Book Reviews (3): Knitterly stuff

So today was a fairly lazy day, full of writing thank-you notes and browsing the web.  This afternoon, though, I headed down to the library for the first time in ages.  (Incidentally, if you haven’t heard about the Ohio library system getting screwed over by Governor Strickland, go look it up.  It’s pretty infuriating.)  I got three books, all knitting, and thought “Hey, why not stick them up in the Den?”  So here we go.

Note: Links in the book titles take you to the Amazon page for that book.  Don’t just buy it from Amazon if you can get it at your local bookstore, though.

BOOK #1
Knit with Beads: Beautiful Gifts, Easy Techniques, 18 Beautiful Designs by Scarlet Taylor

I recall picking this book up sometime last year, leafing through it, and then doing nothing with it.  Now, though, I’ve seriously looked at it, and it is an excellent book.  The techniques are indeed easy (trust me, there are cable and lace patterns FAR more complex than this), and all the designs are gorgeous.  She also covers when it is and isn’t appropriate to use beads and what kinds of beads are best for various applications.

The beading techniques fall into two categories: pre-strung, and hook.  (She also includes beaded fringe, but to me that’s embellishment, not knitting.)  Everything within the pre-strung category is just what you do with the stitch before you move the bead.  Then, after teaching you the technique – with lots of pictures – she gives you patterns that apply the method.  Pretty much everything is covered, up to and including the “bead knitting” that was so popular in the Victorian era.  Yeah, the ones where you knit with beads on every stitch and row of the pattern, so you only see beads, not knit fabric.  Very time consuming, with lovely results.  But instead of saying “And here’s a vintage clutch pattern to use with this technique!” (which is a personal pet peeve; I mean, does anyone use those?), she comes up with three adorable clutch purses with wooden beads and handles that smack of the tropics.  There’s also a pair of socks that look like Leyburn socks with beads at the points, a set of bridal gauntlets with pearls that would be a lovely gift, and a little vintage lace cap with beads hanging from the points.  (I’m definitely making this one for myself.)

This book is an excellent teacher; it assumes that you’re smart but just don’t know anything about this topic.  (I hate books that “dumb it down”.)  The patterns are all, if not astounding, all knittable, excellent applications of beading rather than just slapping beads where they don’t belong.  Definitely going on my book list.  (And look, there’s another one!  Stunning Shawls and Wraps.)

Stardragon’s rating: 10 out of 10 butterscotch candies

BOOK #2
Saturday Sweaters: Easy to Knit, Easy to Wear by Doreen L. Marquart

This was another one I’ve browsed through in the past, and, to be honest, it didn’t really grab me the second time around.  Don’t get me wrong: the dozen-odd sweaters in there are all wearable, if not extremely grabbing.  They would fall into what I call “mindless knitting” – the kind where you just go and go and measure occasionally to see if you’re at the proper length yet.  My favorites of the bunch are the  Lazy Day tunic (knit seamless in the round after the flaps), the Moss Rib Stitch pullover, and the Faux Heart Cardigan.  As for the others… they’re decent, and fairly flattering, and she makes good use of the yarn’s quirks.  However, the patterns are all fairly simple, and appear to be the same basic sweater with a different stitch pattern jammed on it.  (The last few patterns are actually just the same sweater shown in a different weight yarn, which to me is just insulting and lazy.)  Also, there’s absolutely no shaping thrown in, though that’s easy enough to fix; and I have a preference for seamless stuff, which is also easy enough to fix.

My advice?  If you’re really new to sweaters, you may want to consider this.  It does make a good, basic, bare-bones sweater book.  Me, on the other hand – I would just browse through, take notes about gauge, yardage, sizing, measurements, etc. to get a feel for what a basic sweater should look like, and then make my own from there.  (I nearly choked when I saw the price on the back.  $24.95?  Really?)  If you have a lot of experience with sweaters, I’d pass.

Stardragon’s rating: 6 out of 10 butterscotch candies

BOOK #3
Continuous Cables by Melissa Leapman

I saw the first book by this woman (Cables Untangled) in Barnes & Noble and instantly desired it.  Instantly.  I am nuts about cables, particularly non-traditional traveling motifs.  As I recall, that particular volume was all about long cable panels, such as you might find on Aran sweaters.  Even though I practically drooled over it, it was huge and hardback and far beyond my price range.  (At the time.  If I’d had a gift card I would’ve snatched it up in a heartbeat.)

