It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a book fiend. At one time I counted over 1000 books in my home. I quite counting because knowing how many books I really have would be like knowing what’s in my stash. If I truly knew how many books/much yarn I have tucked here and there I run the danger of facing the fact that I just may have *GASP* too much. Pah! Not likely to happen but still, it is a very real danger. Two recent additions to the Knitting Today bookshelves have me fascinated. I can’t even guess how much time I spent poring over them as I was getting them in the system. Purely research for the job, you understand.
The first you see to the left: The Complete Guide to Natural Dyeing by Eva Lambert & Tracey Kendall. Ever since I bought a skein of camel yarn that had been dyed with Pokeberry (that berry weed that turns bird poop purple every summer) I have been intrigued by the natural dyeing process. You have to understand that I was on a field trip with my daughter’s class and actually abandoned my post and shoved (albeit, politely) my group of children onto another parent in order to run back to the little fiber shop and get this yarn. I had seen it earlier and almost had myself talked out of getting it, silly girl that I am. We were waiting to board the bus to come home when rational thought got hold of me and I literally ran to buy the yarn. Not because it was camel, not because it was so well spun, but because it was such a vibrant purple and it had come from POKEBERRY! I have never been able to get the thought of dyeing out of my head and along comes this book and it is such a comprehensive guide that it has me thinking that even a relative twit such as myself might be able to do this. I could go on and on about how it starts with the bare bones basics before delving into different fiber content and dyeing techniques and recipes and all that but you would tire of reading long before I ran out of words so suffice it to say that I am hooked.
The other book that has me hooked (yes, poor pun intended) is Get Hooked on Tunisian Crochet by Sheryl Thies. I am not very familiar with Tunisian Crochet (or afghan stitch, or whatever term you prefer) so I was pleased to discover the variety of stitches used and the textures created. The only Tunisian Crochet garment I had seen (I think) is the store sample we have using the Cotton Classic Lite. The projects in this book are equally contemporary and attractive. There is an Entrelac shawl that is particularly cool. It has a detailed tutorial in the beginning, with illustrations for each step. Long story short, I want to try it!
Quick side note: for those that are still waiting, we finally have cowlgirls in stock! This has been so hard to get our hands on…