While reading A Homemade Life, one of the recipes that I immediately bookmarked was the Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cake. See, I have a hard time saying no to my siblings, especially when what they are asking for is something homemade, so when my brother asked me if I would make a cake and cupcakes for his wedding reception, I immediately said yes. Then I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. Lilikoi! (that’s passionfruit for those of you not familiar with the Hawaiian name). By the time I was reading A Homemade Life, I’d already read through several recipes for lilikoi cakes, all of which called for starting with a box mix and juice concentrate and I was hoping to find a way to bring in more lilikoi flavor.
I used to think that it was kind of pointless to have bloggers publish paper books based on their blogs. Then, while visiting Portland (the one in Oregon), I was browsing through Powell’s Books and picked up one of the current Staff Picks, Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life. Her blog, Orangette, has been very popular for years now, yet I hadn’t gotten around to checking it out, and so I turned into the person who went to read a blog after buying a paperback book with content mostly derived from said blog. As I read the book, I started mentally marking off recipes to try. (more…)
‘specially for the person who had a search engine direct them here for ‘is there a crochet magazine like Knitty’ – say hello to Tension.
I’d say that Tension is more like Twist Collective than Knitty in that the patterns are for sale, not for free. For free crochet patterns, there’s still Crochet me.
So the yarn-tasting at the Hawai’i State Library downtown this past Saturday went well – but I didn’t take any pictures, and when I realized that, immediately thought “great, now nobody is going to believe me.” I had capped attendance at 25, figured we’d be lucky to get 20, and then 30 people signed up (and I think a couple more showed up).
Fortunately for me, Nadine Kam from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin was there, took photos, and blogged about it (thanks Nadine!)
There were a couple of things I wish I’d managed to do differently – I’d wanted to talk more about knitting/crocheting for charity, and I also wanted to chat more with the attendees! I did get to talk briefly with a few people, but I wanted to hang out with *everyone* who attended – I hope I’ll get to see some of them at an Aloha Knitters meeting, ’cause like I said at the tasting, you people are the ones I need to talk to – you don’t need to be listening to me. Seriously, you should have seen some of the gorgeousness being kipped/cipped in that crowd! Thanks to all who attended, and for reals, I want to hang out with you all.
Most of the yarns in the tasting came from Isle Knit. The Maui Yarns came direct from Sara, and the Peaches & Creme came from Wal-Mart (and as I mentioned at the event, Wal-Marts nationwide are closing their craft departments – Ben Franklin has Sugar ‘n Cream; if they don’t have Peaches & Creme you might want to ask them about carrying it).
Oh, and someone had asked about a knit clothes hanger cover pattern in a book – I knew I’d seen at least one.
My current plan is to have a short talk on the library collection of knit/crochet books and specific books particularly applicable for our climate, and then a quick review of the yarns. I haven’t chosen and acquired all the yarns yet; Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton and Skinny Cotton, Cascade Eco Wool, Lana Knits Hemp for Knitting, and a seacell/silk blend are on the for-sure list, though.
Quick update:
“Come to the library for quick reviews of knitting and crocheting books in the library collection and a yarn-tasting! Sample bags will include mini-skeins of yarns good for tropical-weather garments as well as yarns good for use in felting and making warm garments and accessories for cold-climate friends, relatives, and charitable organizations. Feel free to bring a project to work on during the presentation, or to show off afterwards if you like. There will be a brief Q&A session if you have any questions about knitting/crocheting in Hawai’i. No how-to knit/crochet/spin lessons will be given at this event; reviews of instructional books, videos, and DVDs will be included in the presentation, though, and a handout of yarn shops and where you can take lessons will also be available.”
Chronicle Books, it seems, has taken note of the rising popularity of Japanese craft books – they have published three books of patterns translated into English, and have plans for more (Woolly Embroidery and Fuzzy Felted Friends are will be released later this month). I haven’t had a chance to look through these books, but I recognized the projects on the covers of Lacy Crochet and Amigurumi. The prices are reasonable and I’m putting them on my Amazon wishlist, so hopefully I’ll be able to review these in more depth.
Amazon is still carrying the English translation of Ondori Basic Knit as well.
