From the Library Shelves

When I started to knit socks, I quickly fell in love with Vogue Knitting the Ultimate Sock Book. (If you don't believe me, check out my post from October 18, 2013!)

Since my mother is a sock-knitting-machine, I seem to have a never ending supply of socks . . . so of course I stopped knitting them. I moved on to mittens and finger-less gloves. It seems when I finish a pair . . . some fit great, some fit so-so, and some just did not fit. I would check my gauge and check the yarn weight and in the end I would just give away the ones that didn't fit.



My problem is solved with Knit Mitts by Kate Atherley! This book does for mittens what the Vogue Knitting Ultimate Sock Book does for socks. Directions on how . . . and where . . . to measure your hand for the perfect fit. Knitting for a gift . . . or for a hand you can't measure? No problem . . . the author did a hand-size survey and gives some averages.

Kate Atherley provides directions for stretchy cast-ons, different thumb types, felting, linings . . . and strategies for warmth! There are patterns for just a plain basic mitten, two-color mittens, thrummed mittens, cabled mittens - you name it and she has a pattern in there for you!

It's a great book to check out of your library . . . but if you are going to knit a few pairs of mittens . . . buy it. It's a must-have for your personal library.


                                                              click here to place a hold

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

                                                                                     

From the Library Shelves

I was just lamenting the other day that I like to do 2 color knitting . . . but I don't wear that style sweater anymore. (Lamenting sounds so much better than whining . . . doesn't it?) So when I saw the book Pretty Knitted Hands waiting to be shelved . . . I thought . . . . hmm . . . what a perfect solution. 

From the Library Shelves

Have you ever gone into the yarn store and seen a skein of yarn that felt and looked so wonderful that it had to come home with you? You know, the one you looked at and thought to yourself 'I don't know what I'll do with it but . . . ' Maybe you even spent a little too much money for that skein of yarn, but it spoke to you as yarn often does and it found its way onto the passenger seat of your car as you drove home. (I bet you even peaked in the bag and stroked it when you were at a stop light!)

Well if you bought lace weight yarn, you are in luck! One of the latest additions to the library's collection is Lace Yarn Studio by Carol Sulcoski. The book is broken down into projects using one, two or three skeins of lace weight yarn. (Just in case you really splurged on your last yarn store stop and you bought more than one of those irresistible skeins!)

Not only does Carol provide some really great patterns (like the gauntlets on page 29 and the cardigan on page 83), but she also has some great tips for knitters that are not use to working with lace weight yarn.  
          

                                                                                                                                                                                                click here to place a hold


Take a look at it. If you are one of those knitters that is intimidated by lace weight yarn . . . fear no more! This book will help you choose the right needles, the right cast on, the right lighting, even what to do with your left-over lace yarn!! I think I am off to my local yarn store . . . 

Until next time,  keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library Shelves

Let's think for a second  . . . what are some of our favorite things? I like books (helpful if you work in a library), knitting (of course), and cats. So imagine my reaction when I saw one of the latest additions to the library . . . 

click here to place a hold

I mean, really. Can you stand it? 

Of course I flipped through it . . .

I'm not sure which are cuter . . . 
the hats . . . or the cats!!

Since I have 3 cats at home (I know, it kind of makes me a borderline 'cat lady'), I decided I had to take it home and break out the scraps. I mean the cats in the book are cute . . . but my cats are just as cute . . . or at least two of them are. One of them has had a rough time and as a result has runny eyes. You know . . . a face only a mother, or an-almost-cat-lady, could love. 




So I checked the book out and made a couple hats while I watched TV. That was the easy part.

Then I went looking for cats . . . and then came the hard part. I even enlisted my daughter in case i needed an extra pair hands. One cat was ready to claw us to death . . . she was quickly released. My daughter also resigned at this point. The second cat squirmed and wiggled and ran away. (He also hid and wouldn't come near me for the rest of the night . . . even with the bribe of cat treats.)





The third time was the charm . . . and of course with the I'm-so-ugly-I'm-cute-runny-eyes cat. Probably because she is the oldest and just can't be bothered to run away. 

I know . . . it's blurry. But I was lucky to get even a blurry shot!!











So now I am looking at this book in a whole new light. I think the photographer is a genius. How did he get them to sit still, put these hats on them, get them to keep the hats on, AND take a picture . . . that is not blurry?!