So when I saw this on the library shelf today, of course I grabbed it.  And, as I hoped, the authoress did not disappoint.  The book starts off with basic instructions, all geared toward cabling.  Specific types of increases, decreases, twists, and “axis cables” (I knew there was a name for them).  None of the “this is how you knit.  This is how you purl” that is so prevalent and insulting in many knitting books.  (If you’re picking up a book chock-full of cable patterns, chances are you already know how to do the basics.)  Next is a short lesson on reading charts and symbols and decoding “knitter-ese”.  Then she moves on to simple projects, gradually going to women’s sweaters, other things, and finally – the best part – a huge stitch dictionary in the back.  Huge.  Like 1/3-1/2 of the book size huge.  I would buy it for the charts alone, never mind the terrific design tips and patterns.

So whereas Cables Untangled was all about vertical panels (don’t quote me on that, I may be wrong), this one was all about “closed-ring cables”.  Meaning cables that have a definite bottom and top that are either curved or pointy, most of which are reminiscent of Celtic motifs.  Like the ones I’m planning for my sweaters.  Oh yeah, this one’s going on my list.  I may renew it a dozen times, or as long as it takes to get to my birthday.  (Assuming the library will let me.)

Here’s the thing: I am practically a self-taught knitter.  I have never thought anything is difficult, mostly because I’ve never had anyone telling me “This is really tough”.  My first cable pattern was a Celtic knot motif going up a pair of knee socks.  So to me, this is absolutely luscious material, perhaps a little tedious, but not neccessarily difficult.  To someone who’s never done cables, or is intimidated by them, or hates charts (the charts are long enough that typing out verbal instructions is not useful), this might not be the best “first cable book” to buy.  For an intermediate, experienced, or greatly daring knitter, heck yeah, buy the book.  And unlike Book #2 in this review, this one is well worth the price.

Stardragon’s rating: 10 out of 10 butterscotch candies

That concludes today’s book review!  Maybe with summer around (and my upcoming wisdom teeth removal next Tuesday) I’ll actually do some more of these things.  (Don’t hold your breath.)

Done, done, and done.

This past week has been all about finishing stuff.

There was stuff that started out okay, then took a fast turn for the craptastic and sucked every moment of the way.  This stuff was a test in endurance, patience, and ingenuity/problem-solving.

Andean Llama cap for a friend, ravelled here.

There was stuff that looked like it was going to be super easy, but required a bit more thought and care.  Sometimes, despite anyone’s best intentions, this stuff still didn’t turn out the way it was expected.

 

 

Hobbswyllin socks for me, ravelled here.  The legs have to be reknit on larger needles.

There was stuff that actually was super easy – that absolutely flew along, and I had to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the journey.  I am by and large a “product knitter”, and I occasionally need to remember that the process of getting the finished stuff is just as valuable.

 

Leyburn socks for me, ravelled here.  As you can see, they’re not quite a pair yet.

Oh, and the biggest project I finished?

High school.

Valedictorian of Dayton Christian High School, with a GPA of 4.21.

I haven’t decided how being an alumnus feels yet.

That’s my youth pastor, being a bit nutty in the background.

Like knitting, high school had its ups and downs.  There were times when it sucked fantastically, and other times when it was amazing.  There were times when it dragged on to infinity and beyond, and times when I thought, “Holy crap, where did the time go?”

And like the Leyburn socks, I know that this doesn’t mean I’m done yet.  I still have things to do, little bits that need wrapping up before I move onto the next thing.  But still, a chapter is closed in my life, and moving on is a little bittersweet.

(Also, does the word “stuff”  now look weird to anyone else?)

Kimono, fire lizard, updates.

Kimono:

Dragon Gate (this place, I think) has a store in the Dayton Mall that is going out of business.  Everything’s on sale, including their lovely kimono-inspired dresses (knee-length and full-length), which I’m currently not finding on their site.  Short dresses are $11, long dresses are a little more.  At a price like that, you can hardly go wrong, so of course I got one.

