I recently stopped by Frugal Muse in Madison to see if I could find any other copies of books by the Yarn Harlot and was pleased to find one. I of course needed to browse through the rest of the string section and found an inexpensive copy of "In Praise of the Needlewoman" by Gail Carolyn Sirna. Essentially it is a selection of art work spanning 1595-19something showing women playing with string in some manner or other: embroiderers, knitters, lacemakers, etc.
A brief glance through and I found a selection of paintings I always really liked and so I picked it up. And I am glad I did because there are some really wonderful images in there, many of which I have never seen before. It also has me re-assessing some of my favorite paintings. I always thought what drew me to them was the domesticity of woman working on some sort of project. It is what has always interested me about research in the SCA. I don't care at all about wars and kings and trade agreements. It is the domestic arts of history that I want to know more about, and apparently, the more they involve string the better. So, all in all I found the book a lovely bit of eye and brain candy. I have read a few blurbs but sadly I must admit that most of my perusal has been just to look at the pictures.
In other news, yesterday, I needed a bit of me time so I drove over to the Sow's Ear for some happy knitting and coffee time. String really does transcend boundaries. For some reason I can chat with strangers when my hands are full of string and needles. It is kind of a fascinating phenomenon. Anyway, while there I decided to pick up a copy of "The Complete Guide to Natural Dyeing" by Eva Lambert and Tracy Kendall. I haven't been able to afford a copy of the out-of-print "Wild Color" and this book had some similar features that I really liked. I think I also want to pick up a copy of "Teach Yourself Visually: Hand-Dyeing" by Barbara Parry to round out my background information. It had some different techniques and a different approach to teaching. Hopefully between the two I will get a good base knowledge before I start playing with dyes this summer (or at least that is the plan).
As for my knitting right now I have a ridiculous amount of stuff on my needles (at least for me). And I am starting to really branch out in the stuff I am willing to try and the things I want to make. However, I am also finding myself increasingly frustrating at my skill level with knitting. I very desperately need my pattern when it is anything other than garter or stockinette. I need to make little check marks and tallys and I need to re-write things if the original pattern isn't clear enough for me to follow. I know so many knitters who seem to be able to just knit by memory complex laces, socks, and sweaters, and I am completely unfunctional without my pattern. That isn't to say I am not learning. I am starting to recognize mistakes, I am getting better at reading my knitting, and I am even able to look at something when it is finished and understand how it could have been improved with some changes to the pattern but I certainly don't feel comfortable re-working the whole thing. I am also afraid to frog anything unless it is in the early stages. Even if I am unhappy with the results it seems horrific to me just to pull the whole thing apart.
I really want to make a sweater for myself. I have all the tools. The thing is the sweater I want to make has this sort of empire waste where above is just basic knitting and below is the lace pattern. For my basic person I think that in order for it to be flattering the lace will need to start below my breasts. The original model is a significantly more petite woman with much more perky breasts and from some of the other examples I have seen online the sweater really isn't flattering if it doesn't fall correctly. I don't know how to take my swatch piece and then from that figure out how the pattern is going to fall with the increased size so that I can make a flattering sweater from the onset and make alterations if needed. I will be heartbroken if it turns out poorly I think even though I know it is a first attempt. This is where clinging so desperately to my patterns is becoming a problem.
I will get there. I am just not very patient.
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