At the very least he is a cat whisperer.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

Whispering Mittens

In my quest for the perfect mitten pattern, I came across The Mitten Book by Inger Gottfridsson. The book contains patterns that were first preserved and published by Hermanna Stengard  in 1925. Before I even looked through the book I decided I loved it . . . just based on the quote by Stengard in the front of the book.

click here to place a hold

"How would it look, do you think, if everyone, old and young, would sit down together and knit for awhile? Laughter and merriment and riddles and questions and folktales and anecdotes from each person's life would blend together in the stitches. Then later, when you recalled these events that have gone through your own fingers stitch by stitch, they would speak their own quiet language: Do you remember? Do you remember?"

It just struck such a chord with me. Haven't you done that? Knitted something and then whenever you wore it . . . you remembered where you were in your life at that time. 


I have my first two-color Norwegian sweater sitting forlornly in my cedar chest. I never wear it anymore, but I can't bear to part with it. I made it when my kids were just toddlers - sneaking literally a row, or maybe two, each night after they were asleep. Then there's the green scarf from a skein of yarn I found one weekend when my husband and I went away . . . the shawl I made went I went through chemo treatments . . . the scarf I made from a kit that I purchased when I went to my first Stitches East Convention . . . the mohair coat my mother made from yarn she purchased on one of her past yearly visits to my aunt in Maryland. It goes on. So many knitted pieces gently whispering "Do you remember? Do you remember?" when I open my closet door.

Go ahead, look through the book. Imagine knitting a pattern that was also worked about 200 years ago by another knitter across the world. The patterns may be more work than you care to put into a pair of mittens . . . or maybe not. You could thread a little love into your skein of wool . . . knit them up . . . then cherish them for being a reminder of how fortunate you are today . . . right now . . . in this quickly changing world. 

I think Hermanna may be on to something.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber. 

Cold Hands, Warm Heart . . . or Time For Mittens?

As soon as the weather turns chilly . . . out come my driving gloves. I keep them in my pocketbook so that I never-leave-home-without-them. Unless of course I leave one at a restaurant, or the counter at the butchers . . . both of which have happened. Although they keep my fingers from touching the cold steering wheel in my car, and they look nice . . . let's face it . . . they don't keep your hands toasty warm.

For toasty warm, you need mittens. Doesn't just thinking about mittens warm you up? Maybe it's the nostalgia from my childhood. I can remember playing outside in the snow until my mittens (hand-knit by my mother of course), were soaking wet and had little tiny snowballs stuck to them. Then it was time to come in and put the mittens on the radiator to dry. (I'm sure that's a fire code violation now!!) 

Or maybe it's remembering the days when my kids were little and in snowsuits. Their mittens were always attached to each other with a ribbon long enough to go through the arms of their jackets. Then when they off, they couldn't get left behind.


So what do you think? Shouldn't we knit some mittens? We don't have to do complicated Norwegian ones . . . although they are awfully pretty. We can start with just a basic mitten. We'll knit them with wool . . . and with love.


Check out Marcia Lewandowski's Folk Mittens.  It's a great book with techniques for different types of thumbs, cuffs and decreases. There's patterns for two-color mittens, mittens with a glove inside and yes . . . the plain mitten from your childhood.




click here to place a hold


Go ahead. Check it out. Knit some mittens. You'll create a little warmth in your heart. I bet when you wear them, you'll feel like a kid again.


Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

Just in case you are in between projects and you think you might like to 'read a magazine', check this one out. . . there are some cute neck warmers, scarves and hats. There is also a tank top . . . but since it is knit in lace weight yarn with a yardage of 1250 . . . I'm not sure if I would consider it a 'one skein' project.

You be the judge. Check it out.











click here to place a hold









Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library Shelves

I have found the saying, "Too Many Books, Too Little Time" to be my motto lately. Patrons are checking out books asking me, "Have you read this?"  . . . my co-workers are having book discussions and I have to cover my ears from hearing spoilers. Then I remember . . . oh that's right . . . I spent the summer reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

I was hooked on the first book and proceeded to plow through the rest, spending my summer in the Highlands dreaming of kilts, whiskey, natural medicine and of course, Jamie. Then when I discovered there would be a Starz TV series, along with the release of book #8 (Written in My Own Heart's Blood), I made it a mission to read them all.  

