Vast Right Wing Knitting and Needleworkers Circle - Topic for the day

Knitting a Conundrum

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Yep, I'm back. Topic for the day: References. What crafting books would you hate to have to give up, that you use regularly? I know we each have our own personal library of best books.

As someone who knits socks a lot, I find that Nancy Bush's Folk Socks is extremely useful for its catalog of different heels and toes.

Knitting in Plain English is a great book for knitting...and she has a companion book on sweater knitting that is very useful as well.

A great reference when you want to make basic patterns is The Knitter's handy book of patterns. It has lots of basic things knitted to different gauges, so if you find yourself with a lot of fingering yarn, and you want to make mittens with it, it will tell you, and if you go back later and want to make them with knitting worsted, it will tell you that, too.

A really handy reference for quilting is the New Quilting Patchwork Dictionary. It's what it says, a dictionary of different styles of patchwork. Rleated to this is Dating Fabrics, a guide to help you select fabrics by time period. Useful if you want to make a civil war repro quilt.

For fine handsewing technique, there are several sources. If you can find a copy of French Hand Sewing by Sarah Howard Stone, that is good. Kannick's Korner produces some pamplets on handsewing called The Lady's Guide to Plain Sewing(part 1 and part 2) which are also quite good.

My favorite reference for embroidery stitches is The Encyclopedia of Embroidery Techniques. Photographs and illustrations about various stitches. Free embroidery and counted stitch work is covered.

A nice book for those wanting to investigate weaving and spinning is the Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing Book. It covers some of it all.

Now it's your turn to add to our knowledge. What books do you like?

[pinz-n-needlez]

Those are beautiful, KaC. They would go great in my M-i-l's house, shall I send you her address? ;-)

I'd love to hear more about your French Handsewing books... Are they indeed about doing the handsewing, or do they show how to do the sewing by machine? Piecework magazine had a photo of a journeyman piece of handsweing from the turn of the 20th centry (I believe) that would show any prospective clients the skill of a needlewoman who was looking for commissions.

One of my great grandmothers kept a roof over her children's head and food in their bellies by doing such handsewing. The family line is that Great Grandma Eva Maude made her living 'by sewing clothes for the rich people in Detroi-it." (It's important to pronounce it with 3 syllables. lol)

My grandmother, mother and my four aunts have all earned money at some time by selling their sewing skills.

I would love to read more about hand sewing and hone my skills. If you or anyone have books to recommend on the topic, I'd love to search them out.

Pinz

[pinz-n-needlez]

Please tell us more about your Blackwork and Needlelace. :-)

I love having handwork that is straight forward and fairly repetitive, so my mind can wander, but I still feel like I'm not just wasting time.

I've about given up on counted cross stitch, because I can't remember the numbers in the time it takes me to look away from the chart and find my place on the canvas. :-(

But I have found a way to outline in tent stitch designs that I've drawn onto canvas or evenweave cloth, then I can just fill it in with cross stitch or basket weave stitch. I've been doing that this week while I wait in the car for my daughter who is doing her GED tests.

I like going in spurts: reading, researching and designing like mad, then kicking back and truly enjoying the monotony of working to the end of an already-laid-out project.

Diaper design in Blackwork are great for that, too. :-)

Pinz

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Yep, French Hand Sewing book does it by hand...most of the stuff that's not smocking isn't hard, technically to do and it's so pretty! Fine sewing does take time, though, which is why people turned to sewing machine.

[baker_girl]

I don't really have an instruction book for crocheting.

I usually have someone teach me a new design, and just repeat from memory.

I get so confused if I try to read instructions from a book.

[pinz-n-needlez]

Does it have an ISBN #? Pretty Please ;-D

Pinz

[Knitting A Conundrum]

How about Sarah Howard Stone's website? She still sells it from there, but it's pricy...

http://www.sarahhowardstone.com/books.htm

I bought mine used.

[IN Farm Girl]

Ooooh Aaaaah, thanks for sharing.

These are gorgeous! They look like they were very time-consuming. I had to look closely to make sure the first one really wasn't a quilted square. And what a variety of stitches on the second one! Beautiful!

[LongElegantLegs]

Wow; How long does something like that take?

[mrs. a]

Wow.

I know where my next paycheck is going!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

It took a bit, but more like the time it takes to knit socks, not the time it takes to knit a sweater. And they were fun.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Now you know why I could never work in a yarn store, or even a fabric shop. There are so many neat crafts out there I would never take home any pay. At least when it's websites I have a chance to resist....;-)

But that was a neat shop. Got my fingers itching...