Beginner Knitting

I've been thinking about the multitude of questions a beginner knitter has, everything is so new; the needle sizes, the yarn sizes and all the specialized language. Yarn over for instance, yarn over what? A needle? Another piece of yarn? Or maybe just over the hand? Just getting to the point of the physical act of knitting is an accomplishment. Then there is casting on, everyone has a preferred method, and any and all of them are fine but for a beginner they are all confusing. There are several knitting books that explain the basics but the best way is to have someone who is willing to sit down and knit beside you. My granddaughter learned at camp and I taught another granddaughter. A classroom setting is also excellent. A friend's daughter's teacher taught his class to knit. Another friend actually taught herself to knit from a book, but most people don't have the time or patience--I would hate to have to do it myself! It is so easy to become discouraged because it takes time and concentration but for most of successful knitters there is a time when they can see the result of their hard work and have that first feeling of accomplishment.

More books

I also want to read "Eden's Outcasts" by John Matteson. This is the story of Louisa May Alcott and her father. He was a social misfit, ahead of his time in some ways and sometimes just unwilling to conform. Almost all of her life, money was very scarce for Louisa May Alcott and her family. Mr. Alcott tried several careers but didn't seem to stick to any for long. After reading the reviews, I am anxious to read the book.

Another book that sounds very good is The High Road to China" by Kate Teltscher. This book takes place in the 1800s and is the story of the opening of China and Tibet. It is basically a travel book and I love travel books.

Weekend of Book Reviews

I spent a lot of time this weekend reading or watching book reviews. I love to read a blog by Rick at ricklibrarian.blogspot.com and read several good ones, namely one about a book by Bailey White and another by Roald Dahl that I want to read, he also had a link to CriticalCompendium.com which I loved. There were several books there that I want to read.

Then I watched Book Weekend on Cspan 2 and found more interesting titles. The most fascinating one, I think, will be "Half life of a Zealot" by Suwanee Hunt. Several others sound interesting so I will be reading some very good books soon.

I finished "The Orkney Scroll" by Lyn Hamilton and really enjoyed it. This is an archeological mystery series, she has a lot of historical facts in her books so they are set all over the world. This one was about the island of Orkney and its history. I have read several in this series and enjoyed all of them.

Well back to the knitting for the bazaar.

Christmas bazaar

I contacted the South Medford high school about a table for their Christmas bazaar. Last year's bazaar was cancelled and they are not sure if they will have one this year. We met last Thursday and several are working on projects for the bazaar so I will continue to look for a table in case we aren't able to have one at the church. There are several bazaars so I'm sure I will be able to get us into one IF we aren't at the church.

I am going to make felted lambs for the bazaar, they are a little more intricate but are too cute. One of the girls is making tatted crosses, tatting is too hard for me.

 

 

The new Vogue Knitting magazine is out. There are several vintage patterns in it and most of them are excellent. Vogue has very nice patterns and always has good finishing ideas. The patterns are almost always free of mistakes and well written. One of the patterns is "Enchanted Forest" by DKNY. I have knitted it twice; once as a gift and then one for me, both turned out great. It is a bulky-knit sweater with great details.

I am reading "The Goodbye Body" by Joan Hess. It is a light little read, nice for an afternoon at the pool.