What do you think, some type
of a homespun yarn?

The TV series quickly hooked me in too. At first I just wanted to see the characters come to life, but then I started to pay closer attention to what they were wearing. Sure, there is plaid galore, great leather boots, and beautiful woolen gowns . . . but who is doing all the knitting?! Mrs. Fitzgibbons wears wrist warmers that go to her elbows and I swear I saw boot cuffs on Dougal. Claire is going to make shawls the fashion piece for winter and her cowl has every knitter out looking for size 50 needles! 

Doesn't it make you want to run to the
 yarn store for tweed yarn?

What do you think, is that a
felted shawl on Geillis Duncan?

I can't wait for Saturday night so I can see what other knitted items appear. But come on . . . let's have the pattern book! There are currently 4 different Outlander groups on Ravelry and I can only guess how many people have been googling 'Outlander knitting' . . . I know I have!! Clearly the demand is there!!

I'm going to make my cowl in black.







If you haven't read Outlander . . . well I'm not sure what you are waiting for.



click here to place a hold






Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

The Pompom . . . more than just a hat topping

How often have you knitted the perfect hat and then had the quandary of what to put on the top? Do you make a tassel? Go for a creation of loops made from icord? Or the traditional pompom? 

I will confess to you here and now . . . my pompoms never look that great. I can't explain why . . . it's just the way it is. So when I was shelving the new books and saw Make Your Own Cute and Easy Pompoms, I quickly took it off the shelf. After a quick browsing I decided to take it home. 

Take a look. You might never make pompom nesting dolls or toys for your dog (I would be afraid that Fido would eat them!), but I promise you'll think about pompoms differently. 

Go ahead  . . . check it out . . . think outside the box and let your creativity flow. Just looking through it makes me want to knit a hat so I can have the most original pompom ever created on top. 

My favorite is the apples . . . let me know what yours is.

 click here to place a hold

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

Click here to place a hold

Have you sometimes wanted to take a knitting class but for some reason didn't? Maybe you have young children at home and no sitter, there isn't a yarn store close enough, you work at night or you work all day and you're just too tired to leave the house after dinner?

Well now you can take one (for free!) and have a glass of wine while you do it. (Can it possibly get any better? I think not!)

Margaret Fisher is a Master Knitter and teacher. She developed a class based on some common questions her students had. From the class came the book - and the book is your chance to take her class in your living room (or out on your deck if it's nice out.) 

Seven Things That Can Make or Break a Sweater. . . It will teach you just what it says - 7 things.

1. Tips for your cast-on edge
2. How to increase in your ribbing and where to place the increases
3. Which decreases will slant which way and which ones to use where (that's a
    lot of 'whiches'!)
4. Which increases will slant which way and which ones to use where (OMG, 
    even more!!)
5. Blocking (you are blocking  . . . aren't you??)
6. How to pick up stitches for a band or edge
7. Where to place buttonholes and how to make them

That's it. Just those 7 things. But wow!! If you aren't doing those 7 things half-way decent . . . well, let's not go there. 

I had the library purchase it for the collection, then when I took it home and read it, I purchased it for mine. It's really that good. Go ahead, check it out and take the class. You'll be glad you did.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

I was working in the non-fiction area the other day and of course when I go by 746.43 my progress slows down. I have to take a look and see what is on the shelf. (What if somehow there was a knitting book there that I had not seen yet?!) 

As I was looking I noticed Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman. Anyone who has been knitting for awhile has at least heard of Elizabeth. She is renowned for revolutionizing the knitting world. In an era where knitting with flat needles was the norm, 'EZ' encouraged not only knitting in the round but also creating your own pattern using a basic percentage system.

The book just seemed so unassuming. There it was in paperback form with its dated cover, black and white photos, and even the sweaters seemed to be dated. 

Click here to place a hold

But then I started to read it. Really read it. Talk about a hidden jewel! The book is filled with practical instructions and tips - all presented in a way that makes you feel Elizabeth is sitting on the couch with you. (She would have been one heck of a blogger!)

Check it out. It's really worth the read. No matter how experienced a knitter you are - I bet you'll learn something. Read it for her stories and quotes.

"Knitting can be solace, inspiration, adventure. It is manual and mental therapy. It keeps us warm, as well as those we like and love. It has existed almost as long as the soft sheep, and in giving us wool they deprive themselves of no more than an uncomfortably warm fur coat in the heat of the summer."

