Barefoot Shepherdess

Monogram Sampler

Our local public library system is a real gem.  They have an extensive collection of both old and new materials in the public area and also an archives-- which I'm starting to think is limitless-- that houses their less frequently borrowed books.  In addition, they have a system of interlibrary loans that encompasses a handful of smaller branches as well as a few other library networks in the region.  As a result, I've hardly encountered a book I've wanted that I couldn't find.

The best part for me, of course, is that they have a really solid craft book selection with new publications being added all the time.  On a recent visit, I happened upon this--

Inital & Monogram, ISBN: 9784579110346

It's a book of antique monograms, full of vintage examples as well as a handful of patterns, techniques & ideas.  Up until now, my impression of monograms was mainly just plain, satin stitch cursive letters, but this book changed that image altogether.

The book was complied by Yuki Pallis, who curates her own collection of 17-20th century European embroidery & handcraft pieces in her personal museum and runs an antique shop carrying goods from the same period.  If I ever find myself in Kyoto, I know it will be on my must-stop list!  For details, check out her website: http://www.yuki-pallis.com/index.html

In the meantime, I'll have to content myself with what she includes in the book.  Like these lovely examples above...

Or this-- I really like the use of the dots...

And that can really get elaborate, like this!

But what really caught my interest was this--

I hadn't seen this particular stitch in any book yet-- or maybe I just never noticed it before.  The author called it 'corn stitch.'  I really like the dimension it adds to the otherwise simple letter-- the resulting effect is so elegant!  My attempt at it looks like this--

I wish I had chosen a longer stretch to make the 'kernels', though neither 'y' nor 's' really offer a long, straight stretch.  But I really do like the stitch, so I'm already trying to think of designs that would incorporate this...

More letters to come!

Sampling :: Canvas Work

It's been an awfully cold winter here in Japan this year.  There's been record snowfall on the western half of Japan-- two or three times as much as usual!-- and while we haven't had any of that, it's just been really, very cold.  In the mornings, I can even see my breath in the bedroom often times!

On days like this, what better way to stay warm than cuddling up in a cozy blanket with the current issue of my favorite embroidery magazine?

Stitch Idées, No.14

Though I suppose current may be a bit misleading, as it actually came out in October.  It's a biannual magazine, so I didn't feel a particular rush in ordering a copy until now.  But what finally motivated me to get it was that this issue features canvaswork, which was the focus of our second embroidery class.

This time, the assignment was this small motif composed of leaf stitch, using three colors and accents with silver thread.  Up until now, I've always had an image of canvaswork as a grandmotherly form of needlework-- bright-colored-acrylic-yarns-on-plastic-canvas sort of thing-- but after seeing various samples and trying it out myself, I realized there was so much more that can be done with it.  And as with cross stitch, there's something soothing about methodically counting and stitching to a set pattern.  Which, of course, makes it very addicting.

This piece was to be a part of a measuring tape cover, surrounded by pink silk taffeta, but in looking at the finished sample, I didn't think it showed off the embroidery very well as it appeared to be almost buried in the taffeta.  So I decided to turn it into a needlebook cover--

I still have to get the rest of the materials to complete it, but I do like the way this looks much better.  I'm looking forward to getting this finished!

The magazine offers cute ideas & patterns for canvaswork--

There's also an introduction to a Japanese counted stitch embroidery method called kogin-zashi (こぎん刺し) that looks simple & stylish--

Some of these designs are reminicent of Fair Isle or Scandinavian knitting motifs or traditional cross stitch motifs.  But these are classic patterns for kogin-zashi too, the floral one representing a plum blossom--

And on page 108--

I made it into the reader's gallery again!  This time, it was my secret garden embroidery composition.  I'm really happy about it.

Now off to search for some nice evenweave fabric...  Do you have any favorites or recommendations?

Before I Knew It...

...the holidays were over and the new year had arrived.  Somehow, I didn't feel like crafting so much during that time-- nor did I, from the looks of it, feel like blogging either.  But I did find myself relaxing with a favorite pastime--

In the hectic routine of everyday life, I had fallen out of the habit of reading and sadly, forgotten how much I enjoy it.  But I knew I was missing something...  When the holidays came around, all I wanted were a few good books and the time to read them.  Spending an evening reading is a luxury I usually don't have time for, so it felt like a lovely indulgence.  With life back to normal, I'm having a hard time setting it aside again, though now I'm determined to make a little time for it every day.

There was some knitting in there too, just for a bit of variety.  And a nice cup of hot cocoa.  What better way to start off the new year?

