Blog Books

Writing books has become a popular way for some bloggers to make a little money from their blogs.

Publishing
When Stephanie first starting writing books, I could understand the interest. She writes very well, she's clever and witty and puts a lot of insight into her writing. She also has a very large and devoted readership, so it is no wonder that her books and signing tours have been so popular.

But some of the other books from knit bloggers haven't been so successful. I just received an Amazon recommendation for one of them, and clearly Amazon doesn't understand my taste in books at all. This particular book, I saw in a Barnes & Nobel, and it is printed on the cheapest paper I have ever felt in a paperback. All the pictures (and there aren't very many) are in black and white, and the little bit of writing I read was inane.

I'm hopeful some of the better blog writers end up publishing books...folks like Franklin or Marilyn. Now those would be books I would buy.

Current Knitting
I've finished about fourteen inches of the last sleeve on the Faux Rib sweater.



Isn't this like watching paint dry for some of you? Sorry.

Weekend Yarn Visit
Marilyn came down to New Hope this past weekend, and Kathy and I and Marilyn went to Twist yarn store and had a nice luch at the local Thai restaurant (with Thaddeus).

As always, it was a lot of fun, but I also bought a couple more things at Twist. Since all of her Louisa Harding yarn was on sale, I bought these balls of Mohair/Nylon yarn.



They are very soft, and I thought they'd make beautiful scarves (in case I ever do another craft fair).

I also picked up some gorgeous Tussa/Cashmere roving that I thought might be too fine to spin on my Louet or Robin wheels, so I bought a decent spindle to spin it on.



I've spun up a couple of ounces, and it is going to make an incredible yarn when it's done. The spindle is from Cascade Spindles, and it works very nicely for this fiber.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Jenn asks, "I really want to learn to knit and I was wondering if you thought that it was possible to learn from a book or do you have to take a class of some sort? Do you have any suggestions for books for first-timers? What sort of supplies should I purchase? "

Knitting is extremely easy to do, and I originally learned by reading a book, so, yes, I do think it's possible. I don't think classes are at all necessary, especially with all the internet resources on how to knit. As for supplies, I would purchase a size US5 Addi Turbo needle, and some DK weight yarn (on the label, it will say what needle size is recommended...it should be US5), and my favorite newbie book for knitters, Maran Illustrated Knitting and Crocheting. Or I would just look up "how to knit" on Google and see if I could pick it up that way.

Regarding Liza's site for quilting fabrics, Cynthia requests, "If you have time, could you comment on how well the actual colors are reflected on-line."

This kind of thing varies significantly by monitor. Both my lap top and my desktop monitors show her fabrics quite accurately, but yours could be less true than mine.

Regarding all the kerfluffle around Kaffe's teaching style and Anne Marie's comments, I can only say this. I have taken classes with both Kaffe and Brandon, and enjoy being around both of them. I also respect that some folks have different expectations from workshops. Like with most things in life, I say take what you like and leave the rest.