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

Pretty cool, huh?!
You can keep this wonderful
 box of tools for 28 days!

Okay, imagine this. A box filled with colorful double-pointed needles (sizes 4-8), a circular needle set (sizes 4-11), a crochet hook to use if you drop a stitch, a Chibi needle to seam up your project, stitch markers, 2 reference books and a DVD of Elizabeth Zimmerman. Can it get any better? Well sure . . . let's make the box free!!


The library has a variety of 'toolboxes' available for circulation. Everything you need in one box to learn a skill. Have you ever wanted to play the Ukele, 
create polymer jewelry, bird watch or meditate? Check out a toolbox and you'll have everything you need to decide if you are ready to start a new hobby!

So, can you imagine how excited I was when I was asked to help create a knitting toolbox! Off I went to the yarn store to pick out needles. Next was the search for a good reference book and a DVD. 

If you are a beginner and you just don't have all the needles you need for your project yet, check the kit out. And if you are an experienced knitter, well check it out just to watch the Knitting Workshop with Elizabeth Zimmerman DVD and to read through the Reader's Digest Knitter's Handbook.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves . . . the Digital Shelves!

One of my 2013 New Year's Resolutions was to organize my patterns. What a mess I had . . . booklets, photocopies and pages ripped from the many knitting magazines I had . . . all in a pile. But I did it. I found huge loose-leaf binders and put each pattern in it's own page protector and then filed them away. All the scarf and shawls together, all the men's together,  the children's, women's cardigans and pullovers - each with their own spot to live in my bookcase. Very neat, very organized, very - hey, these-take-up-a-lot-of-room!

But I know if I go through and throw some of them out . . . well you know too. Someone is going to ask me for it or I am going to suddenly want to knit it. Looking at the binders does make me happy that I am now living in the 'digital age'. Reading, and being able to keep, a magazine on my iPad has kept my loose-leaf binder collection from taking over my den. I can keep as many as I want, all accessible at a finger tip. 

To make it even better . . . I can import the pattern from the magazine into an app on my iPad and knit it from there. Directions, graphs, I can make notes . . . all with no paper involved. I use KnitCompanion. Can it get any easier?

  
Well, maybe not easier, but it gets better! Knitting magazines for free! If your library has Zinio available (and of course Duxbury Free Library does!!), you have at your finger tips, access to magazines right there from your comfortable rocking chair while you sip a glass of wine. If you want, stay in your jammies. Interweave Knits and Knitter's Magazine are both available. 

 



 
Click here to get started. 


Go ahead, try it. If you need help give the library a call - you don't even have to tell us if you are in your jammies.


Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves . . .

Come in and browse through them.
If it's cold, we'll light the fire for you!

Tucked in a corner of the library right next to the circulation desk, is a book case filled with hand-picked favorites of the staff.  (Hence the catchy and original name of the collection, "Staff Favorites".) 

We put the name of whoever recommended the book on the spine so that if you read it and enjoy it, you can choose other titles selected by that person. It's a great place to find some hidden jewels. 

Of all the titles I have recommended, one of my favorites is an unobtrusive little book (4 1/2"x 6 1/2' to be exact!), called Things I Learned From Knitting  . . . Whether I Wanted to or Not by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It's on my Kindle. If you have never read any of her work, start with this book. She lists 45 things knitting has taught her. You'll read them and chuckle, smile and think "Oh, me too". I'll say no more - other than "check it out". 

Click here to place a hold

Stephanie also writes a blog under the name Yarn Harlot. Try reading it (after you read mine of course!!)

Until the next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

Did I get you interested in yarn bombing? Are you thinking of all the places you could leave a little 'piece of art'? Go ahead, find some acrylic yarn and create a little something to make someone smile. 

 
If you need some ideas, check out this book from our collection. I'm sure you'll be inspired.

I'll be on the look-out. If I see your knitted creation, I'll add to it. Hmm . . . maybe we can start something big!


 click here to place a hold







Until next time , keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

I was lucky enough to be at the desk the other day when Suzanne was checking in new magazines. She smiled and announced, "The new Vogue Knitting is in!" I raised my eyebrows and said "Ooh." Then I patiently waited for my lunch break so I could look through it. (Okay, that's I lie. I seldom wait patiently for anything. Especially lunch).

