Wild Thing

Knitted Wild Animals: 15 Adorable, Easy-To-Knit Toys

by Sarah Keen

Words can't do this book justice, but I'm going to try anyway.  I confess I haven't made anything from the book, but my daughter has already selected the rhino for my next project.  What I love about these patterns is that the animals look like real stuffed (is that an oxymoron?) animals, not those oddly shaped creatures that look like you were on drugs when you made them.  The pictures in the book are clear, close-up and cute.  The patterns read as easy-to-understand.  There even is information about the real animals.  Best of all, it really doesn't matter if you have the correct weight yarn or knit to the correct gauge -- the only difference at the end of the day will be the size of the animal you create!  Sounds just like the ideal project for the knitter who wants to move on from making rectangles of various sizes (shawls, scarfs, blankets).

I told a friend of mine that I was going to buy this book.  She asked me to order a copy for her.  As she put it, "If I start now, by the time I have grandchildren [her oldest is 20 with no spouse in sight], I may have one animal done."

Your Morning Metaphor | American Libraries Magazine

Your Morning Metaphor American Libraries Magazine

For all the poetry and Cheerios lovers, an article you shouldn't miss.

Are You Savvy?

I confess -- I am one of those people that have to finish a book once they've started it.  I actually can name the books I haven't finished (Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and What Happened Before He Shot Her by Linda George).  I even finished Patton for a class after the teacher had told us we could stop.  I thought I had overcome this trait.  But then I forced myself to read 296 pages of a mystery hoping with the turn of every page that it would "get better".  It didn't.

Now, finally, a book that justifies this flaw. Savvy, Ingrid Law's first book, is a true gem.  And if I hadn't forced myself to continue reading it until after the first 90 pages, I might have missed it.  At first, the book seems to follow a tried and true formula, making for very little in the way of an interesting plot.  But then the book soars.  It is full of twists and turns and wonderful fully developed characters.  And messages good for readers of all ages, although we older readers will see them more easily.

The only bad thing about this is that I may have to give Twilight another shot - I only got through the first 16 pages the first time.  Do I think it's another Savvy?  Not by a long shot.  But doesn't every book deserve a second chance?

Creating versus Consuming

The Director of the Westport Public Library, Maxine Bleiweis, often speaks of how libraries have changed and how they must continue to change if libraries are going to continue to serve their patrons.  One point she has made is how people now no longer simply consume information; with various web 2.0 tools at their disposal, they also create information.  Anyone who blogs understands this.  After all, we are blogging so others can read our thoughts.

But this point was truly brought home to me over the Christmas break from school.  I created a Goodreads account about a year ago.  For those of you unfamiliar with Goodreads, it is a Web 2.0 cite for books, just as Ravelry is a web 2.0 tool for yarn.  I had been using LibraryThing to catalog the books I read, but when I got over a certain number (one or two hundred), it was going to cost me money!  So I abandoned LibraryThing and moved to Goodreads.

I like these cites.  They help me to recommend books for friends, keep track of books I plan on reading (no more little slips of paper!) and avoid those horrible times when I get 200 pages into a book to realize I read it a few years ago.  Goodreads gives you the option of adding your own review.  Sometimes I do that - particularly if I want to remember what I liked or disliked about a book.  I never never thought of that as "creating content", it was a memory aid only.  Yet over the winter break I got 3 emails from Goodreads about 3 different books I had reviewed, notifying me that other Goodreads members had marked that review as one that they liked.

So yes, Maxine, we are creators of content.  Whether we know it or not!

Don't Write the Obit For Picture Books Yet

Don't Write the Obit For Picture Books Yet

Some of you may have read the New York Times article on the supposed demise of the picture book. Read this article in Publishers Weekly for a more balanced perspective. Most interesting (to me) were the comments on how graphic novels and picture books enhance visual literacy, something definitely considered a 21st century skill.

"We Knitters Work a Powerful Magic When We Knit for Others."

The title of this post is taken from Knitting for Peace by Betty Christiansen.  Many of us have heard of the power of prayer shawls, and of the comfort they provide to their recipients.  This book will take you far beyond prayer shawls.  As the Christmas holidays approach, I have been asked to knit for several charities.  While I have been able to refuse on cordial terms, a part of me wants to scream at these people "Are you crazy?  It's only a few weeks until Christmas and NOW you are asking me to knit?  Where were you last March when I was bored and looking for a good project?  Do you really think I have spare time NOW?"

To assuage my guilty conscience, I looked at this book.  These are not projects geared to a certain time of year.  In other words, come February when I have recovered from my Christmas throw extravaganza, the charities in this book will still need knitters.  You can knit slippers for soldiers, afghans for Afghanis, blankets for the homeless, the ill and animals in shelters (to soften their pens).  You can knit caps for chemotherapy patients and preemies, security blankets for children, socks for Russian orphans and teddy bears for children with AIDS in South Africa.

Every project in this book has a pattern and contact information for the charity.

Revel in Ravelry and Organize Your Stash

If there is one thing most librarian's love, it is applying order to their collection, whether it is a collection of books or a collection of yarn.  There is an amazing free website out there to help you do this.  Ravelry is a social networking site that has a place for you to "catalog" your stash.  It will allow you to add your own pictures, notes and projects.  You can keep a list of the needles and hooks (yes, it's for crocheters as well as knitters) and print it out for when you go shopping.  To give you an idea of how this site can change your life, here's a screen shot of some of my stash.

Yes, it has the name of the yarn, a picture of the yarn and how many skeins I own.  What you don't see are the notes:  where the yarn is stored, what I may have planned, etc.

Once you have your yarn "catalogued", you can click on Projects within the yarn and you will be able to see what projects other Ravelry members have completed with this yarn.  It will tell you the pattern, and if the pattern is available online, you can download it for free or for a price.  If nothing else, you will get ideas for things to make.

This website is definitely worth a few hours of your time exploring.  For the first time, I actually know all of my stash and can start working through it, instead of buying new.  Okay, I probably will keep buying new as well.  I think I may have a bit of a problem.