Fancy Feet and Lacy Longings
As I am utterly and completely addicted to socks and captivated by my new fascination with stranded knitting, I am eager (ahem… understatement) to get my hands on Anna Zilboorg’s sock patterns. Unfortunately, my library has none of her sock books.
Socks for Sandals and Clogs is not hard to find, but what I really want is a copy of either Fancy Feet: Traditional Knitting Patterns of Turkey or Simply Socks: 45 traditional Turkish patterns to knit. The second is really just a reprint of the first, so either will do. In a perfect world, I hope to find someone who inadvertently got both of these books and then realized they are just different editions of the same. Otherwise, I may have to camp on AZ’s doorstep and beg for a reprint.

Meanwhile I am trying to distract myself with other projects – tricky as only accessories are on my to-do list for the present. I’m temporarily avoiding knitting actual garments of a fitted nature for a few months while I train for the 2-day 60-km Weekend to End Breast Cancer. As I’m on an exercise and health kick, it seems foolish to put all the work into making a sweater that will be too big (I hope) in a couple of months.

Hmmm… perhaps some kind of dangerously delectable lace will keep my mind off it for a while. I’m reasonably adept at lace patterning in garments, but I have yet to venture into the labyrinthine intricacy of a true lace-weight knitted shawl. Am I brave (foolish?) enough to attempt some Hyrna Herborgorgeousness, or should I stick with something simpler first?
Well, I finally broke down and ordered the Three-cornered and Long Shawls from Schoolhouse Press. This is a reprint of the near-legendary Icelandic shawl book by Sigridur Halldórsdóttir with instructions and charts for 27 lovely lace shawls and scarves knitted with Icelandic Laceweight or Unspun Icelandic wools and comes with a handy English translation for all the patterns by Marilyn van Keppel. I just wish there was also a translation of the probably fascinating history and shawl-lace knitting lore in the front section of the book.
Mesmerized by all the knitting books offered at Schoolhouse, I simply couldn’t resist getting Poems of Color — Wendy Keele’s beautiful book on the Bohus tradition. And then Cheryl Oberle’s Folk Vests just hopped into my online cart of its own accord. I was also drooling over Donna Druchunas’ Arctic Lace, but I might be able to resist that a while more (or did I order that one too? oh, dear – now it’s all a blur).