superstar investigator Brock to take a look at the death of a little old lady, found dead in bed in her apartment on a tiny, out-of-the-way street in London. Is it murder or simply natural causes? Hard to say. But when her sister turns up dead a few months later, it starts to look a lot like murder. Kolla and Brock are called back and end up engrossed in the drama of the small neighborhood -- WW II emigres, Lenin-loving elderly socialists, greedy property developers, the victim's son (cheating on his wife and in need of cash), and more.

The Malcontenta, also by Maitland, is the next book in the series. Kolla is called in to investigate the apparently suicide of a physical therapist at a new age clinic. She thinks it might be murder, and even though some of the higher-ups in the police force want her to back off, she continues plugging away at the case. Another solid mystery in this series.

Up at the Villa by Somerset Maugham. I'd never read anything by Maugham before but the book looked like a quick read and the setting -- a villa overlooking Florence in the years just after WWII -- sounded divine. Maugham has a very direct style, not flowery or packed full of words, yet he manages to say a lot about his characters and the action. The main character is Mary Panton, a British widow recovering from her unpleasant marriage by taking an extended vacation in a borrowed Italian villa. She is being courted by an old family friend who is significantly older than she is and wants to marry her. Most of the novel takes place over a two-day period, in which Mary's life begins as being fairly predictable and conventional, then takes a dramatic turn. One of the things I found so interesting about the book was the way it quickly built suspense due to events which take place over a short time period (I'm trying avoid spoilers); it was this that made the book hard to put down. Overall, I was left feeling as though I'd watched a wonderful old movie from the 1940s with witty repartee, a romantic European setting and characters much more interesting and multifaceted than they first appear. I will definitely seek out more Maugham to read.

A Vengeful Longing by R. N. Morris, is a mystery set in mid-19th century St Petersburg. It was atmospheric, with a good twisty plot and interesting characters. The author is very knowledgeable about tsarist Russia, but I would have appreciated a brief glossary of Russian language words in the back as they were sprinkled throughout. In an interesting twist, the lead investigator is Porfiry Petrovich, a character lifted from Crime and Punishment.

The Queen's Secret by Jean Plaidy, was a fictionalized account of the life of Katherine of Valois, a French princess who lived in the 15th century. Katherine was married off to King Henry V of England. Strategically, the marriage between the English and French royal houses helped solidify King Henry's conquest of France. Sadly, Henry died shortly after their first son was born. This left Katherine in the difficult position of being the "Dowager Queen" when she was barely 21. As mother to the king, she had an important ceremonial role and was seen as having the potential to influence her son's actions as king. But there was also some potential risk that if she remarried and had children, those children could assert some kind of claim to the English throne should her firstborn die. Parliament passed a law imposing penalties should Katherine marry without the king's consent (imagine having to ask your nine-year-old son for permission to marry!).

So much of Katherine's life is unclear, given how long ago she lived, but she apparently fell in love with a Welshman named Owen Tudor. Historians disagree as to whether they were married and when, but they did have several children together. In time, Katherine and Owen's grandson would become King Henry VII, the last English king to win the throne via a battle and the first of the Tudor dynasty.

Overall, this was an entertaining but not terribly demanding read. I learned a bit about English and French history (Katherine lived at the same time as Joan of Arc) and it was interesting to learn about the forbears of the Tudors. Plaidy does a lot of projecting in fictionalizing the story, and she makes certain assumptions that might not be definitively supported by the historical record, given how incomplete written records were of that time.

The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn (author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries that I read last summer at the beach) was, alas, not another book in the series but was a stand-alone novel. I got a copy for free from the Amazon Vine program so I figured I'd give it a try. The story is about a Victorian Englishwoman who is left without much of an income when her grandfather dies. When an old school chum writes and asks her to visit, Theodora jumps at the chance to avoid either living with her married sister or marrying a man she isn't in love with. In turns out the school chum lives in Transylvania (groan) and so there is a plotline in which we are led to wonder whether a handsome, enigmatic count is in fact a vampire. Of course, Theodora falls in love with him but isn't sure if he reciprocates or whether he is human or the undead.

