Sugar Reprise and Stitches South

Pictures to supplement Knitlark Lane Podcast #12 http:knitlarklane.libsyn.com (also on I-tunes).

From SUGAR THE CAT:

"The picture of me in the last blog post does not show my best side, as I was trying to get my head under her hand while she did something else beside pet me (I really do not like it when the focus is not on me, and I must protest)"

"Now you can see what I really look like -- A Fantastic Feline Fashionista at the top of her game."



STITCHES SOUTH
Stitches South was a KNITTING EXTRAVAGANZA. Here are some pics. I will talk about the yarn I bought in the next cast and post some pictures here in the next blog posting.

Art History Mystery With Cat

In Knitlark Lane Podcast Episode #11 http://knitlarklane.libsyn.com I mentioned the book The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears in the Need to Read Segment.

If you love learning about art and visiting art museums like I do, you might enjoy this one. I am a big fan of the mystery genre, and I enjoy books where the author assumes that the reader is intellectually curious.

An English art scholar, Jonathan Argyll, gets involved in a fast-paced adventure while searching for a long-lost Raphael. He and Flavia de Stephano from the Italian National Art Theft Squad are led on a merry chase as they investigate the events surrounding the discovery of the painting. The plot is complex, and there are wonderful passages about the city of Rome that make you want to visit The Eternal City on the next available plane. It is an engaging read that kept me interested throughout. Let me know what you think.

This is the first of a series, so if you like this one, there are more to enjoy.

As I was taking some pictures for this blog post, my cat Sugar insisted that I pet her instead of take the pictures. I finally just let her get in the pictures -- she was relentless.

Tulips Cause Market Disaster

Blog to go with Episode 10 of Knitlark Lane Podcast knitlarklane.libsyn.com



I walked by these lovely tulips not far from my house. I just had to share them with you.

Yes, tulips caused a HUGE market crash in Holland. Tulips came to Europe in the 1590s from Turkey. They became very popular, and a person's tulip collection was a sign of their social status and good taste. The market went out of control. Tulip prices rose 100% each week. Some bulbs sold for what would amount to $100,000 in today's money!

People started speculating -- buying tulips to "flip" them. (Sound familiar?) Tulips would be sold many, many times before they even left the ground.

But, of course, the market corrected itself. It fell hard, and those who had not cashed in lost everything as tulip value sunk to 1% of its former price.

What a history behind that lovely flower!

Avoiding the Dreaded One Sock Syndrome?

Some more thoughts to go with Episode 9 of Knitlark Lane Podcast http://knitlarklane.libsyn.com

SOCK IT TO ME

I have finished my very first sock. It was really fun to knit, and it feels wonderful on my foot.



I got a bit carried away with the increases in the toe, but it will come in handy if I ever get bunions. Over all, though, am very happy with it for a first sock attempt.

NOW I have to avoid the dreaded FIRST SOCK SYNDROME -- where you knit one sock and never finish the other.

KNITTER WITH CRITTERS

I think I am on the right track with the second sock. My inspiration for finishing projects is the podcast Knitter With Critters. http://knitterwithcritters.podbean.com/feed/ or http://knitterwithcritters.blogspot.com.

Knitter With Critters is the subject of the Podcast Pilgrim section of Episode 9 of the Knitlark Lane podcast. Jackie started her very first podcast by saying she was going to focus her podcasts on the progress she was making in finishing up her Unfinished Objects (UFOs). She has been chronicling her journey in her podcast. Episode 9 dedicates the scarf shown in the blog from March 25 (below) to Knitter With Critters. And I have already cast on for the second sock.

I have many UFOs that I hope to finish in the next months, as I follow along with Jackie and her projects. She is a much more experienced knitter than I am, but I still can follow her lead. I have a list of my UFOs (some of them are knitting projects; some of them are quilting projects). I am trying to work on one of them every week. When I finish one, I get to reward myself (new yarn or new cast on). I'll keep you posted, and check out Jackie, too. (She also has four cats ... the critters).

READING ALOUD: THE HUNCHBACK of NOTRE DAME


If you are following along with the novel in the podcast, you know that we met Quasimodo, the Hunchback, this week. It is going to be most interesting to see how Hugo, writing in 1830, treats this character, and we can compare it to what it might be like for someone like Quasimodo today.

You can catch up with the past episodes of the novel at the link for the website, or leave a comment here, and I will try to get them to you.