Monthly Archives: December 2008

Wiktory!

Gentle readers, at 22h42 last night I sewed up my first armwarmer.

I cannot start on the second because I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH YARN.

Augh!

Well, theoretically I could start but I’d run out of yarn very quickly. So I am soothing myself by knitting up Mousme‘s hat.

The armwarmer? Lovely. Ripped out the sixish rows I’d done in HRH’s office earlier this week and tried the DPN thing, did sixish rows of that and decided it would drive me bonkers in another half an hour. Ripped it all out, cast fifty stitches on straight needles and knit it widthwise instead of lengthwise. Knit it up in the space of threeish hours yesterday. I am brilliant. And I even worked out a bind off most/knit a few more rows thing at the elbow end so it would all fit sleekly instead of being looser in the middle. And it is warm! I seem to have done a single unintentional yarn over along the way so there is a coy little hole on the underside, but I love it with much love and it is mine. Ceri and I have a little yarn shop recon mission planned for tomorrow, so I will show her Tricot Quartier and, erm, pick up a second skein of the Mission Falls merino, since I will have money again. I am also tempted to pick up Really Big Needles and two more skeins and knit myself a fluffy loose scarf in the same colour.

*headdesk*

Can it be tomorrow now, please? The universe has kicked me in the head enough for one day, thanks. No, nothing end-of-worldish, just millions of tiny nibbles and pokes and kicks, all adding up to an increasingly rage-tinged point of had-enough.

When the boy goes down for his nap, I will knit. That will help. I did not in fact knit yesterday or the day before; I practised the cello instead. Which I needed to do. So yes: I will knit. That will calm me down. I may knit the hat (which would be the smart thign to do) or I may try to figure out how to use DPNs to knit an armwarmer, thereby cleverly avoiding the whole having-to-purl thing. Ha.

Review: A Wood Engraver’s Alphabet by G. Brender à Brandis

Author: Gerard Brender à Brandis
Title: A Wood Engraver’s Alphabet
Publisher: The Porcupine’s Quill
Media type: Trade paperback, 64 pages
Release date: August 2008
Reading period: November 2008
ISBN-13: 978-0-889843110
Category: Art; Alphabet books

The first thing that strikes you about A Wood Engraver’s Alphabet is that it is a beautifully made book. The texture of the cover and the paper delight both hands and eyes. The paper is a warm ecru colour and of very heavy weight, an excellent ground on which to display the prints. The play between dark and light in the prints themselves is fascinating. Brender à Brandis creates an incredible amount of visual texture and suggestion of different materials (wood, petal, stalk, leaf, ground cover, stamens) in his engravings. The end papers are a green between olive and moss, and the signatures are sewn, not glued.

This book is Gerard Brender à Brandis’ love letter to the botanicals in his world. The form is a simple alphabet book, but instead of illustrating the letter itself the artist has chosen to create a wood engraving of a plant whose name begins with that letter. On the lower edge of the blank left page, facing the print on the opposite page, the name of the plant is displayed, both the common name and the botanical name. The engravings themselves on the right page vary in size and shape, and in placement on the page. Some are slender tall rectangles; others are squares. In each the delicate, lyrical interplay between negative and positive space, between black and white, creates depth and light. Some almost fill the right page, while others seem to float in a vast ecru frame.

I have only one minor quibble with the book, and it rests in the choice of plant for certain illustrations. At times the plant is chosen for its Latin name, other times for its common name, yet other times for the colour. For example, ‘Nodding Trillium’ illustrates the letter N instead of T, as one would expect. And yet the quibble is so very minor, because the subjects Brender à Brandis has chosen to engrave offer so much visual interest that in the end what they are or what they’re called doesn’t matter. If he was called or inspired to illustrate a certain plant instead of something else, then there was a reason for it, and the result is so beautiful that the quibble is forgotten in the subsequent examination of the artwork.

What I appreciated most was the brief introduction written by Brender à Brandis, which talked about the physical process of production and his creative artistic process. He talks about being led to use certain woods for certain engravings, how he chose what plants to engrave, and the delight humanity takes in flowers,

It’s a slender little paperbound volume priced at $16.95. The production quality is very high. It’s an exquisite little art book that would make a lovely gift for someone interested in engraving or for a lover of botanicals. It does require a relaxed and open mind when one sits down to read it, however, and plenty of time to pore over the engravings. I will absolutely go on to look up Brender à Brandis’ other books, particularly A Gathering of Flowers from Shakespeare.

Many thanks to Mini Book Expo and The Porcupine’s Quill, through whom I acquired the review copy of this book.

Publisher web site: http://www.sentex.net/~pql
Author web site: n/a

Orchestra Video

I debated about posting this, but why not.

Someone made a video recording of about half of the recent LCO fall concert. It’s broken into approximately eight-minute long sections, so you can see the first and second part of the three-movement Mozart Divertimento (the second part covers the second and third movements), the lovely Adagio for Clarinet and Strings (the so-called “Wagner adagio”, which has some nice close-ups of Martine’s hands for you clarinet players out there), and the Haydn Symphony 104 in D major (first part, second part, third part, and fourth part). I wish I could say each part actually corresponds to a movement, but they don’t. The first part is most of the first movement, the second part is the end of the first and most of the second, the third is the rest of the second and the full minuet/trio, and the fourth is the fourth movement in its entirety.

Why did I consider not posting this? Well, mainly due to the fact that the sound is awful. It’s very flat and quite distorted. (Although I recognise that not all the distortion is due to the recording. Ahem.) The balance is completely off, and things are very muddy. Hand-held video cameras just aren’t designed to record such a wide range of sound level, especially from that distance in a very echoey venue. And as such, it isn’t particularly complimentary. But it’s an idea of what went on. Also, it’s fun to see what the audience members are doing while we play. (I was amused by the people nodding and tapping their programmes during the minuet, and by the kids.)

And yes, I am cleverly hidden by my teacher’s scroll most of the time through the Mozart and the Adagio! Although the videographer seems to have moved forward for the first two-thirds of the symphony and therefore there is a better view of me from a three-quarter back angle in those recordings. (And thus my pathological avoidance of vibrato has been preserved for prosperity. I’m working on that now in my lessons.) Also, good gods, does my left hand always look that spidery?

This is the first half of the programme. I wonder if the videographer recorded the last half, and if it will be posted.

Success!

Another freelance assignment turned in! Once it’s approved, I can invoice for it and the previous one and the cheque may arrive before Christmas. Every little bit helps. Of course, we are generally in need of money just as my cheques come in, so my little bit goes toward a bill instead of into my 7/8 cello fund, but still.

And now, I will go knit. Yes, I should write. In fact I’m going to post a brief update on the writing community I’m in first. But I am fed up with the computer thing, so knitting it will be. I probably can’t handle purling at the moment, though, so I shall cast on Mousme’s Hat v2.0!

Hmm. I seem to have missed posting my month-end book roundup. Tomorrow.

Argh!

The bread machine is dead.

Good thing I asked for a stand mixer for Yule, because that whole fibro thing, where I don’t have enough power in my hands to, you know, knead bread as long as is necessary? Yeah. That.

I think we’ve lost a bit of metal from the bottom of the mixing pan. The motor turns, but it’s not engaging with the bit that turns the blade inside the pan; it just scrapes across the bottom. I seem to remember a ring or something on the bottom of the pan that’s no longer there.

The loss of the breadmaker isn’t the end of the world. I’ve made at least one loaf of bread a week with it since I bought it over a year ago, more often two or three. The main reason I use it is because I can’t knead. Often I use it to knead the bread and the first rise, then I take it out and use a regular loaf pan in the oven. So as I paid under fifty dollars for it, if it’s not salvageable I’ve still saved money over the past thirteen months, even taking into account the cost of the breadmaker, the ingredients, and the electricity. Plus the bread has been awesome.

I’ll look into repair. I’d hate to toss it in landfill somewhere.

In Which She Admits A Growing Fascination

Merino superwash for the win!

Oh, it is so soft. So lovely and soft. It slips through the fingers and strokes them. It rewards you for knitting with it with pats. It practically purrs. I am serious.

I had a lovely morning and lunch out with Pasley yesterday. We wandered all over Pointe-Claire Village. There was a rogue flake or two in the air, but apart from that the snow was the only thing missing from a perfect Christmas shopping trip. Apart from the not really buying anything, that is. It was more of an appreciative viewing of all the lovely things out there. I did pick up fudge as a treat and a pair of secondhand boots for the boy, and a very inexpensive hand-held milk frother for our hot chocolate, but I was very good indeed and did not buy any of the other stuff I sighed over, including piles of gorgeous ornaments, smoked Cheddar, and Green Mountain coffee.

