Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns

This is a great book.  Anything you can imagine is here for you to incorporate into your patterns. The Table of Contents starts with Basic Stitches and ends with Jacquard Patterns.
Here's an page example.

You could make a scarf using Garter Stitch which is on page 5. This is a knit every row pattern. It is very plain.  Add this Diamonds and Cables Pattern in the middle and you could have something different than anyone else has!

Here's a great example of ingenuity. I found this blog post from Chronicles of a Yarn Obsession.

Cara used this pattern from Knitty.

She then added the Alternating Leaf Pattern on page 192 and created this beautiful sweater.

Here's another example of what you can do with this book!!  From The Sexy Knitter - The Lady Sybil Jumpsuit   She has more photos on the post.  Be sure to look at them!!  This is a really cool website too! Sarah has many patterns for sale!

This is what she says about the bodice - "I started scouring my stitch dictionaries for a lace with a vaguely art deco feel to it, and found one called "Kiwi" in the Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns (page 214). Perfect! I swatched it up and knew I had my bodice all set. I worked up a big rectangle of it and lined it with a bit of stockinette."

Here's a third project I found using a stitch from the book. This is a headband by Mari @ Wistful Plying.

                                                     Click on the link above for the directions.
Pages: 288
Published: 2000

Knit your socks on straight : a new and inventive technique with just two needles by Alice Curtis

You can look inside this book here. I liked this book so much I bought a copy last night.  Before I attempt to knit socks in the round, I need to get used to knitting with teeny tiny needles and yarn! LOL
You knit the sock flat and then crochet it closed.  Pretty cool!
Curtis has step by step instructions on sock construction. She starts with a plain sock and then builds up to some difficult patterns.  Patterns for babies, kids, women and men are here! There some really different styles to choose from!!
I am going to start with the Jelly Beans sock - page 24-5 in the book.  You can check it out on the link above.

 Garden Trellis Argyle

 Carnegie Hall

Livin' in Blue Jeans

Pages: 144

Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd

I got this book from the library because I am thinking about trying to knit socks again.  My first try was horrible.  I do not know what I did wrong.  So I thought I would look at some books before hand.

As I was reading this book I realized this was far too advanced for me.  I did not notice Master Class in the title.  BUT if you are adept at knitting socks this is the book for you. Ann Budd is a book editor and the former senior editor of Interweave Knits magazine. She is the author of a lot of books that are published by Interweave. Budd explains just about everything you want to know about knitting socks! And there is a DVD too!

The patterns in this book vary in design and style.

Pages: 183

10 Secrets of Laidback Knitters by Vicki Stiefel and Lisa Souza

I liked this book a lot. There are all different kinds of patterns using different yarns and methods. Many stories from people that make yarn. There are also tips from knitters. There are some cool things I want to make!

Click here for the pattern for Watermelon Vine Socks.

From goodreads:
10 Secrets of the LaidBack Knitters speaks to all levels of knitters who want to enhance and expand their knitting experience in joyful and substantive ways. With humor and insight, authors Vicki Stiefel and Lisa Souza illustrate how to become a laidback knitter--one who enjoys the process as much as the product. Join in and be inspired by the mix of people, patterns, and places in their knitting world; follow the steps they took; and discover the secrets that set them along this path. 10 Secretscontains a wealth of other valuable and fun information including profiles, websites and other resources the authors can't live without, information on fibers, spinning, and crochet, and much more!

Additionally, an amazing collection of twenty-seven patterns--complete with instructions and charts--fills the book with elegant shawls, chic sweaters, and colorful scarves from a spectrum of designers, all beautifully photographed in full-color.

This is a book that gives knitters permission to relax and have fun; to see that knitting can be as much about process as about the finished product, and know that the stitches they knit can express the inner joy they feel. The exciting patterns--aimed at knitters from beginners to experienced--complement the books exuberant purpose and style.

Look inside here.

Pages: 166

Check out this Blog...

I got a book from the library about embroidery (my stuff is still packed away!). I liked this book a lot.  It has some really fun things in it.

The author of the book has a website. http://littledeartracks.blogspot.com/
Aimee has some really cool stuff on this site.
She also has another book out too.  I must see if the library has a copy of it.
Do you embroider???

The Gift

Day before yesterday I read this book. It was a cute story about second chances. It was not her best work but it was an enjoyable afternoon.

This was one of the books that I ordered from Amazon France. Almost of of the books came in a few days. They were delivered by courier and not sent through the Italian poste.

