~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~ Ginny at small things

Yarn-along: July 3, 2013

We are in the midst of summer fun! Today is predicted to bring more rain (and when it rains, it definitely POURS!) and be humid and hot but that’s ok … especially since the kids are doing their best to finish the Library’s reading program asap and I (surprise, surprise) have plenty of knitting and reading to do … so yes, the living is very easy.

On the knitting needles: unfortunately, I can’t show you what I’m working on as it is a design for magazine publication and I can’t show it until the magazine publishes. The yarn, however, balled-up and ready to go, is right in the middle of the picture: Road to China Light from The Fibre Company is an amazing fiber to knit. It’s 65% baby alpaca, 10% cashmere, 10% camel and 15% silk in a dusky garnet color. Can you say “sexy to knit”? It’s an amazing luxury fiber that is knitting up beautifully. I’m working on a design for Piecework’s Knitting Traditions … a magazine I love to read (and collect), so I’m particularly proud of this knitting commission.

On the knitting-book reading table:

• Teach Yourself Visually: Color Knitting by Mary Scott Huff is a wonderful resource if you’ve ever wanted to add color to your knitting. Huff gives clear and detailed explanations of how to do the various types of color-work — striping, slip-stitch, stranded, intarsia, and post-knit embellishments — as well as giving some fun projects to practice these new skills. Huff previously wrote a book titled, The New Stranded Colorwork, a book I have in my collection and that I reference when teaching colorwork — I just might need to add her newer book as an amazing resource, too!
• Amy Herzog’s just-published book on shaping and sizing sweaters is a treasure trove for all knitters. Knit to Flatter not only helps you figure out which styles and combination of features will look best on you (or whoever you’re knitting for) but also shows you how to adjust patterns to make them “right” for you. Using four very different-shaped models, she proves her point with sweater designs created to really flatter the particular model. This is a great “idea book” for designers and a great resource for any knitter!

On the non-knitting reading table:

• Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey is a fascinating read. Currey researched (through biographies, diaries, letters and other resources) to find out how different writers, composers, playwrights, poets, and other artists “get ‘er done”. Some get up early, crank out the work and then sleep/party all evening; others sleep late, focus throughout the day into the evening hours, and then go to bed early. Some drink, smoke and/or drug to get the creative juices flowing while others listen to music, stare at a particular object or meditate/pray to get their creative juices flowing. This is an really interesting book and shows the great diversity of habits which diverse artists like Mozart, Kant, and Christie used to produce their creative works. Carrey arranged all the artists into a mix so that you can pick up the book, read a bit and then put it down for delving into later. I’m really enjoying this.
• 1979 — it’s the year I graduated from high school, took my first airplane ride, lived away from my large family and started college. For me it was a big year. For author Christian Caryl in his book, Strange Rebels: 1979 and the birth of the 21st Century, it seems 1979 was a BIG year for the world, too: Thatcher became prime minister of England, Reagan was elected president of the United States, the newly-elected Pope John Paul II took his first trip to Communist Poland, China turned toward capitalism to save its economy, the Ayatollah took over Iran … and on and on. Caryl’s book tells the story of how the year, 1979, changed the world-stage and created the opportunities and challenges we’ve come to know in the 21st century.

How is your summer going … are you reading anything fun … and what’s on your needles? Come play over at Ginny’s

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