Sorry for the blurry shot, it was either that or flash blinding everything out.  But you get the idea.

This one is knee-length with a slit running to mid-thigh, mandarin collar with two frogs and three snaps closing and a zipper running on the right side.

There were also some striking black/gold/red ones there, but since I already have a red brocade sundress I left those alone.  And an ivory one with gold dragons and phoenixes, but the color was wrong for my skin tone… and a lovely one with a few shades of blue that was the wrong size… yeah, you get the idea.  My idea with this is to do some reverse engineering and possibly make a few of my own in different colors.

Fire lizard:

Walked around the house with Hawkeye on my shoulder yesterday.

Mum and Omma were amused.

Updates:

I plan to review Black Powder War and Empire of Ivory.  Soon, if possible.  But baccalaureate and commencement are next week, so no promises.  And I’d like to do Victory of Eagles, if I can snag it from the library soon.  There should be some knitting content too, considering everything I’ve gotten done recently.

Babblebabblebabble.

FO: Woven-wire Bracelet

Just finished this the other day, but didn’t think to take pictures until now.  (Can you tell I unloaded the camera again?)

Sorry for the blurriness; my camera is a bit ADD as to whether or not it wants to do detail shots.  But hopefully you can see the four-strand braid pattern.

This shows you the approximate size.  More pictures can be found at my Photobucket account (click on the pics to be taken there).

Stats: Approx. 7.5″ long if stretched out.  Made of copper and silver jewelry wire.  The bracelet is flexible and can be gently bent to adjust size.  Now up in The Store.

Updates.

New tutorial for Pizza Sticks is up.  Woven-wire bracelet will be added to the store in a moment.

Nothing else to report.  Off to a cookout for the senior girls in my girls’ group in a little while.

Facebook: I has it.

Here, to be specific.  Feel free to friend me, I’ll probably confirm if I know you.

Expect a long-winded post tomorrow.

Review: Kiss

Kiss by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy

Warning: mild spoilers ahead.  No like, no read.  If you don’t care, feel free to highlight.

I love pretty much anything by Ted Dekker.  His book Blink (recently renamed Blink of an Eye, with additional content) still remains on my all-time favorites list.

Team-ups, however, make me a little wary.  It’s hard to do them well, because each author’s style is so incredibly unique.  House remains the sole exception that I personally have seen.

This one was done fairly well, which may be due in part to the fact that I’ve never read anything by the second author.  Still, I enjoyed it.

Shauna, the main character, gets in a car accident with her younger brother as a passenger.  When she wakes up in the hospital, six months have gone by, and there is a huge hole in her memory.  What’s worse, her brother Rudy is all but a vegetable, kept alive by the care of their Oval-Office-seeking father and domineering stepmother.  Neither of her parents believes the truth of her amnesia, and they refuse to even let her near her little brother.  It seems like her only friends are her supposed-boyfriend, Wayne (she can’t remember him either), and her doting uncle.  However, a nosy news reporter seems to have a different side of the story – one that could seriously rock her world.  And the unexpected side effects from the drugs – or lack thereof – leave her on the run with a man she should know but can absolutely not remember.

The premise of the book intrigued me.  Shauna’s gift (she can *look into people’s heads by touching them and steal their memories*) reminds me a little of some of the parapsychic powers in Push.  However, her moral dilemmas were less-than-satisfyingly solved, particularly the last one.

The general naivete of the characters bothered me, too.  Shauna wasn’t ready to believe that Wayne was really her boyfriend almost from the start; yet she latches onto Miguel without a second thought.  Also, her dad was a Senator and running for President.  Obviously a fairly canny guy.  How in the world did he not figure out that *Patrice and the uncle were illegally funding his campaign*?  I mean seriously, if you have that much money coming in, wouldn’t you at least check out of curiousity?  And the ending leaves a lot to be desired.

Possible objectionable content: Shauna *Mind Raping Wayne* in fury, plus some general moral screwiness.  Also, her family disturbs me.  14+ if you ask me.

Stardragon’s rating: 7.5 out of 10 butterscotch candies.

Haven’t done one of these for a while… enjoyed it.

Portfolio addition. And, uh, blather.

Vengeance Part 2: Wisdom is now up in the portfolio.  Please click and review!

