Knitting Counterpanes...and other books

I love book. No, I mean it.......I really love books. I used to be strict with myself and only have a certain amount of bookshelves. I tried very hard to limit the number of books that I had. But I failed. As you can see....I am not joking. This is just one of the walls of books in my house now. We just buy or build more shelves as my collection grows : )


I buy specific sorts of books. All the classics I can get my hands on, especially children's classics and the Victorian writers. Theology and psychology and philosophy books feature strongly too. But my favourite books are craft books. All sorts of crafts. DH collects books on woodworking and musical instrument making (because that's his day-job) and art books (cos that's his hobby) and Hardanger books (cos that's his other hobby).

I collect rare and out-of-print craft books, mainly heirloom sewing and knitting. Which brings me to the Knitted Counterpanes:

I read about this book in the latest issue of Spin-Off magazine and immediately wanted it. Of course, such a treasure was out-of-print. I tracked a copy down to a lady in America, paid a small fortune - and here it is!!!!! It is a fantastic resource and worth every penny. A big 'Thank you' to the seller and I am enjoying every page of it. Its not only a pattern book. It has the story behind the squares and borders too.

Tomorrow my dining room is turning into a wood yard. We are getting a delivery of 35 cubic feet of wood to make swifts, spindles, nostepinnes, niddy-noddys, and a harpsichord - and that's a lot of wood. Because the weather has been so wet for so long, the wood will be unusually damp and cant be used until it is dried out properly, so my dining room will have to do the job of a seasoning yard!!!

Oh well - Its an excuse to avoid housework and get some knitting done. Some Malabrigo sock yarn in Lettuce arrived today and I am sure I can use my 'housework' time making a scarf for me : )