books and music and sheep and pod casts

Hooray! In the post came a fabu package from Nadine of NadinesKnittingBasketBlog - she of the German forest on the French border and the exotic hens! (she sent me one of these hen's feathers and it now adorns the doll's newly stylish hat!) Her mother had embroidered a darling sheep for me (I named him Baaaaabaraaa) and I so wish I had my own computer so I could post a picture of him for you! (work computer does not have the necessary software). Nadine made a handmade book with natural rice paper and red Chinese characters on the cover that I think will become my own pattern book with pictures and sketches! and, and.....And she sent me four CDs of knitting (and cooking) podcasts!! I have:


At the Yarn Store
AussieKnit
Beneath the Fiber Moon
BritKnitCast
Cast-On
ChristaKnits
Craft Borg
Craft Sanity
Godet Cast
Eat Feed
insubordiknit
ArieKnits
It's a Purl Man
Online Knitting
Knit 2Btied
KnitCast
Knitcentric
Knitters Review Live
Knitting News Cast
Knitting Psychos
Knit Tunes
Knitty and the City
Knit Wit
Lime & Violet (in which Nadine is mentioned Twice!)
MaterialMama
Math 4 Knitters
Nana's Knitting
Pixie Purls
Purl Diving
Red Light Knitting
Secret Knitting
Muggle Cast
Pointy Sticks
Sleepy Eyes Knits
Sticks and String
Stikle-cast
The Age of Innocence
The Fiber Cast
The Knitting Cook

This should keep me entertained for while, no? I can't wait for Saturday morning, when I will curl up on the couch in the front room with tea and knitting and listen, listen, listen while I K2P2 on my green linen shrug.

Did I tell you about this shrug? You can have one too! Cast on 114 stitches on size nine needles (with very fine yarn - size 11 needles with thicker yarn and only 76 stitches) and knit 2 purl 2 for 30 inches. Then fold so that the two selvedges are touching each other and sew up the non-selvedge edge from the non-fold corners until there are 13 inches left open before the fold. These openings are where your arms go. When you put it on, the selvedges (or cast off / cast on edges) will be the edges against your waist and around your neck. Fold the neck edge back to make a wide shawl collar. It’s very very pretty!

To do this in crochet, make a chain 30 inches long. Single crochet in each loop all the way across. Double crochet into the back loops only, in each stitch back and forth for 30 inches. make a final row of single crochet and end off. Fold and sew the shrug as described above except that this time you will fold it so that the non-selvedges are touching and you will be sewing the under-arms together on the selvedge edges and then wear it the same way with the wide shawl collar. The point is that the rows are radiating out from the neck when you fold the shawl collar over - not horizontal to it. The single crochet first and last rows make a very pretty edging.