The end is in sight!

Maybe 6 more rows of this infernal knitting and I'll be back in the light: crocheting! Thank heaven. Sorry it looks a bit crumpled, that's because it is a bit crumpled. Well, at the present rate the DH should have this by Xmas 2009.

La Vera Perfezione del Disegno 1561

Luz, what have you done? This was like giving Gollum his precioussssss. Now I have to make more Troubador Socks. Indeed, Troubador mittens, Troubador bags, Troubador vests, Troubador Beer Cozies. I'll run out of 12th century composers before I run out of inspiration from this incredible text. And now here's one for you: the textile collection at the Cluny Museum in Paris. Talk about colourways!

Encyclopedia of Needlework

The Encyclopedia I mentioned in yesterday's post, "Ouvrages des Dames" By Therése de Dillmont (1846-1890) is available online on this page in the English version, via the Gutenberg Project. The first file is the Table of Contents. I find the Crochet section fascinating.

Have to try these!

I heart BK

The finest people in Barcelona are knitters and crocheters. That is the only possible conclusion one can reach after attending the meetup I attended today. Today I:
Met an amazing knitter, Luz, designer of the most beautiful jacket known to man.
Was given an octopus with orange eyes, item coveted by me for weeks. Proving that you don't have to be at all normal to be a part of this excellent group. Just brilliant.
Held in my hands and read an Encyclopedia of "Labores de Señora" (I think that was the title) written by one Therése de Montdill in the 19th century and which Rosa has been lucky enough to be consulting since she was a kid, which is no doubt why she can whip up a super-complicated lovely lacy stole in one month.
It's really late, gotta go. More tomorrow.

My new computer

My beloved Agent Scully, an exquisite white ibook, died the other day. She had been ailing for awhile and we all realized that sooner or later she was going to croak. Which she did: actually she shrieked, waking the neighbors and myself, sending me rushing out of bed to see if the aliens were murdering one of my cats. It was the hard drive which had gotten jammed and was trying desperately to keep spinning around. A valiant last stand, Agent. Sadly we drove into town to purchase a replacement, certain it would have to be a Windows Drone (Never I say, never) because frankly Macs don't come cheap. Bravely I walked right up to this Darth-Vader style HP laptop and said, "I'll take this one". The Imperial Agent said he would check if there was still one left, and while he was gone I discovered:

This on sale for less than the Evil Black HP. A happy ending, a new Agent Scully. Now watch this!! Is this a cool machine or what? You just sit in front of it and it takes silly pictures of you!

VIVA YO Y MI GENTE!

Meng my BF

The DS

Poor Kid.

Changes, changes

Some inner astrolabe of mine has just looped around and everything is shifting. No more 12th-century polyphony: Léonin & Pérotin have fallen silent after filling my summer with austere and archaic inspiration, and what's sounding now is Stravinsky, for pleasure, and Paraguayan Harps, for work. Yep. Work....one of the spheres in the aforementioned astrolabe is zapping me with reminders of all I have to get done before the new season starts. Luckily, my work is amazingly cool, just as cool as my hobby, so it's not too painful. What I'll do, is this:(this is a quote from Horatio Caine as you all know)open a Work Blog. But not today.

What I did on my summer vacation

Went to the beach.


Had Fideuà.


Made Troubador Socks.

But now I have to start getting ready for the coming season, which means that there will be be considerably less crochet, no socks and not much blog. It's been fun though.
The up side of the experience has been seeing how many people visit my blog and knowing that it's being useful to so many crocheters around the world. That is really a thrill. And making new friends: conversations with Pushka, in any language, were worth setting up a blog for. I made a new friend in Canada who I'll meet in October when she comes to BCN: now that is amazing, Internet Power used for Good.
Now here's the Down Side: It surprises me how painful it is to see that only one's friends post comments on one's blog. It's discouraging. People visit from all over the world, but nobody says, "like your blog", or "hate your socks", or "who the hell is Adam de la Halle". Upshot: blogging is freaking me out. I feel vulnerable and silly, and may decide to can the whole thing.
With luck, tomorrow I'll see this in a better light.

Adam de la Halle goes to Lapland

This is certainly getting closer. Only problem is, this was supposed to be a Troubador Sock, or rather a Trouvère sock, and somehow it got to looking like a Santa Claus sock. No matter, I can always hang it off the mantelpiece on Christmas Eve.

Bernart de Ventadorn rocks the world!

I can't believe it. Tejemanejes, the Spanish online knit magazine, are going to PUBLISH (omgomg) these very Troubador Socks in their next issue! In celebration of which I have decided to give them their very own Name, since Troubador Socks Number 1 is less than romantic. No, like roses each sock deserves its Name, and this sock is hereby named after that most excellent troubador, Bernart de Ventadorn. (He probably would have worn them, too, airy-fairy poetic type that he was, if only he'd had a day job to help him with the purchase of luxuries like socks.)

Also known as the Slow Way of designing socks.

These are all tests, and all, so far, failed. But once I get it, these will be the World Famous

TROUBADOR SOCKS NO. 2!

I am now in the design stage known as Complete Obsession (yay for summer holidays!) which is why I haven't written anything here all week.