New links to my weaving pages

I had an e-mail last week from a weaving friend asking where I had written about lashing-on. I couldn't find it myself straight off, in fact I had to use Google to find an entry in my own blog!

So now, for my own use and for the benefit of anyone else who can't find old entries, I have made a page to index my blogs about loom set up and weaving. See top left.

Yes, I've done a couple of other pages with links as well, UK weaving blogs and the web pages of professional handweavers in the UK.

I've also been writing a few book reviews for Amazon and joined Ravelry (Dot-knits).

But no weaving...

Why? I've got 'flu. Don't tell me swine flu is contained, I don't believe it!!

This one is more persistent than severe, but bad enough to stop me doing much - it's very limiting if you can't get your brain to concentrate on anything for more than 10 mins before needing to rest - but on the other hand it's surprising what you can do with odd ten minutes here and there.

I've found I can do a bit of long draw spinning, a bit of patchwork sewing (a quilt entirely handsewn that I started 8 years ago, maybe I'll finish it this year) a bit of reading, and hunting out and ordering some more books(!). This little stint has tired me out again, excuse me while a shut my eyes a bit.

Z z z z

Knitwear design

Surprise, surprise, another new book..(?) o.k. you already know, I collect books like nothing else...

This is a good one. The best bit is that having bought this book, there's a long list of other books I thought I might want that I can now say I don't need. I might borrow them from the library instead(!) but I have got myself a reference book that covers many different knitting techniques.

This book is splendid. Lots in it. Not too expensive, in fact, cheap for the range of knowledge and the beautiful clear instruction and photos. I am reading it steadily and it is giving me all sorts of ideas about things I could do in knitting. It's a book for anyone who wants to design any knitting, and the subject is colour. It probably says all you really need to know about colour and knitting.

It's very good on choosing colours to use together, knitting with different coloured yarns and multi-colour yarns and the effect stitch choices have, creating pattern effects in the colour, or random effects, and then special techniques: stranded knitting, intarsia, helix knitting, shadow knitting, mosaic knitting, twined knitting, double knitting (two layers at once), designing with modules (a.k.a patchwork knitting), entrelac. There's a nice "design workshop" section with basic garment design and most appropriately it ends up with finishing touches.

It is:

The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques, by Margaret Radcliffe, pub. Storey Publishing in the U.S., 2008, ISBN 978-1-60342-040-2