This was not a bad book for the genre, just formulaic. It had the features of the Gothic novel -- Victorian time frame, unmarried woman of noble character and empty bank account, charming rake who may not be what he seems, supernatural elements (vampirism and werewolves), a beautiful and desolate castle, and so on. The combination of the predictability and the vampire story line (honestly, I'm Twilighted out) made it less enjoyable for me.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley. Sequel to "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie," and another Amazon Vine review copy, this was a mystery once again featuring eleven-year-old Brit Flavia de Luce. Flavia is a precocious child with a brilliant intellect and a passion for chemistry -- especially poisons. "The Weed..." takes a little longer to get goingthan its predecessor did; the murder doesn't happen until about 150 pages into the book, but Bradley's description of post-WWII life in a small village in Britain is charming enough to carry you through to that point.

A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch. This book is a bedroom farce, in which the characters look ridiculous one minute and pitiful the next. The narrator is Martin, a 40-something London wine merchant, who begins the novel by very smugly talking about how he loves both his mistress and his wife. Martin's about to get a come-uppance, however, because his wife Antonia soon tells him she wants a divorce. Not only has the cheater been cheated upon, but Antonia's been seeing Martin's close friend Palmer -- a double betrayal. The plot...more This book is a bedroom farce, in which the characters look ridiculous one minute and pitiful the next. The narrator is Martin, a 40-something London wine merchant, who begins the novel by very smugly talking about how he loves both his mistress and his wife. Martin's about to get a come-uppance, however, because his wife Antonia soon tells him she wants a divorce. Not only has the cheater been cheated upon, but Antonia's been seeing Martin's close friend Palmer -- a double betrayal. The plot continues to twist as the novel goes on, but it wouldn't be fair to the reader to give all the surprises away.

A Severed Head had me laughing at the absurdity of all the bed-hopping: written in the early 1960s, it definitely bridges the gap between the sexual repression of the 50s and the free-love attitude of the 70s. But the farcical nature of book was overshadowed, for me, by the "frightfulness" and "ruthlessness" (to quote the book's subtitle) of the characters. Just when they seem to be experiencing some normal human emotion, their emotions do a 360-degree turn and they seem reprehensible again. There's no end of power games, manipulation and self-delusion, along with deceit and betrayal.

I think what made me the most dissatisfied about the book was the fact that there just wasn't anyone I was rooting for. Each character seems at time to be a victim, then a perpetrator; each character alternates between acting like an ass and looking worthy of sympathy. The characters use and discard each other, but seem unable to turn away from each other. Even Martin's obsessive attraction to Honor Klein (his wife's boyfriend's half-sister -- got that?) is by turns coltish and icky. I think if I had felt more of a connection to the author's writing style, I could have dealt with the absurdity of the plot and characters, and if I liked the characters more, I could have dealt with not grooving on the writing style, but the combination of not being attracted by either was what left me without more affection for the book. I don't mean to suggest that I think Murdoch is a bad writer -- just that I didn't love her writing style as a matter of personal taste. This was the first book I've read by Murdoch and I'm not sure I'll read more.

So there you have it: the March 2010 book report. Tell me what you're reading -- I get lots of good recommendations from my faithful commenters.

Happy Easter!

To all of you who are celebrating today, Happy Easter from our family to yours.

What I've been up to....

while I haven't been blogging this week:

• a lovely visit with Wendyknits, who came to sign her gorgeous new book.

I got to see pals like Lisa and Jenny


and of course, Craig (who eagerly accepted another batch of BBF yarn to sell):

• we met the Easter bunny:

after going on a hayride to Bunnyland;

• got a copy of Knit Simple magazine, where my vest (delayed a bit due to my family situation over the holidays) is beautifully worn by editor Carla Scott;
• entertained the kids all week (well, at least part of the time) while they were on spring break;
• and went up to visit my mom:

where we were photobombed by Little Miss:


Now we're settling in for a happy Easter weekend, with my mom visiting for the first time since before Christmas. Happy Easter to all who celebrate it, and I'll be back next week with a blog tour stop for a brand-new knitting book, as well as more fun stuff.