I still have a few books that haven't been shipped yet.

Just finished...

this book this morning. I really liked it. It's the first Jack Reacher novel. He's a ex Army cop who is recently out of the service. He was also an Army brat (I could never figure out why children of servicemen are called brats, God knows 99% of us were not).

He stumbled into a small town in Georgia and is arrested immediately. Turns out the murdered man was his only brother. He won't let that go! He vows to figure out what is going on in this town.

I will be reading more Jack Reacher novels.

Books

Over the weekend I read a few books.
I liked this one full of intrigue and good police work.
Takes place in Manhatten. I wonder if the Ville is real.















I really love Jennifer Weiner. I liked this book except at the end. I felt it was rushed and I did not like the ending. I hope there is a sequel.

















I love Sookie. I love Sookie books. I bought this book in hardback, gasp! It was $13 at walmart.com. Since I ordered Litle P's new MP3 player I figured I have to pay shipping anyway. I am not sure how much it would cost me to order the paperback from amazon.uk next year.
The end of this book made me cry. Sookie gets caught in the fairy war. I CANNOT wait another year to find out what happens in the next book!

The Help

Last week I read this book. I really liked it.

Here's an overview from an ebook store.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women-mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends-view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

I felt that some of the attitudes in this book could be prevalent today. Of course the whites vs. black still exists but also the employer vs. employee attitudes. Or rich vs. poor... Or old vs. young...

Why must some people think they are better than others? Being raised that way is not an excuse. What do you think?

So busy..

the past few days have just flown by. Yesterday we repacked all of our boxes. Some of them have been in the garage for months and with all the rain and high humidity, they started coming apart. I took some stuff out and moved things around so that I emptied about 8-9 plastic bins. We still have things in the house that have to packed but we will probably be in the house for 2 more months.
I have been getting quotes from shipping companies. I am glad that we aren't shipping any furniture or a whole lot of stuff. It's so expensive!
We didn't get the deck finished because of rain. It had been raining almost everyday. It has been hard rains, terrible thunderstorms. Most mornings have been very foggy. Then the fog clears it gets sunny and hot for a few hours then the downpours start. Very Weird!

I got to read one book, though, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler. I really liked it. It's the sequel to Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, in which Courtney Stone gets transported into the body of a woman in teh 19th century named Jane Mansfield.
In the second book you learn about Jane being transported into Courtney's body in our time. What a shock it is for her!

Sunny day

The last few days have been gorgeous. Thank you God! Low humidity and a nice breeze. It's joyous!
I read a book by Jan Burke called The Messenger. I loved it! It is about a man that delivers the last messages for dying people. I went to the library yesterday and got a few more of her books.
I also read The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. WOW!! This is her first novel. It's great. It's about a woman, Connie Goodwin, who is grad school for her PHD. Her mom wants her to take the summer and clean out her grandmother's house. She finds the name Deliverance Dane in an old bible and starts researching who this woman was. A clue: It is involves the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. http://www.physickbook.com/ Even if you are not a reader you should pick this one up.

I have filled my ipod. It only has 1 gig of memory. I only got 128 songs. I am a little disappointed but I will get over it. I will just have to switch them around a lot! I just added some Matchbox 20 and Clapton, the Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Warren Zevon.
Any music I should check out?

Margaret Maron

I found a new author to read. I read 2 of her books over the weekend; Death's Half Acre and High Country Fall.

The protagonist is a county judge named Deborah Knott. She always seems to be involved in murder.

Here's her bibliography. http://www.margaretmaron.com/biblio.html

Working Weekend

This weekend The King finished off the painting in the living room except for the trim around the windows. i think he needs to do one more coat. So Saturday morning we had to move everything out and push the big stuff to the center. No computer all weekend!

Today we moved the sofas back in place so I hooked up the computer in another place in the room.
I read The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw. It was very good. The story was about a girl named Saaski who was a little different, pehaps a changling. This is a juvenile book but it kept my interest. It is one of the selections from Read It and Eat.
I also read The Eagle Catcher by Margaret Coel. It's another of the Father John/Vicky Holden series. The book was large print. I have a hard time reading those but it was the only copy in my library system. I need to order the next one!

Brimstone by Robert B. Parker

I read this book yesterday. As many of you know I like reading books written by Robert B. Parker.

Brimstone is the third installment in this western series, Appaloosa and Resolution are others. The main characters are Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. They are lawmen.

