Ensign Ricky & Magazine Reviews

Some days I feel like Ensign Ricky - Some days I feel like Mr. Spock.
The way things are being managed at work this month is highly illogical (it's end of the work year craziness) and I know it will get better and I know I'm not going anywhere but my sanity may be expendable. Time will tell.

To deal with the month from "you know where" I decided to treat myself to a few new knitting magazines. Some people drink. Some people take drugs. I do knitting.

Interweave Press has come out with a new magazine without a date on it so I'm thinking it's a one time special issue. Maybe it will be popular enough to do once a year.


Knitting Traditions
As the cover says there are socks, socks and more socks but not the usual we see today. These socks are Turkish knitting stockings (cover pic), Bulgarian stockings, Ellis Island socks, socks two at once knit inside each other and more.

There's baby patterns from the past, knit figures from Peru around the time of Christ, gloves from the 1600s and 1800s, shawls from cultures big into lace, the Wild Apple Bohus sweater, and so much more.

When I first got the email blast from Interweave saying this was coming out I got excited. I like tradition. I like knowing how things we have today came into being. This magazine is a bit pricey ($15) but for me it's well worth it.


The Knitter
This is one of my regular magazine purchases. It's glossy paper makes the pictures stand out and make it something worth keeping. The patterns are some new - some from other sources. This works for me because some of the patterns in past issues are ones I was interested on but didn't want to buy the entire book they came from.

This month (issue 14) just came out for America as we're usually a month behind the UK in these magazines. The main focus is Designs for men but as you can see from the cover the patterns can be guys or gals. Kaffee Fassett has a vest sweater combination called Rochester which is done in his usual colorful manner. A few of the sweaters take cables in new directions. One sweater has the normal columns of cables but then takes another set of cables and cross hatches the entire sweater. The combination of the two cables group mingling with each other creates an interesting optical illusion.

For me this magazine is a good resource item. I read, look, enjoy and add it to the library I've created knowing I'll be pulling them out for years to come to get inspiration.


Simply Knitting - issue 63
I like this magazine. It's another UK magazine and for me, it's my "everyday lady" magazine. It doesn't think it's better than the rest, it's just for everyone to enjoy. Each month Alan Dart has a knit toy. This month is a pair of french doll (Pierrot & Pierrette). There's socks, quick knit gifts, sweaters, yarn reviews. Unfortunately because we get it a month late there are Valentine ideas that will have to wait until next year to try.

Every month there is a gift included with the magazine. I look forward to these gifts and have made great use out of many of them. Over the past few years I gotten diaries for the new year, a cute sheep measuring tape, a small project sack that goes with me often, wooden shawl pins and much more. This month should have been another tape measure but for some reason when I went in to get the magazine there was no plastic bag around any of them. No free gift even though the first page says there should be one. I hope this doesn't mean America is going to miss out on the gifts. That would make me sad.