~  Happy 2011!  ~

Sunday *

Morning at the library...

books on making your own stationary goods, creating cute paper cutouts and natural dyeing

And a cozy afternoon in...

store-bought English tea-flavored madeleine & homemade honey/lemon/ginger drink

Inspiring the mind & filling the belly.  Not a bad way to spend a grey Sunday.

*****

Recipe :: Honey/lemon/ginger drink

1 cup (200cc) water

2 TBS honey

4-5 thin slices, ginger

4 thin slices, lemon

Combine water and honey in a small pot.  Bring to boil.  Turn off heat and add ginger & lemon.  Let steep with lid on for about 5 minutes.  Remove ginger & lemon slices and pour into cup.  You can reserve a slice of lemon to float on top too.  Makes 1 cup.

Note: All the amounts can be adjusted to suit your taste.  I usually add a little more water or reduce the honey a bit.

One More Thing

Another knitting goal I have for this year: more baby knits.  I had tired of knitting them a little while back, but that all changed when I received this charming book for Christmas:

It's La Droguerie's new baby book, which contains a selection of designs from their two previous baby knits books.  Besides the sweet designs, the great part of this book for me is that it is written in English, their first.  With simple, but cute designs like these, how can I not want to get started right away?

The ones above are those I like best.  I would have started on the one with the cable accent already, if not for the pricey yarn.  The pattern calls for their 100% cashmere yarn, but I think something more economical would be more enticing...  The gauge for the project is what I consider a hefty 19st/26rows over 10cm/10cm.  It's not a gauge I normally work with, so I'm not very familiar with yarns of that thickness-- if you have any suggestions/ recommendations, please let me know!

Happy 2008!

An auspicious start to our new year-- a beautiful view of Mount Fuji from the top of our apartment building

So what's my plan for the coming year?  Simply put, more knitting!  With Alex turning one in a little over a month, I'm hoping that baby care will become a little less demanding and allow me to regain some knitting time.  Wishful thinking?  Maybe.  But it's good to dream, I think!

And what am I dreaming about?  Why lace, of course!  Especially this lace.  But for now, I'm happily knitting along on the Diamond Fantasy Shawl:

The pattern calls for six repeats for the scarf size and ten for the shawl size.  I'm aiming for something in between, mainly so I can use as much of this beautiful yarn--Zen String Bellissima-- as possible.  The photo may not have captured it so well, but the color is hand-dyed in subtle gradations of blue, which creates a lovely, dappled effect.

Here's what else is on my mind:

Top row: Toshiyuki Shimada's new book, Vintage Knitting in Tradition, ISBN:9784529044578
Middle row: Jamieson & Smith shade card; Rauma Finullgarn shade card
Bottom row: Rauma's Selbustrikk; Terri Shea's Selbuvotter, ISBN:0979312604

Colorwork.  But it's so hard to make up my mind on where to start, with so many stunning colors and beautiful designs.  These are only a few of the many yarns and patterns I've been admiring lately.  Oh, decisions, decisions!

Hope your new year is off to a great start and full of knitting plans!

Flirting

I really ought to be blocking my completed shawls.  Or working on baby knits.  Or the Ruffles Scarf that I started about a week ago.  But I've been somewhat uninspired on the knitting front lately.  So what am I doing instead?  Flirting with the notion of other crafts.

While browsing craft books online, I happened upon these two cute books:

(left) ISBN 452903559X
(right) ISBN 4277430333

They're both about making toys for kids and toddlers using fabric and felt.  Here's a peek at the inside; the top two photos are from book on the left, and the bottom two are from the one on the right.

The books contain directions for making cloth books, games of tic-tac-toe and memory, combination blocks, and all sorts of other fun learning toys.  These projects will give me the opportunity to try working with felt, which I've wanted to do for some time now and at the same time create some nice little toys as a result.

I also got a book explaining the basics of embroidery:

ISBN 4529021009

This is a great how-to book for learning some basic embroidery stitches.  There’s a section on European embroidery, bead embroidery, applique, cross-stitch, and even smocking.  The instructions are in the form of clear, step-by-step illustrations with examples of how these stitches can be used.

And because the basics are never enough, I also purchased a magazine on the same subject, for inspiration:

ISBN 4529041808

It's an older issue of Stitch Idées, an embroidery magazine that comes out twice a year.  I've always admired the projects in this magazine, but didn't know whether I wanted to pick up another new craft.  I still don't, but at least I have this now for when I would want to start.  After all, who can resist these cute projects?

Honestly, I don’t see myself getting to these crafts anytime soon, but it’s always nice to plan and dream, don’t you think?

What Better Way

...to start off the year than with a FO?

