A Knitting Post From Home and Some New Office Stuff

Flames and Lace Stole Knitting Pattern

Home Time, Books, and New Office Stuff

I am home for this weekend and have some knitting to show you. I also have a few new things in my home office.

I drove home from Pittsburgh on Sunday . The trip was long but uneventful. The one bonus of a long drive is more audio book time. During my trips from Nashville to Kalamazoo to Pittsburgh and back to Nashville, I had many hours of listening time. I listened to Later by Stephen King, Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner, and began The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadesh.

This was my second time reading Later. I had forgotten how good it is. If you like the movie The Sixth Sense, you might like this book. Secrets of a Charmed Life is very good for fans of historical fiction set in two time periods. The main characters are two sisters separated by World War II and how that affected their lives. I am not even halfway through The Weight of Ink yet. It’s a bit historical too, but in a different way from the other one I read. It doesn’t feel as personal but it is very interesting. The main plot revolves around some manuscripts from the mid 17th century and the people that wrote them in the past versus the ones discovering them in the present. Technically it is the year 2000, so the past to us, but in modern times.

While we are on the topic of home, I want to show you that I added a few things to my home office recently. I added a few desk lamps, a filing cabinet and best of all, a comfortable desk chair. I am writing this post from here and it’s awesome! I really do feel more productive. Now, I just need to use that productive feeling to get my new knitting pattern written for that shawl I finished.

Knitting Updates

Speaking of that shawl, let’s take a look at the blocking shots and a few after blocking pictures.

I love how the pattern opens with the blocking. This stitch pattern is not hard to work because as you can see it’s pretty solid for a lace pattern. That is the reason I chose to use US 3 needles for the fingering weight Classic Merino Bamboo yarn that I used. Normally I used US 5 needles to knit lace with either of my fingering weight bases. I am happy with the body in this shawl that the tighter gauge creates.

I ended up using almost all of the 3 skeins. The shawl weighs 295g. I measured it after removing the pins. The length is about 84″ and the width about 23.5-24″. The width was more than I had planned but it’s actually a nice size for wrapping up in. I think the width is a result of how I blocked it. The edging wanted to be stretched more and therefore, I went with it rather than making the fabric stretch more lengthwise. You may also notice that I chose to accentuate the shaping of the selvedge that occurs due to the lace. Now, I just need to get the pattern written and published. I would like that to be done in time for my next show in Wisconsin next weekend.

I have one other knitting project to share before I end this post. You may recall that I started Saltarello in my Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn.

I am finding the stitch pattern easy to follow, even in the dark yarn. I do need good light to work on it but that can be true no matter the color when working lace patterns. I have gotten through the first two charts at this point. I hope it will show the design well in the booth in the dark color. Blocking will help I think. I am using US 5 needles on this shawl to help the stitch pattern open up more. See you next time.

Post From Virginia

Hi again! The Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival was great with wonderful weather and lots of attendees.

I have been enjoying a few days off while waiting for my next show set up on Friday for the Fall Fiber Festival of Virginia . I have mostly spent my time catching up on my reading and knitting, but I did go out on Tuesday to visit Luray Caverns. I had a nice time and have a few pictures, though not great ones I am afraid.

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I have been re-reading the Cormoran Strike novels before starting the newest one that was released last week; Lethal White. It’s not a genre I read often but I can’t resist anything written by J.K.Rowling. These are both interesting as far as the mystery goes, and, even better to me, they are also character driven stories. I have loved getting to know the main characters Cormoran and Robin as the series has grown. It’s what she does so well. I am almost finished with The Silkworm already.

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In knitting progress news; I have gotten to the last chart on Tendrilly which repeats 4x or 6x but I may be doing a hybrid size and repeat it 5x. If I do 4x it will leave about 3/4 of the 3rd skein but doing 6x will require a 4th skein. I am hoping to use just about 3 full skeins with my modification. I will know more as I approach that stage.

Virginiabeer

When I get a chance I like to sample local micro-brews, and this was my find here in Virginia to enjoy on my little vacation. Cheers!

Horns Book Review

HornsHorns by Joe Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the way Joe revealed the details of the characters intertwined lives like un-peeling the layers from an onion. It was a very captivating story if not a trifle odd. The ending was strange but sweet.

This was my third story of the author’s and my favorite one so far. I am looking forward to reading his collection of short stories 20th Century Ghosts. I am adding him to my short list of favorite contemporary authors. :-)

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Brookfield Zoo post coming later today or tomorrow. I just wanted to share my enthusiasm for this book. :-)

World Without End review from my Goodreads profile

World Without EndWorld Without End by Ken Follett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good story that kept my attention all the way through to the end.

While I didn’t like or even identify with all the characters, I did feel like I was sufficiently familiar with the main players to keep up with them. There were a handful of minor characters that I would get fuzzy on at times, but overall I would say they were done well enough for me to follow.

I would recommend this to anyone who liked The Pillars of the Earth and want to relive that with a slightly different cast of characters. Honestly though, the characters feel like they are rehashed from the Pillars, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As I said they are pretty well fleshed out even if sometimes a bit predicable.

The main plot lines are resolved in the end. I did feel bad about what happened to Ralph for some reason. I can’t explain why since he certainly got what he deserved. I think I would have been less bothered if Philemon had suffered a similar end.

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