Motifs of Crocheting www.boutique-sha.co.jp
ISBN 4-8347-2331-3
Barcode 1: 9784834723311
Barcode 2: 1929476009432
Printed in Japan
I went to Hakubundo on a lunch break and came back with this book. One of my co-workers asked if I could read Japanese, and when I said I couldn’t, she asked me why I’d purchased a Japanese book and then spent the next few minutes probably wishing she hadn’t said anything as I extolled the layout, the use of symbolcraft, and the Japanese symbolcraft standards. My illiteracy does limit my use of the book in a couple of respects (I had to get someone else to translate the title for me, for starters), but the hurdles are easily overcome.
The sections are organized by motif shape (circle, square, hexagon, triangle, and floral), with an illustrated tutorial at the beginning of each section which presumably gives tips and explanations (the illustrations are easy to follow; the text accompanying it is, due to my Latinate-centric education, impossible for me to follow). Each motif is shown in four variations using different yarn textures and colors, from fuzzy mohair to shiny ribbon to smooth cottons and wools, although the yarns used vary from motif to motif (not every motif will be shown in different yarns; some are shown only in different colors). Every pattern is given in symbolcraft, with the sort of added detail that delights me: each row or round of the pattern is in a different color and clearly numbered. Swoon! The sections begin with photos showing projects made using motifs, including handbags, scarves, and shawls, with instructions for the projects given at the end of the book (between the photos and the illustrations, even the Japanese illiterate can manage them). The projects are generally simple and rather conservative, although yarn and color choices could make a big difference – for example, there’s a fringed mesh shawl on page 23 which could be appropriate for my former art school girl of doom self, or for my practical mother who would want something warm that goes with most of her wardrobe (more on this here). There are no people in the photos, just the items, sometimes shown on a wooden mannequin. I like this – it’s easier for me to not delude myself into thinking that a hat strongly resembling a crumpled brown paper sack will look just as cute on me as it does on the kawaiiiiiiii model (please note that no such hat is in this particular book).
Additionally, the book includes a section with step-by-step illustrations explaining each symbol used, removing any confusion that would arise with text-based patterns (such as the US single crochet vs. the UK single crochet), and illustrated instructions for joining motifs.
The book is about the size of a standard magazine, so it fits neatly into my messenger bag. I’ll probably take this to a print shop to have the spine replaced with a spiral binding. $17.35 at Hakubundo.
For more on Japanese craft books and links with information on the symbols used, etc., please check out my earlier post on Japanese Craft Books.
Ondori Basic Knit Full Color Illustrated
Ondorisha Publishers Ltd.
ISBN 0-87040-745-7
Regular readers may recall that I’ve been on the lookout for a Japanese knit book which includes the symbols used, explained with the handy step-by-step images I’ve seen used in Natural Taste. What if I told you there is indeed such a book, it’s readily available at a low price, and printed in English? Not to mention, sitting right under my nose at the local Japanese bookstore? While browsing through a sale table at Hakubundo, I came across Basic Knit. I’ve seen it before, but this was the first time I had the presence of mind to check and see if it included a symbol chart. Yep. It covers the basics as well, with the same clearly illustrated diagrams and helpful notes I expect from a Japanese knit publication. The section on grafting is particularly helpful for me, as it shows where the needles are (something lacking in most illustrations for grafting that I’ve seen). Overall, a good basic Japanese learn-to-knit book (in English!).
There is also a book on learning to both knit and crochet; however, I haven’t had a chance to go through this one yet.
For more on Japanese craft books and links with information on the symbols used, etc., please check out my earlier post on Japanese Craft Books.
Last night I know I ordered decaf, but I don’t think I got decaf, which is why I was up late again last night. Has nothing to do with realizing 3/4 of the way through the Aloha Knitters meeting that I’d fouled up the provisional cast-on for the short row toe on the second sock and had to frog it and start over (Trekking, wool, not going to my mother because Trekking makes a thin fabric and she wants, basically, a smallish sheep wrapped around each foot). I love short rows and I love making a perfectly cupped toe on two needles, but I could have held off until my work commute later today. At any rate, I read through the sweater section of Knitting Rules! and, on page 197, “I Could Never Knit a Sweater”: Ten Reasons Knitters Give and What I Wish I Could Say to Them, I got to number 9. “I live in Hawaii. Well, okay, fine, but don’t you have an aunt in Wisconsin?”
