Demonic Progress

Victoria, and Two New Books

Hi!

Let’s see... what’s new here....

For one thing, Victoria, whom many of you know as my dear friend and the yarn shop manager here at Unique One, has moved on to a far better position at Maine Sport, another fabulous Camden/Rockport store which you must visit if you get to the area. Victoria has more of an office job there, which will be a fun change for her! She is still running my knitting group that meets here at Unique One on Thursday nights, so I will still get to see her regularly! (You can read about my weekly evening knitting adventures that are open to the public HERE.) I wish Victoria great luck and much success in her new job! I know she reads my blog, so if any of YOU would like to wish her well, please do so in the comments :)

Today is a pretty quiet day at Unique One.... I did get a couple new books to share with you, though. I am on an auto-ship program from Martingale books, so they send me a couple copies of whatever new fiber book comes out. Let me tell you what came today :)

The first one is “A to Z of Crochet: The Ultimate Guide for the Beginner to Advanced Crocheter”, Sue Gardner, editor. I am always wary of how-to books for anything that says that they are good for anyone, beginner to advanced. Especially when it is only 160 pages. But I took a look anyway. I consider myself a pretty intermediate crocheter; I get the idea of how to do a lot of stuff, but I don’t actually crochet that much. It makes sense to me though.

I actually like this hardcover book. For one thing, it is spiral bound, so it lies flat, a very important feature for a how-to book. It is divided into logical sections, too... the first section (35 pages) is general information about yarn and the basics of how to crochet, how to do basic stitches, how to increase and decrease... the photographs are *very* clear, the written directions are good, there are sidebars/inserts of Hints that are actually very helpful, and sprinkled throughout are darling little images from the 1920’s or so that are very pretty. The pages have a very eye-catching look, without being flashy, trendy, or cluttered. The first section is pretty much for beginners. The second section, 27 pages, is a series of different crochet stitches ... this part is interesting to more advanced crocheters as well as beginners. In this section the stitches are shown step by step via pictures as well as in written directions. The third section (55 pages) is more stitches and techniques, and these are more advanced. It includes stuff like crocheting with beads, entrelac crochet, Irish crochet, and tubular crochet. I have never even heard of most of the stuff in this section, which just makes me want to have the book even more. Again, all is explained via great photos and written directions. The fourth section is called Added Touches (27) pages, and has good-to-know stuff like buttonholes, edgings, corkscrews, and flowers. Some of this was familiar to me, and some not. Again, pictures and words, very good. The last section is called, appropriately, Finishing (16 pages) and has things like more edgings (less decorative, more for finishing), blocking, and various seaming techniques. Pictures & words, good. And finally, there is a very helpful index! I think it is a great book, and even though it is $28.95, it is a wonderful reference for most crocheters or crochet-wannabe-ers. I have two in stock, stop by or call if you’re interested!

The second book that came today is probably gonna be gone out the door by the time you even read this... it is called Kitty Knits: Projects for Cats and Their People, by Donna Druchunas, whose name should be familiar to avid knitters..... she has contributed articles to nearly every knitting magazine known to man and is also a great knitting designer! I am pleased to find her name on this book.

This lovely 80-page paperback is organized into three sections of projects: Projects for Cats (cats, of course, comes first!) -- 7 projects, including catnip mice and other toys, and beds.... ; Projects for People -- 8 lovely garments: sweaters, slippers, hats, scarves, socks, all with cat motifs of different sorts knit into them. Some have multi-color motifs, some are lace or textured stitches that are cat-related... all are beautiful (my favorite to look at are the Felted Furry Kitty-Cat Slippers, just adorable and funny; and the last section is Projects for the Home, five fun projects, including a bag and a pillow and a lovely baby blanket. The book ends with Techniques, Abbreviations, Resources, and About the Author. This book will appeal to cat lovers not only for the great projects they can knit, but because it is jam-packed with fabulous cat photos! I love to look at cats. However, there are many shots of one kitty model who looks disturbingly like my Evil Kitty Nora, a.k.a. Jungle Girl, a.k.a. The Bad Cat. But I was able to move beyond that and love this book anyway, and I do actually love Nora. Most of the time :)

I have two of the Kitty Knits books in stock right at the moment but who knows how long they will last... at only $19.95, this book is bound to be gone quickly.

Okay, back to work. I have to clean the office a little and I am supposed to be knitting a sweater, too. No rest for the wicked!

Cats, a.k.a. "Devil's Spawn"

The annual vet visit. Just the words strike dismay into my heart.

