knit and stitch help

For any knitting club member, and anyone else who may be interested, here are a few of my favorite knitting links:

Free Knitting Patterns

Knitting Help- Great for videos, a glossary, and lots of explanations about anything knitting related. (Note, use the English videos when available, not the Continental.)

YouTube also has many knitting videos. This one shows the cast on method that we use.

This one is similar to the cast on I use for my projects.

Here is a simple knit stitch.

Here is a simple pearl stitch.

And here is a simple bind off.

And finally, for the coolest new patterns, try Knitty.com.

Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Emiko, a textbook geek, is drawn into a wild world of performance art and steals a little of her bosses life to create her own art. References to Andy Warhol and discussions about the meaning of art add meaning to a tale of a geek finding super-stardom.


View all my reviews.

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
A new take on an old tale, this version of Rapunzel features a snappy dressing side-kick, and old west feel and an entertaining lead character who rescues herself and a bunch of other folks as well. I'm looking forward to a sequel.


View all my reviews.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviews.

Outlaws of Moonshadow Marsh: Sign of the Qin - Book #1 by L.G. Bass

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviews.

Tunnels by Roderick Gordon

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars



View all my reviews.

Max The Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Maxwell Kane, whom we met in the unforgettable book Freak the Mighty, returns to save the day. I love Max because he always does the right thing (maybe not the smart thing) even though his head is telling him to let things alone. In this book Max rescues a little girl named Worm from a scary situation, and agrees to take her to her father in Montana. They have no money, and no plan, but off they go anyway. Of course Max is blessed by some incredible good luck on his journey, along with some bad luck, but somehow that doesn't make the story seem unbelievable, just really really good.


View all my reviews.

The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Laura Brown is a pretty normal British Teen. She plays guitar in a band, has a good group of friends, a crush on the boy next door, an annoying older sister, and parents who spend too much time talking about the old days. However, life in London cannot be normal anymore, despite what the government says. The entire country is being placed on carbon rationing, limiting what each citizen can buy, where they can travel, and even the length of a hot shower. Every single action that uses electricity or fossil fuels is limited and tracked by the state. As everyone tries to remain calm and normal, everyday life is turned upside down by violent weather, government control, and a growing black market. Laura's journal entries are pretty evenly divided between normal teen problems and the bizarre circumstances forced on an entire society by the greed and excess of the previous generation. This gives the book a creepy reality that is punctuate by the date in the title. Carbon rationing isn't taking place in some distant future, but in the year 2015.


View all my reviews.

Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Disappointed with her new school after her parent's divorce, Maddy focuses her attention on an online role playing game and writing her own manga. With several references to real-life manga, and sections of online conversation, this is a quick and fun read for anyone interested on online rpg's or manga. Quick question...is it sojo beat or shojo beat or both?


View all my reviews.

The Compound by Stephanie A. Stuve-Bodeen

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wow, this one was pretty cool. A teenage boy, whose father is a billionaire genius, tells the story of his life since his family locked themselves into their bomb shelter for fifteen years, due to nuclear attack. The book starts in year six, when the food supply is dwindling, and several of Eli's father's plans for long term survival have proven ineffective. No one is very happy or content in there self-imposed prison, but they all play along with Dad because they believe all was lost on the nuclear attack, including Eli's twin brother, and beloved Grandmother. That is until Eli stumbles upon an intermittent internet signal, and discovers all is not as his father implied. Could Eddy still be alive, and can his father be trusted at all? A pretty gripping read, especially the part about the supplements....yuck!


View all my reviews.