I know. She’s just sayin’ (and she’s right, having friends and relatives who live in colder climates is a contributing factor to wool stash). However, if Ms Pearl-McPhee happens to find herself, on her book tour, in a warm climate like Hawai’i or California, Louisiana, Texas, etc., it’s not likely that she will have to give us a reason to knit a sweater.
10 Reasons to Knit a Sweater in Hawai’i (in addition to Ms Pearl-McPhee’s reason)
(…which would give us a list that goes all the way to eleven!*)
1. Microclimates. I’ve mentioned these before. If you’ve been to Manoa, up on Tantalus, to Kula, Volcano, etc., you know it can get quite cool, especially at night and in the upper elevations. When I lived in Manoa Valley, my walk to the UH campus would take me from misty and cool to dry and hot in 20 minutes. I learned to layer. Up on Haleakala, you can tell which visitors are staying at the same hotel you are, because they have the same style blanket wrapped around them.
2. A 20-degree drop in temperature is a 20-degree drop in temperature. When it goes from 80F to 60F, you will notice. It can get cold here, really. Houses often lack a certain amount of weatherproofing. My parents house, for example, has glass louver windows that have frozen into position, mostly open or partly open. This is usually not a problem, but at some times of the year, it can drop down into the 50′s and 60′s at night. In this weather, the concern for children and the elderly is wanting to keep them warm but also making sure they can still move under all those blankets.
3. Aggressive air-conditioning. The Aloha Knitters Honolulu meetings take place in an enclosed shopping center where management believes that what customers want is proof of civilization in the form of powerful air cooling. We aren’t wearing sweaters (and shrugs and shawls) to the meetings just to show off. I’ve worked in a hermetically sealed, centrally controlled office building where my typing speed would begin to slow as my fingers grew numb from the cold. I looked calm and professional above the desk. Below the desk, I was wrapped in an afghan. A nice cardigan suitable for business would have been perfect, but I knew that by the time I finished knitting one, the job would be over (I was temping). Movie theaters and grocery stores are also known for keeping the AC on full blast, as well as May’s boyfriend, who enjoys creating his own microclimate in his car.
4. Lace. How about an exquisite, dainty, fine-gauge lace sweater, tossed over a camisole? Knitty’s Spring Fling, perhaps, or Arisaig. Look at that photo of Arisaig – the model is running around on a beach in it! [I know the water temperature is probably a little different there. shh.] Teva Durham’s vintage-inspired Cashmere Lace Blouse is another example – I can’t find a photo online, so if you haven’t seen it, trust me. I have a fantasy involving knitting it up in something non-cashmere and just tossing it on with a pair of jeans and looking fabulous.
5. Plant fibers. Bamboo, linen, hemp, cotton, and soy, for example. Bamboo and soy are especially nice in warm climates, feeling very comfortable against the skin in warm weather.
6. Silk. I know you are thinking about the cost. Think about how silk is appropriate for so many temperatures and seasons, how you could wear it all year-round, and then think cost per use (it helps if you plan to wear it every day). It can be casual, it can be elegant, it can be purchased in a blend that is a bit easier on the finances. Some of those blends are even machine-washable. If I ever manage to find a good source for Regia Silk, I may just have to save up my pennies and then knit that Cashmere Lace Blouse, adding on small and dainty vintage buttons and crocheted button loops so that the front does not keep gaping open while I am leaning over the dairy case at the grocery store, looking for the organic 1% milk.
7: Ice Palace. (Keohinani)
Hey, nobody thought we’d have snow in Hawaii either, but we do have snow on the Big Island occasionally. Since the mountain ranges don’t quite reach that high on Oahu, we have to settle for an ice skating rink, i.e. Ice Palace. If ever one wanted to simulate cold weather in the dead heat of summer or any other time of year in Hawaii, that’d be the place to go. I have an aunt whose sons play hockey there. I’m sure she would love for me to teach her how to knit a sweater so she can both entertain herself and keep warm at hockey practice.