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New roving blend: 75% BFL/25% silk

On Friday morning, I updated the BBF shop with a spectacular new roving blend: 75% blue-faced leicester wool/25% silk.

Lotus: soft dreamy sages and pale blue-green

The batches are around 4 oz. and believe me, when I say that they are so soft and luscious, I am trying really, really hard not to grab one and start spinning it myself.

Firecracker: red, gold, orange and a hint of olive

This week, I'm hoping to dye some more of the Stella Sock, which by accounts is a lovely and soft yarn to work with... and there are some more new bases on the horizon, just to keep things interesting!

Plum Blossom: mauve-wine with some sage

No-Bull Book Review: Toe-Up Socks for Everybody

If you liked Wendy Johnson's first book of toe-up sock patterns, you're going to love her second book, Toe-Up Socks for Every Body: Adventurous Lace, Cables, and Colorwork from Wendy Knits (PotterCraft; MSRP $22.99) which officially went on sale this week. Wendy was kind enough to send me a copy in advance of her visit to Loop in Philadelphia this weekend, so let's give it the No-Bull Book Review treatment.


Toe-Up Socks is a paperback, about 144 pages, full-color (I probably don't have to say that anymore; gone are the days when pattern books were not printed in color), with sturdy fold-in covers. I counted 21 separate patterns in the table of contents, although a few of the patterns have variations that will expand their usefulness (for example, the Wrought Iron Socks come in both knee-high and regular sock form).

The book begins with a one-page introduction, in which Wendy explains how her previous book provided all the basics for beginning toe-up sock knitting, whereas this book is designed, as Wendy puts it, to challenge the knitter to step outside her comfort zone and play with more adventurous techniques. Accordingly, you won't find extensive how-to-knit-socks directions or even plain-vanilla sock patterns; the book assumes you know how to knit a basic toe-up sock and builds from there. There is, however, a section addressing some general toe-up sock information, briefly discussing yarn choice, types of needles, how to read charts, and some tips on how to design your own socks. (There's also an appendix with additional technical info, which I discuss later.)

Rosebud Socks

The patterns are divided into three sections, based on the type of technique explored: lace, cables and colorwork. Each section begins with an introduction to the technique, a handy list of patterns along with their difficulty level (instead of just rating them easy/medium/hard, the ratings also include the specific techniques used in the sock to better help you judge the difficulty), some illustrations of some of the relevant stitches or techniques, and a brief discussion of what types of yarn work best. Very helpful, all of it.

Tiptoe Through the Tulips Socks

Now let's get to the good stuff: the sock patterns.

The first section, Lace Socks, contains seven patterns, including the Rosebud Socks (I believe these are shown on the front cover on the left), the Laurel Socks, the Bouquet Socks, the Crocus Socks, and the Victory Socks.

Victory Socks

All of these are mid-calf socks (the traditional length). The Belle Epoque Socks come in a thigh-high version as well as a kneesock version, and the Dainty Anklets feature a sweet turn-down cuff.

The next section is devoted to cables and twisted stitches; you'll find seven patterns in this section, too. The Heart-to-Heart Socks, Tiptoe Through the Tulips Socks, Manly Aran socks, Diamonds and Cables Socks,

Diamonds & Cables Socks

Bob and Weave Socks, and Basket Case Socks are all mid-calf, and the Wrought Iron Socks come in mid-calf and knee length.

Wrought-Iron Socks

The Colorwork sectioncontains the last seven patterns: Sneaky Argyle Socks, Stjarnblommesocker,

Stjarnblommesocker

Critter Socks, Sanquhar Socks, Norwegian Rose Socks,

Norwegian Rose Socks

Fair Isle Socks and the Hot Stuff! Socks, which, interestingly enough, were inspired by a similar motif as the Flamethrower Socks from Knitting Socks in Handpainted Yarns. (Simmer down, though, Wendy's socks were knit before KSIHY was released, without her ever having seen it, so this constitutes one of those "great minds think alike" moments.)