I love having the new issue of a knitting magazine in my hands. I take a few minutes and just look at the cover and let my mind wonder what treats will be inside. Then I have 'that decision' to make. Will I start at the beginning and go through it page by page? Read each article as I come to it? Or should I do a quick flip through, check out the pictures and then read it in no particular order.

                       click here to place a hold on the Holiday Issue of Vogue.

Of course I couldn't wait (didn't I mention my lack of patience?). I did the quick flip through and immediately stopped on page 46 when I saw a photo of Ann Hood. . . . and a photo of her latest book. What a lunch break I was having. 

Ann has edited an anthology of essays from writers describing what knitting means to them. If you would like a sneak preview, read the essay by Ann Patchett. It's reprinted in Vogue. (I brought it back from my lunch break, so it's there at the library waiting for you). It left me hungry for more. But I will have to wait, (not patiently), until November 11th when it's released.


click here to place a hold on Knitting Yarns


But wait, it gets better. Here's the exciting part . . . and I'm going to tell you first. Ann Hood is coming to the library on December 1st. Mark your calendar. Registration will be two weeks before, but don't worry. . . I'll remind you when it's time. You won't want to miss it. I know I don't.

Next decision, should I put it on my Kindle or do I want the physical book?

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

I bet I know what you did last week. You became so enthused with our sock knit-a-long that you went to your local yarn store (LYS) to buy some sock yarn. But when you went in, you became overwhelmed with the choices. There was self-striping and self-patterning, variegated and colors you didn't know existed. There was bamboo, wool-nylon blends, silk blends, and even cashmere tempting you. Don't worry, you need only to confess to yourself that you bought too much. 

But wait. Did you buy too much? Perhaps not. Just because the label says 'sock yarn' doesn't mean you have to knit socks with it. You can knit other things with sock 
yarn. . . it is your yarn after all!

If you're not sure what to make, check out this book from the library. It will give you ideas for projects that use just one skein, or two or more skeins. There is a great explanation about what sock yarn really is along with how to deal with color repeats and pooling. I'm not sure which pattern I like the best . . . either the Fortunate Cowl or the Hodgepodge Wristers. (Although my mother has such a stash of left-over yarn I am also thinking about the Lizalu Blanket). 

click here to place a hold

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

Have you been admiring your sock? Well you should be!!

It's very easy to get bitten by the sock-knitting bug. Soon you will find yourself wondering how you could have lived without hand-knit lace socks or wildly-funky colored socks. Once you get started using self-striping yarn there may be no turning back. Why would you let that special man in your life wear socks without mock cables or yes, even argyle socks? 

If you are hooked, here's another book to check out of the library. This is another one you will want to have in your own collection. It begins with a history of hand-knit socks and then goes into construction detail for both toe-up and top-down socks. There is a
 great chart that  provides all the numbers you need to
 knit socks from a  baby to an adult XL . . . and in
3 different weights of yarn no less!
 

When you are ready to start designing your

socks there are guidelines and suggested stitches to

use. Patterns are also included if you would rather follow directions than write them!

click here to place a hold

I confess . . . this is my favorite sock book so far. Check it out from the library and let me know what you think.



Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

Have you ever been sitting in your favorite chair at home, happily knitting away and suddenly you are stumped by a technique or a term? I bet you wished you had your own personal knitting instructor sitting next to you.  Well, here's your chance.

A Knitting Glossary  puts Elizabeth Zimmerman and Meg Swansen in your living room giving you a private knitting lesson. Watch the whole video or jump around to a specific technique. Either way, you can't go wrong. Go ahead, go check it out of the library.

click here to place a hold

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.

From the Library's Shelves

I thought I would give one last suggestion about holiday knitting. (I am worried that with back-to-school, work, and all those other things - called 'life' - that keep you busy . . . well I'm worried that you'll do it 'later').

In case you need a little prompting, the library has a lot of books for you to get your inspiration from. Here's one in particular . . . .

left click here to place a hold


Lots of quick and easy ideas. The book is broken into 'time' chapters - less than 2 hours, 2-4 hours, 4-6 hours . . .and so on. Projects range from baby booties, wrist warmers, cute toys and some sweaters.

But just because the title says Last-Minute . . . don't wait until the last minute.

Until next time, keep your nose in a book or your fingers in fiber.