Thursday, June 08, 2006

I suppose having a post being mostly fibre-related is a bit of a shock. First off I received one of my parcels from Elann containing some Katia Twist which is supposed to match up (not exactly I know but close enough to make it interesting) with some of the same I bought on our last trip to the States. I also ordered a Katia pattern book which has lots of interesting summer itrms in both DK and heavier cotton weights. I am going to have to find an alternative outlet for the wool I have, and am producing, because I have come to realize that in the Australian climate there is more opportunity to wear T-shirts than Aran jumpers, no matter how much I love Aran jumpers. I still have the one my mother knitted for me 30 years ago and because I take very good care of my knitted items, it is still in fine condition. Therefore I don't need another, do I?

I have also been informed of a forth-coming e-magazine called Fiber Femmes, which is due to start publication on July 1. For some reason I put my hand up and they want an article on the WW2 socks. I was going to photocopy the pattern booklet for my uniform reconstructor. He said I should knit more and sell them on eBay! As if anyone could pay me enough for my time to repeat the exercise. Knowing what I know now, it will not happen again because these aren't just garden variety socks!

I am in serious love with my iPod. I wonder what I ever did without it, and just listening to CDs on a portable player is not the same thing. Let alone that with 30GB I can load more CDs than I could carry, there is all the additional content available. I do not have a video-enabled iPod but then I can't imagine watching video on that teeny screen. But audio-books and podcasts are simply more than I had expected. I just updated my darling with all the regular ones I listen to such as NPR's science and health shows, and the ABC Radio National equivalents and then branched out to look for knitting content. I already knew that Knitcast existed and Knitting Review's podcast. For some reason Cast On's podcast refuses to download and I don't what step of the process is hung up. The first episode of Knitcast I listened to was not impressive. Ann Budd is a designer I know, and I think her spiral bound pattern book is one I have used several times since it covers all sizes and weight of yarn if you just want a generic pattern. (I tend to knit complicated patterns out of plain yarns and plain designs out of fancy yarns so this book comes in handy when you have a yarn you want to show off and just need a basic pattern) But the podcast sound was pretty bad and the questions asked didn't really interest me. Unless someone has an unusual way

they learned to knit like Kaffe Fassett, who learned to knit on a train, finding out that somebody learned from an aunt of a grandmother isn't particularly interesting. I'd like to know what kinds of things a Famous Knitter learned first and what kinds of garments excite them or what designs bore them to tears. If they have a favourite fibre and why. If they like to knit summer things or even like to knit in the summer. I knit all year round and may knit cotton in the winter and wool in the summer (which sorta makes sense if you are knitting for the next season). (BTW, I just saw that Opal has cotton sock yarn and I can't wait to get some!) So I was unimpressed with that interview but I will certainly continue to listen. One of my many health issues is tinnitus, which manifests itself in me as very high frequency whistle/cricket sounds. It is always there but I have checked and it doesn't get better or worse when I am exposed to noise. Actually I was thinking how noisy the footy match was (just in general and including the drunken lout sitting near us who kept yelling for Barry Hall to get back in the goal square) but when we came home the tinnitus was less rather than more. So I was worried for a while that having headphones on most of the time would make it worse, but it doesn't seem to. Listening to a podcast while you are ironing or carding wool is a very pleasant thing to do.

2 comments:

Leslie Shelor said...

Really looking forward to your article, and many thanks for your support!

Leslie Shelor said...

Really looking forward to your article, and many thanks for your support!