New Yarns, New Books

I love books. I come by this naturally, both my parents loved books, and in turn I have tried to instill this love in my kids. The first year my son was in college we went to see him. The first place on his tour was the used book store in the next town over. I had to buy another suitcase to bring my books back.

One of those was a French book on passementerie – just picture after picture…. This sparked ambitious ideas of weaving my own and using kumihimo cords. No actual weaving done yet, but I just bought Robyn Spady’s book, Handwoven Decorative Trim: an introduction to weaving passementerie trims and am re-inspired.

Another recent purchase is Ori Ami Knits (http://www.oriamiknits.com).  One of the first projects is a block necklace – perfect for those thrums of mine. Here are 3 versions I played with –

2 are knit and 1 crocheted. I didn’t stuff them but worked around a wooden block. They are light enough to be a necklace, but I think they’re destine to be Christmas tree ornaments.

Next I turned to the Japonica Cravat –

I’m using our Atiya (20/2 weight Tencel) and a silk/stainless.  Usually I knit everything with circular needles, but this time straight needles held the stitch shape better. The ruffles were knit on 13” SPs and the I-cord was done on DPs. The left tie still to do but I’m almost finished! It should be done by the time we leave for CNCH, so look for it there and at Stitches South.

Next I want to try the pattern with our new cashmere and the stainless steel.