In the quiet days following the New Year celebrations, I managed to finish the Fire and Flames Shawl (aka Frost and Ice Shawl).  It was another fun knit from Heirloom Knitting using the gorgeous Rowan Kidsilk Haze yarn.  This particular design did surprise me by the amount of yarn it suddenly gobbled up at the end; in the below photo, you can see where I attached the final ball of yarn:

Just a couple of inches from the top!  And this is how much yarn I have left over:

It's not so little that I started sweating about it, but it was close enough to make me wonder if I would have had enough yarn had I used the given needle size instead of two sizes smaller.  If you decide to tackle this design, it might be worth getting an extra ball, just to be on the safe side.

Speaking of the yarn: I've always been a great fan of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. I've used it for a handful of projects in the past and have been quite pleased with the result each time.  In fact, I still have some sitting in my stash for future projects.  So imagine my surprise when I found that the color I used for this shawl came off onto my comforter that I had over my lap when I was knitting!  This has never happened to me in the past with KSH-- it was both unexpected and disappointing.  Has anyone else experienced this before with KSH?  It does make me wonder if the quality of the yarn has gone down in the recent years.  If I remember correctly, this color (#579, Splendour) first came out in Fall 2005, so it is relatively new.

On top of the color coming off, I noticed that this KSH shed A LOT.  After even a short session of knitting, I found purple fibers floating around everywhere.  When I swept the floors, the collected debris had a distinct purplish tinge, and the fibers stuck to whatever I wore when I was knitting like vecro.  A few fibers even found their way into our dinner!  Again, this hasn't been an issue with the KSH I've used in the past.  Perhaps I just had an inferior lot (for those interested, it was #629), but I'm certainly wary about purchasing more now.

Now, all this shawl needs is a nice blocking.  But how much will the color fade in the process?  And do I want the wonderful undulating surface of the shawl to be replaced by more open lacework?

Even as I was finishing up this shawl, I was already thinking about the next project.  Baby knits have been on my mind again as I received this book from B for Christmas:

Rowan Babies by Kim Hargreaves.  All of the designs are so charming, it’s hard to decide where to begin.  Maybe with this one?

Or this?

While I mull over my choices, I’m knitting the Ruffles Scarf from the book Scarf Style.  Simple, yet interesting pattern + stash yarn = guilt-free fun!  Photos soon.

Baby Knits & More

Thank you for all of your wonderful compliments for the striped baby cardigan.  It's still waiting for the right buttons, since I couldn't find any that really stood out to me when I looked for some last weekend.  Maybe this weekend, I'll have a more fruitful search!

I enjoyed making this little cardigan so much that I decided to knit another.  I purchased a subtle purple color this time to go with the natural, but I'm afraid it looks a bit drab:

With the bright natural, the color appears more grey than purple, and looks too dull for a sweet baby.  I'm now leaning towards the original pink and natural color scheme.

Regarding the baby knits book from which I got this pattern, Elizabetha asked: ...are there patterns other than sweaters in your book? Would you be so kind as to post the ISBN number?

The ISBN number for this book is 4-277-14158-7.  There are a good variety of patterns in the book, including sweaters, cardigans, vests, blankets, booties/ slippers, bonnets, and even a tummy wrap, among other things.  Here are a few more pictures of the patterns from the book:

As I mentioned before, the book is geared towards babies 0-24 months, and the patterns come in one size only.  And like many Japanese craft books, the instructions are charted for the most part, so they shouldn't be difficult to figure out.

After weeks of neglect, I also picked up the first of Rita's Stockings and worked on that a little:

I've managed to get past the heel, but have come to the realization that I've completely lost interest in this project... for the time being.  I don't know if it's the pattern or the yarn or simply the weather, but I'm just not enjoying knitting this any more.  I think I'll set this aside and start something new!

A Belated Gift

Last month, a good friend of mine gave birth to her first child, a lovely baby girl.  But being somewhat of the procrastinating type, I shamefully admit that I have yet to send her a gift.  What a bad friend I am!  Thinking that perhaps it's about time I remedied the situation, I purchased this cute book of baby patterns today:

And this particular pattern caught my attention:

This too:

And this:

All three are simple, but charming.  But as this will be the first time I knit something for another person, I'm a little nervous.  Questions such as: "Will it fit properly?" -- "Will it actually be useful?" -- "Will she like it?"  are running through my head...  Before I lose my momentum or confidence or both, I'm heading to the store to buy the yarn for one of these this weekend.  All of the patterns call for the luxurious organic, naturally-dyed cotton yarn that I've been wanting to knit with for a long time, and this will be the perfect opportunity to try it out.