Frigid

Well I never got to try snow dyeing yesterday. It took me all day to get my mountains of laundry washed and dried. And it’s not put away yet plus we won’t even mention the ironing I managed to create. Today I have to babysit the Beasties again so even though there’s still a bit of snow left I won’t be getting to it. Maybe if there’s any left by tomorrow. It’s certainly cold enough to keep it around for awhile! It’s sunny but rather arctic out there today. Don’t think we’ll be going to the park. Perhaps the Play-Doh will hold their interest for awhile. At least I’m not stupid enough to vacuum before they come!

Since I’ve been doing a bunch of reviews lately, I thought I’d bore you half to death and do yet another one:
“Knit To Be Square” by Vivian Høxbro continues on her fascination with modular “domino” designs which she uses to create accessories such as hats, slippers, bags, cushions, wraps and blankets. Some of these are also felted and embellished with needle felting and buttons. The designs are bright and attractive and the styles reflect Vivian’s Danish sensibilities. I find some of the bags too long – for me they would drag on the ground – but that would be easy enough to fix. They are modular after all! The best part of the book in my opinion is the last part where Vivian explores partial or incomplete blocks. When they are knitted they leave holes in the fabric with many possibilities for fun designs. It’s almost like she just got started on this discovery when she runs out of room in the book! Too bad.

Interweave has published 3 of Vivian’s books now but I wish that her other books which were published in Japan would be translated and republished or at least more widely available here in North America. The first one is merely an extension of her Domino Knitting book but the second has gone farther with different module shapes. There is some English and lots of diagrams in the books though so if you can get your hands on them it shouldn’t be too hard to get the gist of the information.

Best get back to my knitting. I’m up to the recommended 16 repeats of the pattern but it’s barely long enough to go around my neck. I have lots of yarn available so if I change the number, all I have to worry about is how many stitches to pick up along the edges to get the border to work out correctly. I can always fudge it a little if necessary. Deadline is looming!