Sitting in Lap of Luxury
At the public library right now, where I have 4 unwavering green bars on my 11 mbps WI-FI connection, a first. Had to return a bunch of art books and pay the overdue fee (yikes -- may have to sell my soul on ebay to afford this habit). But decided to drag the computer along. I currently have a signal-to-noise ratio of 30. I feel utterly secure that when I finally go to save this blogging, the connection won't die in the middle as so often happens.

So what am I doing here? Wanted to do a little art book browsing and working at a desk (instead of the middle of a bed), so went hunting for Kline, but found Knitting instead, a pamphlet called "The Manly Art of Knitting," by Dave Fougner (Threshold, 1972). I think it's self-published, but it's one of the best introductions to simple knitting I've seen, where all the examples use big, manly, hairy hands. I am looking around for a copier so I can capture the glories of the cover. I see no scanner here, though there might be one.

And the projects are few, but manly, too:
A dog bed
A ribbed cap
A wall hanging to display a blue ribbon for your horse
A big horse blanket, instructions as follows:

If you have been meaning to replace that leaky hose in the backyard, now is the time to do it. Cut a 40" piece of the hose and sharpen each end. This piece will be your circular needle....Cast on 90 stitches of "Jumbo" yarn.... Knit around and around until the piece measures about 32 inches long... If you don't have a horse, this project will make a good throw rug. Weave the edges together and block.

And the simplest sweater in existence:

Two rectangles are joined at the sides and top, with openings for arms and neck. It can be made in any size....Using size 10 needles, cast on the correct number of stitches for one half of the sweater, and work in the Moss pattern. Hold the knitted piece up to the person to determine how long it needs to be. Bind off when it is long enough.

Finally, there's the Rope Hammock:

Using shovel handles, or pool cues for needles.... cast on 17 stitches using 1/4 inch manila rope. Work in the Stockinette pattern until it is a little longer than you are tall... Work large dowels through stitches at both ends and tie on ropes for hanging.

I wish all knitting books were written so clearly -- and had a horse on the cover.

UPDATE: And here it is:



- posted by Cynthia @ 1:14 PM | | | Link |