Wednesday, June 27, 2012


We’re off to Strathardle today, back at the weekend or early next week. The weather forecast is pretty gloomy. I am going to move on to saag gosht with Good King Henry for the saag. (Slugs recoil from Good King Henry as do everyone else – it is the utterly ideal vegetable, except for tasting like that.) And there’s always hope of another sorrel soup. And not too late (although it soon will be) to cut rhubarb.

Today’s Puzzle of the Day at jigzone.com (a vice of mine) is knitting. I didn’t do very well.

Jared has produced a new collection – you probably know that already. The idea, a simple and brilliant one, is, let’s go on knitting with wool all summer long. You’d think he was an Englishman. Lots of lovely, loose, wearable things with all the irregular hemline I could ask for.

Comments

You embarrass me, Cat. “Knitting Socks from Around the World” – your comment, yesterday – is of course “Socken von Welt” which I bought yesterday from Amazon. My one comfort is that I don’t already own it. Amazon.co.uk suggested it, in the insidious way they have, when I was looking for something by Donna D. about Lithuanian socks.

They don’t normally, if ever, offer foreign language books, and I assumed – oh! never assume! – that it was a German work of such outstanding merit that they had made an exception. The only explanation I can think of now is that Amazon.de is stuck with too many copies.

I used to have a reading knowledge of German, and I’ve got that little book of Knitting Languages. I should manage, more or less, although for the ins-and-outs of a tricky heel I would be happier in my native tongue.

Tamar – you know everything! – I will look at Therese de Dillmont when we get back, for heels, and such few other early books as I have. It might be a subject worth pursuing in the Rutt archives. I hadn't even thought of looking in that direction.

Woolly Bits, The Sock Knitter’s Handbook (link in your comment yesterday) is very good indeed. It’s the one I’m mostly relying on, so far. Not without flaws, but good. And I agree with you about carnivorous plants (your blog). Nature is amazing.

Else, thank you for straightening me out about genus and species – not my strong suit, although that’s no excuse for not trying. And perhaps this specific example – the question of where to fit the species deodar – may help keep things clear in my mind.

And I’ll have a look at Nancy Bush again, too, when we get back. Just because she doesn’t call a technique “Lithuanian” doesn’t mean it isn’t practiced there. She is the very first entry on my electronic page of heel notes, but since then I have been swept out to sea by the sheer quantity of ideas and instructions. Why don’t I put her book into The Box and take it along to Strathardle?

And as for

Knitting

I did finish Alexander’s first sock, as hoped. And Murray won his first-round match, as easily as Federer did his, and rather more so than Nadal. 

7 comments:

  1. Ooh - thank you for the link to Wool People 3. Exciting!

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  2. The book does have some interesting socks in it! If you run into trouble with a translation do let me know and I can pass on what the English version is saying - although, as you will know, they may not be exactly the same thing.

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  3. Catdownunder beat me to it. I have the Knitting Socks From Around the World as well, so now there are two of us to help you if you get stuck with the translation. There are some very lovely socks in that book!

    I got up yesterday morning with no thought of buying a knitting pattern and ordering the yarn to knit it. Right up until I had a look at Jared's new Wool People collection.

    Enjoy your Good King Henry and the last of your rhubarb.

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  4. Oh thanks for for pointing out the new collection! Its funny, here in south Texas fewknitting patterns are light enough to make for our winter, thus I had given up on sweaters. But some of these are perfectly suited to our warm winters- I especially love the shrug. May have to make that.

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  5. Jean - I am also a JIGZONE addict. Have you tried changing the 'cut'. I love the circles one. I try to complete each one in less than 4 minutes. I am not always that fast, but at least it gives me a goal.
    Leslie in NJ

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  6. Anonymous4:16 PM

    Perhaps Amazon will allow you to exchange Socken der Welt for the English edition?
    -- Gretchen

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  7. I am puzzled as Knitting Socks from Around the world is £11.89 on Amazon UK (but much cheaper from marketplace sellers) but Socken von Welt is £14.11. Did Amazon make a mistake sending you a link?

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