8: Because You’d Make More Use of A Sweater than a Knitted Bikini. (Keohinani)
Let’s face it: there are only so many people who can wear a knitted bikini. And of those people, most of them would rather not worry about droopy sagginess that was their knitting that would result from a romp in the water. If you don’t go into the water at all, a knitted bikini is fine and dandy. But for those who would rather avoid the harmful UVA/UVB rays and self-consciousness altogether, a sweater would be more practical anyway.
9. The Joy of Knitting. (Barb, who just finished knitting the BPT sweater from Knitty)
What other reason do you need?
10. Travel. Going to visit family and friends in, say, Toronto, early April? How about that trip to New York in November? Sure, you can go shopping when you get there, but what are you going to go shopping in? A blanket from the hotel? Plus that plane ride can get chilly.
Why stop at 10? Add ‘em if you’ve got ‘em!
*I watched This Is Spinal Tap a few times when I was a kid. Just humor me on this, okay?
However. Page 49. “I understand that my affection for wool probably seems silly to Hawaiian knitters.” Without going into the semantics of Hawaiian knitters vs. knitters in Hawai’i,*** or that it takes more than one knitter to prove this point, or that she’s just sayin’, y’know, and there very well may be knitters in Hawai’i who think wool is ridiculous, may I direct your attention to Exhibit A:
These are Araucania Nature Wool worsted weight 100% wool socks with holes in them. The holes came from constant wear. Oh, did I include sunny blue sky and flowers behind them? Kind of hard not to.
Exhibit B:
These are Peace Fleece wool/mohair worsted weight slipper socks with fleece-lined soles. Note the way the right slipper sock appears to be warped. That is because the sole is splitting. I would repair it, but the wearer would have to take them off. She says I need to just make her a new pair already (already? I gave her that pair at the end of December!). She is wearing a pair of cotton socks under the slipper socks. It is 85 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Hawai’i is known for its microclimates, and it can get quite cool in some areas and *(^%#@!! freezing in others (ask me about the time I was up on Haleakala for sunrise and realized I’d left my shoes in my car parked at an airport on another island). Even though my mother is standing on a linoleum floor in an area known for being hot and dry, her feet are encased in wool all day long.
Exhibit C, to show that you can love wool even if your mother does not have a severe, chronic case of cold feet:
My take on the Interweave Crochet Textured Tweed Clutch by Mari Lynn Patrick. My version uses two skeins of Peace Fleece worsted weight (color: grassroots), minus the bobbles, and with a buckle from a thrift shop belt. I made a few alterations to the buckle strap to accomodate the belt buckle.
Zeke agrees that it is a fine handbag, large enough to carry the necessities, including a sock in progress.
I have a real thing for Peace Fleece. My stash is organized into storage bins, sorted out as:
synthetic fibers
plant fibers
Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton
wool
Peace Fleece
Yep. I have a storage bin full of assorted wool yarn, and a storage bin dedicated to Peace Fleece wool yarn. My stash, admittedly, is on the small side, and you’ll be needing a larger sample to understand the love of wool shared by many knitters in Hawai’i. I’m counting on other members of the Aloha Knitters to flash a little stash around (especially someone who has sock yarn exceeding life expectancy, *cough*keohinani*cough*) and talk about wool lovin’.
La Harlot gets much love for knowing that there are knitters in Hawai’i. Well, we are everywhere, we are legion, after all. Kelli-the-wonder-publicist, care to give us a chance to prove it in person? We’re just getting started. We haven’t even mentioned the island which has cacao farms, coffee farms, and vineyards (all on one island!), and a yarn shop too!
**of course, if Mr Rollins, who is a writer, also happens to be a knitter, he could be in the running for most punk knitting book. My admiration of Mr Rollins’ work is known but I must admit that given the choice between going to a talk given by Mr Rollins and a talk given my Ms Pearl-McPhee, the Yarn Harlot would win, no contest. Should Mr Rollins ever desire personal knitting instruction, he can call me.
***Hawaiian is an ethnic designation, confusing as, for example, if you are from California you can be called a Californian, but Hawai’i has the dubious honor of having been a sovereign nation prior to being annexed by the US. One can be a Hawaiian knitter or a knitter in Hawai’i , but only one of them gets preference when applying to Kamehameha Schools for admission.