In this book, Virgil and Everett are searching for Allie French. a woman that they met in Appaloosa. Virgil fell in love with her. But she is trouble. They search through some towns and roll into Brimstone and get hired on as deputies. The town is getting in between two powerful men: Pike, a saloon owner and Brother Percival, a minister.

Everett spies Allie working as a prostitute in one of the town's saloons. He tells Virgil and they rescue her. But things are not fine and dandy between Allie and Virgil. This figures into the main story in this book.

The first book, Appaloosa, was made into a movie with Ed Harris as Virgil, Viggo Mortensen as Everett and Renee Zellweger as Allie. I liked the movie but did not care for Renee as Allie. She didn't seem to bring the part alive. I didn't think she was pretty enough. Maybe it is because Allie is not a likable character. If I knew her in real life I would not be friends with her.

I just finished this book.

I absolutely loved it!!! But I love everything Cecelia Ahern writes.

The story starts with Joyce Conway who just fell down the stairs at her home. She is hurt and is losing blood. Thankfully her father finds her and gets her to the hospital in time....

Justin Hitchcock is doing some guest teaching in Dublin at Trinity and meets Sarah, who talks him into giving blood. He hates needles but sucks it up hoping to get a date with Sarah.

Joyce and Justin run into each other at a hairdresser and there's a spark and some familiarity. You must read this story to find out the rest.

Cecelia Ahern has also written: P.S. I Love You and If You Could See Me Now. She also created the TV show Samatha Who?

http://www.ceceliaahern.ie/

I'm Back.....

My hard drive crashed....don't know why but it did.


A friend took my computer away and brought it back last Saturday. I haven't done much with it since. I didn't have a computer for over a month and kinda did not miss it. Is that bad!?!

I got this book from the library yesterday. It looked interesting. The author selects books and writes recipes around the stories. I have ordered several of the books she recommends like The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt by Eleanor Roosevelt and The Love Letter by Cathleen Schine. I am excited to try these books. I am always looking for books to read.

I have been continuing with the Spenser series by Robert B. Parker and the Margaret Coel series.

This week I read the new one from Lisa Scottoline, Look Again.

http://scottoline.com/Site/Books/lookagain.html When did people start making "trailers" for books? Am I way behind the times???

I really liked this book. It is about a Philadelphia reporter, Ellen Gleeson, who has an adopted son, Will. One morning she gets a flyer in the mail about missing children. One of them (Timothy) resembles her son so much that she starts to wonder if it is the same child. She adopted Will when he was a year and a half old. She starts to investigate. The lawyer that handled the adoption has killed herself. Ellen tries to find the biological mother, Amy. Her family told her that she could never get pregnant. Ellen's father and lawyer friend both tell her to let it go because she could lose her child if he turns out to be Timothy.

You must get this book to find out the ending!!

Spring Watch

Here's the pretty yellow blooms. They are baby daffodils.

Pretty, aren't they?

Yesterday we had rain - all day - April Showers!

This morning it was yucky and very foggy. Then around 10:30 am the sun started burning the fog off and now it is nice and sunny!

I picked up the first book by Alan Brennert (Molokai) this morning. I am axious to start it but I am currently reading Hotel Pastis by Peter Mayle.

Honolulu by Alan Brennert

I read this fantastic book over the weekend.

It is the story of a Korean girl named Regret who realizes that her life in Korea in 1915 holds nothing for her. She manages to get herself married off to a Korean man in Hawaii. She gets there and realizes that life in Hawaii was not going to be the golden life she hopes for. Her husband turns out to be a real creep and she escapes him and goes to Honolulu.

She changes her name and furiously works toward a new life. There are a lot of historical facts woven into this fictional story which I liked. I lived in Honolulu for awhile in 1981 and could imagine the city in the early 1900's.

Have you read any of these books?

The other day I was reading blogs and I found an interesting post over at Belated Eloquence.
There is a list of 100 books. How many have you read? I have read 56.
I never had the opportunity to go to college. And high school from the middle of 10th grade on was a loss. So I was never assigned any of these books to read. Check out the list and see if you have read any. I have to admit there were some that I had never heard of.

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well let's see.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE. (I cannot underline so I will put them in blue)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible I have read some but not all
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare I have read some
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis I tried to read it!
37.The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini didn’t finish – too grusome
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan didn’t finish
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – A. S. Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo