New knitting books & some stuff

Whilst shopping in Leeds yesterday (a rare event but son & heir needed to take my credit card for some exercise!) we paid our ritual visit to Starbucks which is located INSIDE Borders bookshop & represents an American innovation that is to be wholly applauded. After coffee I had a wander to the basement & found this.......

It is a lovely book, so full of wonderful colour photos of stitches & techniques that it had to come home with me. Much is probably on the net but there is a time, I think, when nothing but a book will do. Based on the same principal, this book is also on its way from The Book Depositary:

The inspiration to buy it came from the very many references to it that I have found in lots of the blogs that I lurk around though! I have decided that I need another larger project as well as a steady stream of socks. I am also studying my copy of ' Knitting without Tears' because I do need a sweater & I HATE sewing up knitting!

A meteorological note: Its snowing on and off up here in North Yorkshire, the wind is out of the west & is very strong!

A domestic note: The engineer has replaced the 'bit' on the Rayburn and .....its still tripping out! ...... and the iron has died!!!!! When will it stop? The washer seems to be OK though!!!! fingers crossed!!!!

Oh, and Auntie loved her socks!

More socks

Two pairs of socks! The blueish ones are knitted in Opal Hundertwasser on 2mm bamboo needles (yes they ARE cocktail sticks but the socks are pretty neat & fit well). The pattern is baby cable. The black & white socks are in Opal Zebra (Rainforest), leftovers (real stash socks) with a picot edge & knitted in an oblique openwork from Sensational Socks. Knitted on 2.5 mm Brittany Birch needles. These are my favorite tools. They are the short size but are wonderful if you go to 5 needles from after the heel has been turned & until the number of stitches on the needles has been reduced after the instep shaping. I never attempt to match the stripes. I like their individual colour repeats. The zebra was facinating to knit. When the stitches were at there maximum around the ankle, wide stripes appeared. Black on one sock, white on the other!

The pattern for Monkey socks has now been downloaded & will appear on needles near here any day now! Hopefully we will have a working Rayburn tomorrow. I'm just beginning to wonder what I will do with a functioning oven -what do you cook in one? I long to roast some Mediterranean vegetables or even just bake a potato!

Driving home from work this afternoon I realised that to the south of Harrogate Spring had arrived. There were sturdy lambs in the fields & the daffodils will be open for St Davids Day. In Harrogate the crocus are a thick carpet around The Stray. To the north of Harrogate as you climb up onto the edge of the Dales -no chance! The ewes are no where near ready for the maternity ward & the only daffodils are a lonely clump of miniature February Gold. The weatherman said that snow was possible in the morning, driven on a northerly wind. Followed by driving rain from the west. Nice. A return to real British winter.