Hot Stuff! Socks

As with its predecessor, this book is beautifully made. The photography, by Alexandra Grablewski, is gorgeous, letting the socks take center stage and showing off the details of their stitch patterns. Each sock is shown from multiple angles, with well-lit close-ups to enable the knitter to get a very clear sense of the design details and the way the sock looks overall -- a very important and sometimes overlooked aspect of knitting books. Charts accompany the patterns, in color where necessary.

Dainty Anklets

About the socks themselves: well, obviously, they are all written from the toe-up, for two circular needles. They are all written for fingering weight yarn, shown in solid or nearly-solid yarns, with gauge usually at 8 sts per inch (a few are slightly tighter, at 8.25 or 8.5 sts per inch). Sizing is variable, which makes sense based on the intricate patterning of the socks; often the type of stitch pattern or its repeat will dictate how feasible it is to do multiple sizes and where exactly they fall measurement-wise. (One of the advantages about knitting socks is that they have a bit more flexibility in fit than, say, a sweater.) Two of the socks come in one size (around 8 inches or so circumference); two socks come in a circumference of 5/6/7 inches; one pair comes in a larger 9/10 inch circumference (the Manly Aran Socks); and the rest have two to four sizes given, raning from 6 to 8 or 9 inches circumference.

Last, the book contains an appendix with some additional technical information: an overview of different needle techniques (two circ vs. one long circ vs. dpn); how to do cast-ons (especially important since these will create the toes of the socks); some heel techniques; and bind-offs.

Fair Isle Socks

It doesn't surprise me at all that I give Toe-Up Socks for Every Body two sock-loving thumbs up. It's a lovely book full of gorgeous sock patterns that take advantage of more adventurous techniques, like lace, cable and twisted stitches, and colorwork. It's beautifully photographed and produced. And it's written by an experienced teacher and designer who will be appearing in Philadelphia this very weekend. Yes, you can pick up a copy and get it signed by Wendy Johnson this weekend at Loop! Go here for details.

Amy Butler yarn line from Rowan

Check it out: if you are an Amy Butler fan (she is a fabric designer/quilter), Rowan is introducing a new line of yarns designed by Amy, called Belle Organic. Looks like it comes in two weights, DK and aran, and the yarn is a 50% organic wool/50% organic cotton blend. Yum! (Just don't discontinue regular old Wool-Cotton, hear me, Rowan???) There's a brief blurb on Rowan's website here.

Sneak peek: Vévé's new book!

Go here for a sneak peek at Véronik's new book, Knitting 24/7: 30 Projects to Knit, Wear, and Enjoy, On the Go and Around the Clock -- coming soon!

Parental pride

Forgive me for bragging, but for those of you not on Facebook, I have to tell you about what Elvis did this weekend. This weekend he participated in the countywide spelling bee, the competition that feeds directly into the national one in Washington in June. My kid, who is only in sixth grade, went 28 rounds, sticking it out against seventh- and eighth-graders, many of whom had participated in the competition before.



He spelled all sorts of crazy words correctly, including "tithe" (round 2) and "knish" and "cedilla" and "langlauf" (whatever that is) and he made it all the way to the end. He went toe-to-toe with an eighth-grader and ended up in second place.



I am so proud of him. I am so proud of his intelligence, his guts, his poise and how damn cool he is. Well done, Elvis.

On being Irish

I grew up in a small city in northeastern Pennsylvania. For many years, Wilkes-Barre's major industry was coal mining. It was a dangerous job and if you survived 'til retirement age, you had only a slow, choking death from black lung disease to look forward to. Since the mines consumed the lives of so many men, there was a constant stream of immigrants entering the Wyoming Valley to keep the anthracite flowing.

Most of the immigrants came from Europe. As disaster struck a particular country, hundreds of of its poorest citizens would come to the Wyoming Valley looking for mining jobs. Irishmen, Italians, Poles, Russians, Germans, Czechs, Lithuanians, and many other countries sent huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Immigrants tended to stick together, so that all of the men from one village or region would live in the same neighborhood, maintaining as much of their home culture as they could.