Also.  Slight changes made to the FAQ’s and GTKY pages.  More details on my LJ post.

And, uh, I haven’t knit anything for a while… my mojo kinda went caput.  But it apears to be back now, so I’m churning on the two-at-a-time Skull Isle mitts.

That’s all, I guess…

Overview: the Inheritance cycle

Kind of a book review of the whole series.

I know I reviewed Brisingr not too long ago, and I gave it a pretty decent rating.  However, I was in a fairly good mood then.  Right now my joints are aching (freaking storm cell) and I’m ticked at my now-ex-boyfriend (freaking…everything), so the snark censor is coming off.

Many of the links here can be found on the tv tropes page for the series.  I’m just adding my own commentary.  Also, highlight for spoilers.

When I first got Eragon (Christmas of… uh, ‘03, maybe?), I was only in seventh grade.  I was too young (and inexperienced) to see the flaws in the book, and anything I did notice I most likely wrote off as “to-be-solved later in the series”.  What thrilled me the most was that this book, which was selling well adn getting acclaim, was written by someone close to my age.

Then Eldest came out.

My respect for the series took an abrupt nosedive.  The characters changed in ways I disliked, the elves were even more hoity-toity/pretentious/near-perfect than before (incidentally, this is one of my biggest beefs with the LOTR film adaptations), and the whole thing positively reeked of Tolkein.  (For example: *secret forest elven city?  Elven queen?  Cities in the trees?  Traveling out by boat with a dwarf? * Need I go on?)  Also, the double Luke I Am Your Father at the end (including a *sibling version*) was not nearly as dramatic as I expected.  (Note: the Reset Button got smacked in Brisingr, but neither one of these reveals was what I was expecting it to be.)

Now that I have some lit crit under my belt (and  few years of reading good books), I’ve read Brisingr and reread the first two.  And now I can see the series for the blatant plaigarism it is.  Essentially, take George Lucas’ plotlines, borrow Tolkein’s settings, and throw in a dash of Anne McCaffrey (plus some other miscellaneous books), and you have the Inheritance cycle.  A rather cutting summary of Eldest can be found at the review link above.

In Paolini’s defense, his dragons are not complete copycats of Pern.  Aside from the physical characteristics such as scales (which make a lot more sense for a top-predator animal), they are also emotionally and mentally more mature than their Pernese cousins.  Also, though bonded dragons are bound for life (as on Pern), wild dragons can survive perfectly well without humans, though they are considerably more savage.  (This was perhaps the biggest hook for me… I didn’t quite like the idea of an insanely powerful creature being dependent on us puny humans.  Although Paolini doesn’t say what defines a wild dragon egg and a rider-bound dragon egg…)

Brisingr contained the first major deviation from Lucas’ plotline.  Oh, sure, you have the rescue of the distressed damsel and the *death of the wise mentor*, but right at the beginning you have that scene with Sloan.  Eragon is furious with the blind Sloan for kidnapping Katrina and threatens him.  Sloan defends himself with his love for his daughter, cusses Eragon out and (rightly) calls Eragon out on presuming to play God just because he’s got magic and a dragon. Eragon’s response?  He *Mind Rapes Sloan and leaves him to fend for himself until he can make his way to Lothlorien Du Weldenvarden*.  What the Hell, Hero.

To be perfectly honest, Eragon scares me a little.  Here we have this child prodigy, bonded to a dragon, who apparently learns magic through osmosis and has been made into some half-elven thing (not kidding), has a *flaming sword that only responds to his voice* (still not kidding), and is out to right all the wrongs in the world.  Yuh huh.  And even if he doesn’t have the Eldunari at his disposal (by the way, that concept is freaking brilliant, even if it smacks slightly of DragonHeart), he’s still pretty darn powerful for only having been bonded a few years.  Here’s my question: once he does away with Galbatorix (that’s still his quest, right?…right?), what or who can stop him from changing int othe same kind of person?

And I don’t buy Oromis’ explanation at all.  The idea that not having a deity leaves us free to be morally pure is complete and unadultered bullcrap.  You don’t have to teach kids to be evil.  You have to teach them to be good.  If you remove the moral authority, all you have is a bunch of savages on your hands.  (Lord of the Flies, anyone?)  Also, you can’t just say “it works for the elves cuz the elves are perfect”. (Vanir, anyone?)