After dropping Pasley off at home I realised that there was no point in going back home; I’d just have to turn around again to leave for the South Shore, fight through traffic, and collect the boys. So, having recently done a search online for the knitting shop Ceri and Mousme mentioned last time they were over, I knew it was a couple of minutes away from Pasley’s place. I’d stop by, poke around, see if I could find a good yarn to do Mousme’s Hat v2.0. And maybe something soft for my armwarmers, because the Berocco Geode is a bit too loose and I keep splitting my stitches.

I found Tricot Quartier no problem, and it’s just lovely. I’m so glad I put gift certificates from this shop on my wish list! I poked about for half an hour and ended up with the Mission Falls 1824 Wool 100% merino superwash in black for my armwarmers, a pair of size 10 straight needles for them (because I love the size 10 circulars I’ve just finished using with much love, and of course I am working with wooden needles), and I decided on a yarn for the hat. It’s a wool/silk blend, not as fun colour-wise as the acrylic I used for the trial run; more sedate, but still with a touch of whimsy.

And I got to HRH’s office in twelve minutes. Stupid non-existent traffic! Good gods, world, can you not even be consistent in your trafficky habits? Usually there is miles of traffic on the 15 south and around the bridge at that time! Good thing I’d bought yarn and a pair of needles to occupy myself while I sat in the office for an hour, otherwise I’d have gone spare. (No, I wouldn’t have; I’d have gone to the school supply shop and bought myself a notebook, and done some writing instead. Still.)

Anywhats, did several rows of the first armwarmer (v1.5) and realised that my straight needles weren’t creating the lovely stockinette stitch that the circulars had (duh). Which meant I had to teach myself to purl.

May I say right here and right now that I hate purling? Passionately, even. I mangled a length of test acrylic at home while watching television last night by casting on, trying to purl, ripping it out, and repeating the whole process. After ninety minutes of stabbing at it and lassoing needles, I got it. Sometimes I managed to do it. I could do it several times in a row, even. But when I tried to alternate with a knit stitch it all went to hell. Eventually I noticed that the yarn lies in front of the needle while purling, while knit stitches have it coming from behind. I pulled out my how-to-knit book and finally found, long after the how-to-alternate-knit-and-purl-stitches section, a sidebar that said, “Hey, you may have noticed that the yarn lies on opposite sides when you alternate knits and purls! You have to watch for that and move it to where it needs to be for your next stitch.” Gee, thanks. Maybe putting that information before or next to the how-to-alternate section would have been helpful? Instead of twenty pages and a chapter later?

Yes, this is one of the drawbacks to working from a book. Had I been sitting next to an experienced knitter they’d have taken one look at my laborious attempts and said, “Oh, hey, I see your problem: you need to have the yarn lying in front of the RH needle before a purl, and behind it for the knit. Just flip it over.” And a two-foot length of acrylic would have been saved from a horribly mangly torture and eventual death.

So now I know how to purl (go me! though I still don’t like the stitch as much as knit) and can produce rib! I personally like the look of seed stitches, so I suspect that’s what I’ll do the armwarmers in. Or even that may be too ambitious. I should probably do stockinette or 1×1 rib and be thankful that I don’t have to think about what comes next and what stitch starts each row.

This knitting thing is so interesting. It simultaneously engages my brain and lets it relax. And on top of that, it has tangible, visual reinforcement: look, the article I am knitting is getting bigger! This works! I am producing something moderately useful! And I can see how easy it is to start a yarn stash. I spent most of my time wandering around the shop petting the yarn. I want to bring piles of the merino home and cuddle it. I love working with chunky needles and yarns. Although I have absolutely no interest in knitting socks (she says, knowing it will horrify most of her knitting readers — too small! yarn too thin! DPNs of doom!) one of my next projects will be sock-based: I want to make slipper-socks and sew a suede-ish sole over the bottom. Nothing fancy; cables scare me and I want a single colour for them. No stripes or patterns. Just a really nice yarn.

And maybe seed stitch. And ribbing at the top.