We have 3 cats, and the two siblings go to the same vet. (I got Grace when Brenda died; Grace was her cat, and had an established vet history elsewhere.) In the past the two kittens fit into a single carrier. I bought a second carrier for Nora this year, a nice soft comfy one made out of fabric that zips shut.

She tore through that thing like it was tissue paper before I had gone half a mile. But since she seemed settled on the back seat, I kept going.

Nicky, in the old carrier, was calm and seemingly serene about the whole thing. So on we rode, a half hour drive to the vet, with a good bit of otherworldly caterwauling from the back seat by a furry demon who lay flattened out, all four legs splayed, wild eyed and with mouth open, panting desperately.

On her way to the back seat, Nora had left a trail of liquid droplets between the front floor and the back. I few sniffs later, I was assured they were not drool, but some other liquid. And for only a few drops, they certainly held a powerful aroma. A couple of miles later, another odor filled the compartment. Nora had moved to the other side of the car, and the vacated seat held its little prize of kitty poop. How endearing. Daddy's little angel, indeed. I couldn't really stop right then, so I just pressed on to the vet and cleaned the mess up before going inside. I had managed to squish Nora back into the cloth case where she stayed quietly enough now that the car had stopped moving.

We got inside and Nora had her checkup. She is disgustingly healthy. Then we pulled Nicky out of his carrier, a nice hard plastic one. Roomy. Did you know, this carrier can hold not only one large, long-haired, 11.1 pound cat, but also about 12 gallons of cat pee? Mm-Hmmm. And did you further know, that a cat's long hair is more absorbent than the Ultra-Best-Bounty paper towels? Uh-huh. The vet and I toweled him off as best we could, and they washed and dried his carrier, but Nicky himself smelled quite heavenly all the way home. He is also, however, disgustingly healthy. They are both outside at the moment, and I'm thinking, good. Stay there.

Knitting news: I've been pretty busy and haven't had time to knit anything for about a week, but I did block the second Kaleidoscope square. The third square is blocking right now, so I'll pull the whole thing together soon.

We got a great new yarn called Renaissance, from Classic Elite. It's simply a basic worsted weight 100% wool, excellent for arans and texture, and comes in pretty colors. I am working up an aran sweater for the knitting cruise. I also am in the early stages of designing a hat & mitten/glove set incorporating a braided cable and an anchor motif, also for the knitting cruise, probably knit from guernsey wool, which I love.

Book news: just finished reading Harry Potter (short review in my Books list on the right). I also am reading a book that Lynne from my knitting group lent me: "Sadie Shapiro's Knitting Book" by Robert Kimmel Smith. I love it! It's a novel about an "old lady" who publishes a book of knitting patterns; as she becomes more popular and famous, she changes the lives of those who meet her. An entirely wonderful read! Ididn't put it in the Book List on the right because it isn't in print anymore; it was printed in the 1970's, so Amazon doesn't have much info on it. I wish it would be reissued. It's a hoot. If you ever run across a copy of it in a used book store or at a yard sale, definitely pick it up, it's worth reading!

Got books?

I have been making a little time lately to do some reading: Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class. It's a great discussion of the major change society is currently going through socially and economically, a change as great as the movement from an agrarian society to an industrial society. Creativity is quickly becoming the most lusted-after trait in the American worker today, and managing creative people is both wonderful and challenging. I'm getting a lot of pointers that I think will help me keep good workers at the store, and it also explains a lot of why I feel the way I do about what I do for work.  Motivation is less monetary and more intellectual stimulation; flexibility of working hours is vital;  place, the location of where people want to work and live, is important; comfort and little perks are important to creative people. Like buying coffee for everyone a couple times a day -- it costs me little but makes them know I appreciate and value them. And who doesn't like a free cuppa, anyway?

Knitting: an entrelac lace stole from Blackberry Ridge. Fun to knit and impressive to look at. Socks, plain knit with fancy yarn from Schaefer. One more seam to sew on Hanne Falkenberg's Pagode. The Helen's Lace garter stitch pie-wedge shawl. And all the other stuff never finished from January: the earflap hat,  the fair isle gloves, the purple gansey in Jo Sharp dk tweed, the baby blanket, the crocheted spiral-medallion shawl, the yellow cardigan from Interweave Knits a year or two ago. Then there's all the stuff not even started, some not even designed yet, that needs to be done by some future deadline: the Christmas stocking, the spiral-cable hat, the Cestari cotton-wool pullover. Well, we will see what gets done and what doesn't.