My thoughts?

The series had the potential to be good.  It still has the occasional flash of brilliance in it (like the Eldunari), but those are largely overshadowed by the plot copycatting and general Narminess of the more dramatic sequences.  (Blood-Oath Celebration?  Trial of Shining Knives?  Need I go on?)  Also, I personally wish the author would get off his soapbox and move the story along.  (So far we’ve found out that eating meat is cruel, people who follow religion are morons, and elves are better than anyone else.  But screwing with people’s heads is a-okay!  Also, you can be all-powerful as long as you have the general population’s best interests in mind.)  Seriously, he did not have to make four books.  A good third of Brisingr could have been knocked out without any adverse effects.

Eragon is rapidly approaching a Moral Event Horizon; it’ll be interesting to see the specifics and the choice he makes.  Personally, the whole thing with Sloan really put me off rooting for him, but I like Roran’s bloodthirsty nature even less.

Also, I really, really hope the third egg hatches and we get another Rider.  Since Saphira’s female and the third egg is male, as is Eragon, it’s fairly safe to assume the next Rider will be female.  (Unless Paolini comes up with a really creative way to deal with a mating flight… of course, the way things are going with Eragon, that might not be a problem either.  You know what I mean.)  I realize that the biggest candidate is Arya, but my personal preference would be Angela.  She’d be a sweet Rider.

Predictions for the fourth book:

• Thorn (and possibly Murtagh) die[s], perhaps with a redemptive scene.
• Galbatorix/Shuriken die, again with a possible redemptive scene.
• Arya and Eragon somehow deal with all their UST feelings/awkwardness.
• Third dragon hatches and gets a rider.  My money’s on Angela.
• Eragon is somehow banished from Alagaesia.  (Remember Angela’s prediction?  And the Ra’zac’s convenient repetition thereof?  I’m guessing a Grey Havens-esque scene.)
• Nasuada, not Eragon, conquers the free world takes over Galbatorix’s rule.  Or dies a heroic death.  Can’t decide which.
• Angela finally gets her Crowning Moment of Awesome.  Seriously, why has she not had one yet?
• Eragon reluctantly destroys the Eldunari, making Galbatorix explode and his minions die in a volcanic eruption as his fortress collapses OOPS, WRONG SERIES~

Movie?  What movie?  Don’t know what you’re talking about.

Public Service Announcement

Attention everyone:

See the little set of numbers there?  Right at the bottom of the sidebar?

Of course you don’t.  It’s invisible, as per my choice.

That is what we call a statcounter.  Starting NOW, it tracks how many people come to my page.  And gives me info on them. 

Well, what for?

Someone – I don’t know who – has been leaving anonymous comments on various posts and pages.  These comments are either rude, profane, or both.  They are not comments on my writing or subject matter; they are direct attacks on me.  I got tired of it.  (The comments have been deleted, don’t bother looking for them.)

Now, thanks to this stat counter, I can find out your IP address – both name and number – , the OS you’re using, what country and city you’re in, how long you stayed, and what pages you visited.  I’m not doing this to stalk people.  I’m doing it to prove that anonymity is practically impossible on the internet and if you’re going to be rude, you might as well do it to my face.  Doing it anonymously just proves you’re a coward.

Don’t be afraid to drop by, I’m not giving out information to anyone.  Unless, of course, it keeps up, in which case I will track and log all info and turn it in to the necessary authorities so THEY can deal with it.  I’m not above nailing people for harassment.  I’m not even against anonymous commenting, I understand not having a profile or the internet messing up so you can’t log in.  But, if you’re going to say something against me or my writing or whatever, have the balls to do it to my face.  Or don’t say anything.  Just don’t expect to stay hidden.

Also, I can do this on any of my websites.  Which means I can track LJ hits as well.  (Actually, I might do that, just for the heck of it.)

Anyway.  Done with that.  On a more random note, I took an online color vision test (found here) last night.  The lower your score, the better your color vision.  A perfect score is 0, but scores range up to almost 2000.  I got a 6.  Hahahahaha.  That explains a lot.