No Knit, Knitting.....

Well I think spring might actually be here as the trees are blooming and I'm sneezing and working my way through tissues like I work through wool, but I think it's having a hard time deciding whether or not to stay. It was 90 on Saturday, 70 on Sunday and 35 this morning. If it would stick to that nice 70 range, I'd be ever so thankful!

We've had the windows open for the last few days and this morning it was so difficult to get out of bed. When DH left at 6:30am I went and made tea and grabbed a book and slid down under all the lovely comforters and blankets on the bed. It was one of those dreamy mornings when you feel so content under the covers that you can't decide whether to go back to sleep or get your lazy behind out of bed. The "out of bed" part won out, but not until 7:45am. The self debate was almost to great to overcome.

Part of the difficulty was actually the book that I am currently reading or should I say finished reading, The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club, by Gil McNeil. It's not a pattern book or an instructional book, but it's based on a little knitting shop in England and is full of funny and eccentric characters. So, I thought it a great time to do a little blog about a great knitting book that can be put on your list of beach reads for this spring and summer.

The main character is Jo, she is a widow with a twist (I shan't say just what that is as you may not be someone that reads the last page of a book first or someone that wants to know the details before you've read them for yourself.) I'll just say that Jo needs a new beginning with her two little boys and they find it when she goes to take over the running of her Gran's yarn shop. I think you'll find a character that you relate to and if you're at all like me, you find that you wish you had two extra pairs of arms as the book makes you want to knit several items at once.

The book is fairly quick read, which in my opinion makes it perfect for taking in my bag wherever I go. If for some reason I can't knit, I have to read and why not read something about knitting be it fiction or non. I have now moved on to the sequel, Needles and Pearls and I can say that it's well worth the time as well. New adventures abound for all the major and minor players. Just like a good sequel should, Needles and Pearls keeps you wanting more.

What's in your spring/summer (hand knit of course) book bag????

Knit on, Read on......
The Knitty Scribe

Here Comes the Bride....

The month of April is here (I'm not sure how we got here so fast, but c'est la vie). This month is a huge month for birthdays in my family and among my friends, including my own. This means a full month of parties and celebrations, but this year there is also another special celebration to take place. The Royal wedding of HRH Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton on April 29th, 2011. Now for some this is no big deal and they feel that we are all getting into a tither for no good reason. Fine, be that as it may, for some it is very special and for numerous reasons. It is special to me for reasons I cannot adequately put into words, but I will give just a few similarities of my own life.

My DH, Dave and I were married in the same year as Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Although I have always been nicknamed, De (came from my grandfather and means the word to me) after Charles and Diana were engaged, people thought it cute to call me Lady Di. Ha ha, but as I said they thought it cute and did it because they cared about me. That makes it a very good thing.

At my wedding, our niece, Elisabeth was a baby and she is marrying this summer in the same year as William and Kate. The Royal wedding will be more opulent and celebrated throughout the world, but the wedding of Nick and Beth will be the grandest event for our family this year.

And to top things off, we have a little Kate in our own family. She may only be 2 and half, but she is our little princess in every way.

So, I, Aunt Diana, the one that believes in having stories and mementos to pass down through ages of our family will be making little keepsake William and Kate dolls for both my girls. I want the girls to know that although William and Kate are to be celebrated by the world, Beth and Kate are celebrated by me, their aunt. That I love and care for them as if they were my own daughters and that they have just as special a place in history as the handsome young man of noble birth and his lovely bride.

That all being said, this week's book pick is Knit Your Own Royal Wedding by: Fiona Goble. Fiona has given us the couple in both their engagement and wedding clothes. Kate's dress is a guess as of this moment, but I'm sure there will be updated patterns of the actual dress once we've all seen it with our own eyes. Along with the couple are members of the royal family, footman and for some reason the Queen's dogs. Now, I know the Queen loves her dogs, but I would rather have had the brides parents included instead. I do believe I can pull this off by making some spare dolls and knitting up a few of the alternate dresses in the back of the book. For those of you that really want to display your royal wedding, there is a cardboard balcony in a sleeve in the back of the book. All in all the book is well done and the there is a bit of the royal romance story documented at the beginning along with a few of the known wedding plans.

If you don't knit, this might be a nice gift for someone that does or as a memento for someone that collects royal memorabilia. The cover price of the book is 17.99US/21.00Canadian, but I got my copy via Amazon.com for 10.85US. I looked today and it's selling for 12.15US. I am wondering if this price will increase as the wedding draws near??? The publisher is Andrews McMeel at www.andrewsmcmeel.com.

So, whether you have a physical or emotional connection to the royals, it might be fun to knit up a couple of these dolls and some general clothes for your own little princess to play with.

Knit on, Read on,
The Knitty Scribe