Today I am using my blog as a sort of storage/reference system for an interesting article. For those of you interested in different breeds of sheep, I found this article on the Soay breed very interesting. The article appeared in the Guardian newspaper January 18th. I don’t happen to subscribe to the Guardian but the link was given by a member of the Online Guild.
BOOK FAIR TIME AGAIN January 21, 2008
What a good day I had yesterday at the Dublin City Book Fair. The day started well with a comment on a blog entry I made last September. I had reviewed a book by Maureen Baird-Murray. The comment was from her daughter thanking me for reading her mother’s book – but also with the sad news that her mother had passed away 2 1/2 years ago. Her daughter told me her mother was a kindred soul in that she loved to knit – I wish I had been able to meet her. Receiving this comment gave that much more meaning to the book and I decided I was not ready to sell that book just yet. Therefore, Maureen Baird-Murray’s book A World Overturned was not for sale on my table at the Book Fair.
But I did have over 300 books for sale and had a steady stream of browsers, customers, friends, and combinations thereof. It was a busy day. Some of my customers like to chat about what I am knitting. One such customer was wearing a very attractive knitted jumper – she proudly boasted that she had done it on a knitting machine – but she strongly advised against that type of knitting – she found it too boring. Another customer told me I reminded him of his mother who was a great knitter of Aran and Fair Isle sweaters. 
some of the books on my table
As one of the other Book Fair participants said – Book Fairs aren’t only about selling books. They really are social occasions and are becoming even more so as I get to know the other sellers and the regular customers. All book lovers at heart.
To get back to knitting – here are several of my latest projects. 
3 pairs of socks and a short scarf
Art Class and Recorder Notes January 14, 2008
I managed to relate my art class to my recorder lessons. I had a great time last Friday doing sketches of the fingering for notes on the bass recorder. The sketching was fun and then the recorder lesson was fun. Am not sure my brain retained the link between my sketches and actually playing the notes but I can only believe that the two activities have some possibility of reinforcing each other.
bass recorder notes
Now to think of how to relate this to the knitting that I want to do.
Chromatic Scale
Is there any way I can relate the chromatic scale to knitting? The chromatic scale seems to be my current stumbling block in my clarinet lessons (only one stumbling block among many!!). I’m trying to persuade myself to keep soldiering on with the clarinet lessons when what I really want to do is just sit and knit – the current knitting obsession is socks. 
latest socks, in blues and greens
Now for the chromatic scale – maybe think Knit, Purl, Knit, Purl …………..E, F, F#, G, G#, A, Bflat, C, C#, D, D# To play the chromatic scale on the clarinet I have to start on the left side and play E with that left little finger – then go to the right side of the instrument for F, then back to the left side for F# – hence the analogy Knit, Purl, Knit, Purl Or maybe I should actually think Purl, Knit, Purl, Knit since ordinarily I associate a purl with the wrong side of the knitting (or to use someone else’s terminology, the private side of the knitting.) Anyhow, the purl side is not the side we usually think of when we think of knitting. And low E on the clarinet is usually (for me anyhow) played with the right hand little finger. So to get started, think Purl, think left. Then I’m on my way.
here’s a fingering chart to remind me
Another way of relating this to knitting has been suggested to me by reading Liz Lovick’s suggestions for remembering a pattern when knitting Fair Isle. She suggests thinking of the pattern in terms of Light and Dark – I could also think of my clarinet keys in those terms – well, it might be worth a try. For example, Light keys to the left, Dark keys to the right. Anything to help this ageing brain! Hmm, I’m not so sure because then when you relate to keys on the piano you get into the Light and Dark analogy and that might just complicate things too much – will have to think about that some more.
Cold Weather Wear January 9, 2008
with this cold snap I am digging out some sweaters only fit for January cold. Here’s another somewhat forgotten/neglected cardigan from the finished objects stash. I knit this about 15 years ago when we lived in Kenya. There were lovely handspun naturally dyed yarns available from The Spinner’s Web. The subtle colours of those Kenya Leo yarns from Njoro were irrisistable. I just had to knit with them. I can’t remember if I even had a pattern but I just worked away and this cardigan is the result. The yarn wasn’t of the best quality compared with what one can buy today but the fact that it was naturally dyed – and I even knew the dyer – made for compulsive purchasing. The yarn from those Kenya sheep was a bit “hard” and it did not have a great deal of elasticity. Yet it was not strong enough to use in my rug weaving unless I combined it with a stronger thread. I had trouble with the neck of the resulting cardigan – and the fit across the front isn’t great – in fact it is not really comfortable if I button it across the front – I should have cast on more stitches – that’s my fault, not the fault of the yarn. But I can wear the cardigan and it has been admired by fellow knitters – that always makes my day!
A little book about the natural dyes used in Kenya might be of interest to some of you. Called A Notebook for Kenyan Dyers by Lorna Hindmarsh and published by the National Museum of Kenya.
Lopi knitting January 8, 2008
a couple years ago I knit this Lopi cardigan. Lopi as most of you know is that marvelously soft wool from Iceland. Once the cardigan was finished and photographed it was put away in the cupboard and I moved on to other projects. I made occasional attempts at wearing it but found it just too warm – but now the really cold weather is upon us and my Lopi cardigan has come into its own. Perfect weather for feeling warm and cosy wearing a Lopi. And yesterday my day was made when an anonymous attendee at our Recorder Day concert admired it – that was the highlight of a wonderful day of recorder playing.
in concert – Lopi cardigan is 3rd from the right
Here are my notes from this project.
Lopi Lite Icelandic cardigan – U.S. size 5 (or size 8?) circular needle, started in Seattle December 2004, am now halfway up the fronts and back and have now started one sleeve, having fun deciding on colours and patterns using dark oatmeal (not a lot), light oatmeal, dark purple and a shade lighter purple, January 12, 2005 February 6 – have now finished the sleeves and sewn them in – there could have been more stitches in the upper sleeves in order to fit the armholes – on the other hand maybe I should have decreased the size of the armholes – a bit late now but not irretrievable now to do the front bands and the collar, getting set to do this May 13, 2005This sweater is now finished, July 2005 – I got the buttons in Gerald Stanley & Sons department store in Clifden
Janet's thread 
