WIP Wednesday: knitting a bootee - yet again

Just a very quick post today, as I have a Work-In-Progress! I'm trying to style my own bootee pattern, as the debbie Bliss ones, though lovely, weren't for a new baby. I would like to make some smaller ones for a new baby, so I've gone for DK - and so far, so good! More tomorrow: I've been photographing the vintage patterns in my knitting leaflet and must post some of them - they're a *dream*. Hope other people's WIPs are going well!

Vintage Knitting Books - Advice from Agnes M. Miall

This book was published in the 1940s and I saw it in a second hand bookshop. I just don't need it - but the opening page was so amusing about knitting that I had to buy it:

I love the idea of "the woman who sits long hours by herself" who whiles away the time knitting... and the girl who knits on the train "from the suburbs into town" - not so far removed from my life!  The last two paragraphs remind me of Stitch n Bitch: "Tongues may wag", even if we are all knitting and crocheting in a pub rather than around the fire in Mrs Brown's sitting room! How little times have changed - though I suppose there's not much need for a "square kettle holder" these days, even if it would double up as an iron holder.

Knitting Blog Round-up and a Couple of Thank Yous

As a relatively new blogger, I'm still building up my blogroll of knitting and crochet blogs I enjoy reading. It's rather like choosing a partner - so, what *is* my blog type?  Whose news do I enjoy hearing about?

So far, I'm drawn to these two:

1) Knitting on Trains: as a commuter myself, I love the title of this. Jess blogs here (see the link on the right, here) about knitting and crochet, books and baking, with lovely pictures too.

2) Knitting Up The Ravelled Sleeve of Care: gotta love a Shakespeare blog title, for a start. An anonymous blog, I think - but the writer photographs herself in her lovely knitted scarves and cardis , as well as writing about her life in a personal yet engaging way.

More to come, I'm sure!

Is it normal to let a brooch dictate an entire knitting project?? I got this gorgeous corsage as a present from my Lady Friend a little while ago. We had gone to a Country Market in Orford, not far from here, and, among the fairy cakes and jam we also managed to spirit home, was this beautiful brooch. A closer read of the label revealed that it has been knitted from yarn grown, spun and dyed in Suffolk, on Tracy Ranger's farm. My crusade to shop locally reached a new high <smug smile>. The yarn is soft and fluffy and the brooch is, I think, crying out to be pinned to a vintage, 40s style tank top. I'm thinking of the one in my Martin Storey Rowan Book, Winter Gifts   - and of planning other projects needing this lovely, local wool!

http://www.gedgrave-wensleydales.co.uk/

The second lovely gift I've received recently is a hand made tote bag from a friend, @CopperSpiral, in NYC.

She and I were students together, and she has sent me some beautiful hand-crafted gifts over the years. This bag is reversible, and the lining is clean, crisp calico. I think my new knitting projects will fit nicely in here!

I wanted to blog about these presents as a way of showing how grateful I am for them. It's a cliche, but there's *nothing* nicer than a hand-made present. And we makers know that a bit of gratitude doesn't go amiss!

Anyone made something laboriously by hand, only to feel rather underappreciated?? Sad - but I know I have...!