Collection Development

A co-worker sent me the link to a very funny blog called Awful Library Books, where library workers and other tipsters anonymously submit outdated or unintentionally hilarious books from library collections.

When I worked at a university library, I became accustomed to seeing these types of books (university libraries usually don't get rid of books.) Judith Vigna was one of my favourites from this time. She is the author of such inspirational children's fare as I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much, Nobody Wants a Nuclear War: Story and Pictures and Mommy and Me by Ourselves Again. (Maybe Daddy drinks because you're incredibly depressing, Judith).

I'm pretty used to seeing weird old books, is what I'm saying. But this one still made me do a spit-take:



This isn't funny because it uses the word retarded. It's funny because

1. The cover image is unsightly. I'm not sure what craft it's supposed to be. Clay ingot mauling?
2. "Through Their Hands / They Shall Learn."
3. There seems to be a word missing from the title.

The librarians who submitted this book pose the question: “What better way to raise a child’s potential than by teaching him or her to stretch a goat skin to make a drum, then paint swastikas on it?”

There's plenty more at awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com, including More Great Pantyhose Crafts (which is probably Amy-Sedaris-approved) and Everything You Need to Know About the Goth Scene (a book for concerned parents).

Everyday Crochet: Meditations on a Theme

Belated Book Review: Everyday Crochet by Doris Chan

Potter Craft, 2007



I haven't been much of a crocheter lately but Everyday Crochet is making me want to get back on the hook.


Doris Chan offers 19 patterns for sleek and curve-skimming cameos, cardigans and sweaters. Unlike the overwhelming majority of crochet patterns, these designs use crochet's unique properties to enhance the fit of the garment. These designs work because they are crocheted, not in spite of it.

To achieve this minor miracle, Chan avoids using solid stitches and instead uses shells stitches that create an airy, figure-hugging fabric. Each pattern uses top-down construction to maximize the elasticity of the shells. The arms are shaped with innocuous raglan increases. Each garment uses this unusual construction method, and the results are some very lovely variations on a theme. Chan keeps the collection interesting by varying sleeves and necklines, and by making garments either loose or close-fitting. If you like one of these pretty tops, you'll probably like most of them.



My favourite is sweet tea:




More photos are available on Doris Chan's Flickr page.



Amazingly, Chan also includes directions for additional shaping with short rows. She proves her commitment to well-fitted garments by including up to 10 different sizes, ranging from a 30" bust to a 50" bust.


I'm pretty certain that I want to try making one of these patterns, even though my crochet career advanced no further than amigurumi. I hope they live up the expectation of perfect fit that this book promises.

Always block the yoke

I thought I'd block my garter stitch cardigan while it's still in process, just to see how it would affect its length. Initially, I was worried that the cardigan would be too small. But blocking made it grow a size, and now I have the opposite problem:



The sleeve is way too big. It wrinkles in a funny way, too. It has armpit cameltoe:



It doesn't look as bad in the photo, but trust me, it's noticeable in real life.

Note: the pink line at the sleeve is a life-line I left in there, not a permanent feature. It marks the end of the yoke and the beginning of the sleeve, and handily demonstrates how over-long the yoke is. The yoke should end at the top of my armpit, not an inch and a half below it!

(Ignore the broach, too. I was just using it to hold the front closed. The final version will have white buttons).

When I was knitting the yoke, I was worried about the sleeves being too tight across my upper arm. I overestimated the number of stitches I'd need. Now the yoke is too deep. There about an inch of extra fabaric hanging below my armpit. I'm going to add a few decreases to the second sleeve, but I'm not sure if that will help the wrinkle or not. It might make it worse!

If I can't fix this, I could

1. Rip the cardigan back to the yoke and make the yoke shallower.
   
2. Make the sleeves short puff sleeves.
   

The lesson I should take with this is ALWAYS BLOCK THE YOKE before knitting the body or sleeves. This is the second top-down, in-the-round sweater that I've made with a too-deep yoke! Sigh. Also, I'm clearly making my gauge swatches too small, because they never grow as much as my garments.

If anyone reading this has any suggestions for correcting this made case of sleeve cameltoe, please leave a comment!

Feelings on felt

As previously noted, one thing I love about my college library job is sitting near the fashion books. Who could resist a giant textbook called Know Your Fashion Accessories? What is there about fashion accessories that I haven't already gleaned from 15 years of leafing through Allure in the doctor's office? Lots, apparently, and most of it rendered in graphs!

This library also owns Felted Jewelry: 20 Stylish Designs by Candie Cooper. Cooper has a fine arts degree from Purdue, and the best projects in this book lean closer to art than craft. She's especially fond of marble-sized wet-felted spheres embellished with seed beads and embroidery, used as the jewel on a ring, or mixed with pearl beads in a necklace. These projects are quite challenging, and require more time and skill with a needle than I could muster. (It's a good book for a college library that serves steady-handed students of jewelry design, but I would think twice about buying it for anyone else.)

Truth be told, I didn't even like felted jewelry until I looked through this book. I like the idea of creating beads from wool roving, but in practice it tends to look childish. Nonetheless, I've been won over by Felted Jewelry's 12-page "gallery", which shows mixed-media pieces by accomplished artists. My new favourite jewelry designers include:

• Scotland's Dorothy Hogg, who created this felt and silver broach for her artery series:

Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum collection photo by John K. McGregor.

• New Mexico's Kristen Lora, who made this lovely necklace and many other charming pieces from felt spheres and silver. You can see her entire felt collection on her website. I recommend checking out her non-felt pieces as well.
  

• Brigit Damman (of the Nethlands), who made this fascinating "boa necklace" from rubber and felt. It's bodily without being gorey, serenely evoking river stones, human organs and medical equipment. You can see more of her works on her website.

These artists vary tremendously in their approach, but they've all created excellent pieces by contrasting felt with another medium and maximizing its potential for bright, saturated colours. I will probably never make felted jewelry, but I'd love to buy some from a skillful artist who really know what she's doing.