When I grew up in the 1960s and 70s, ethnicity was still felt very strongly in Wilkes-Barre. Kids would ask each other "What are you?" meaning "From which poor European country did your ancestors come?" and the answer would be "Polish!" "Italian!" "Irish!" "Lithuanian" or whatever it happened to be (except for my high school calculus teacher Miss Owens, who if she heard someone ask "What are you" would snap "You're American!"). There was an immediacy and an importance to one's ethnic identity that probably came from being second- or third-generation Americans in a geographically insular place.

My father had a keen sense of his Polishness and even though he had a smidge of German blood in him, he always identified himself as a Polish-American. He was always very proud of his Polish heritage and never hesitated to tell people about the famous Poles who'd contributed to society: Copernicus, Kosciusko, Madame Curie, Chopin. (We were probably the only people on our block to have a framed photograph of Copernicus in our basement rec room. I am not joking.) My mom, whose father's family was Lithuanian, and whose mother's family was a mishmash of things, having not been part of the coal-miner-immigrant waves of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, never seemed to care that much about what she was, although she could tell you she was Pennsylvania Dutch, English and French, as well as Lithuanian. So when my brother and I were asked "What are you?" we usually answered "Polish." When people would go all faux-Irish on St. Patrick's Day and ask me why I wasn't wearing green, I'd say "Because I'm not Irish."

Except now I'm not so sure.

When I started tracing my family's genealogy, I discovered that my grandmother had a grandmother named Susan Kinney. Her father was Daniel Kinney and her mother was Mary Freeman. "Kinney" is a Gaelic name, and is cited as being Scottish, Welsh and/or Irish in origin. "Freeman" could be many things -- German, Anglo-Saxon or an Anglicized version of a French, German or Irish name.

It can be tricky in genealogy to make assumptions about where a family came from based on name alone. (Consider the story, probably a tall tale, of the Jew named Sean Ferguson, allegedly because when asked his name at Ellis Island, the frazzled man answered “Shoyn fargesn," meaning "I've forgotten.") Until I find more information on two people forgotten by history -- Daniel P. Kinney, born around 1814 in New Jersey, and Mary I. Freeman, born around 1822 in Salem Township, PA -- I won't know for sure whether I need to put on an Aran sweater, a kilt or maybe even the red dragon of Wales. Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't clash with my


Polish eagle sweatshirt.

Cross one off the knitting bucket list. . .

With two simultaneous deadlines last week, I didn't have much time for blogging. And I don't think I've mentioned here the exciting news that the Spring/Summer Vogue Knitting is out, complete with a sweater I designed inside:

Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2010, photo by Paul Amato
Yarn Information: Tahki Yarns/Tahki•Stacy Charles Rain
For sizes: Small (Medium, Large, 1X, 2X)
Amounts: 14 (16,19,20,23) balls in #5 green

I particularly like this issue of VK because it has so much lace and textural stitches. (There's also a lovely cardigan by Kathy Merrick knitted in Rowan KidSilkHaze, yum).

In case you haven't discovered it yet, Vogue has a very cool feature on their website called "VK360". You can watch a video of every garment in the issue, shown against a plain background, with shots from every angle and close-ups of the stitch pattern and design features. If you are someone who has a hard time envisioning items from a magazine in a different context, this feature is a great help. The models are pretty much unstyled -- in many of the videos, you can't even see their faces or hair. So if you find the fashion-forward hair or makeup in many layouts to be distracting, you should check out VK 360. (It plays music during the videos, so if you're taking a sanity break at work, best to turn off the sound.)

CashSock in sweater quantities....

Just updated the BBF shop with a large batch of CashSock -- single skeins in great colors


and some batches of 2 skeins for shawls


and even a couple of batches of 4 or 5 skeins for sweaters and large shawls...


The update is live....so check it out here.



I've been trying to meet some other deadlines, so that's all I got.