While SoCal Burns

Close-up of Flames from Lady Linoleum's Flaming Bowling Bag

While the hills of Los Angeles and San Diego are burning, I've been watching it all on local TV while knitting and crocheting. Our neighborhood is covered in black ashes, even though we're miles from the blazes. The sky is a terrible shade of brownish haze. My heart goes out to all of the 500,000 SoCal people that had to evacuate their homes. It's always helpful to check the local Red Cross site to see if there's anything we can do for our fellow Citizens. Pray for rain.

I'm still working on various "wristys" to give as holiday gifts. I'm also working on some top-down sweaters in various stages of WIP-dom. As if I didn't have enough deadlines, I'm ALSO working on a portion of this year's Stitch n' Witch costume for next week's WeHo SnB Halloween/Dia del los Muertos party at the Original Farmers Market.

In between knitting and crocheting I've been reading "Knitting Classic Style" by Véronik Avery .

This is an extremely interesting book from a historical standpoint. Each chapter deals with different aspects of fashion that have inspired the author, "Fashion Mavens" like Christian Dior; "Tomboys" which illuminates the menswear influence in women's fashion ("Annie Hall", etc.); "Global Travelers" showcases ethnic influences and folk traditions in fashion; and "Thrill Seekers" which explains the inspiration that sports attire has had on modern fashion. All of this wisdom has influenced Avery's knit designs.

"Knitting Classic Style" is a very clever take on updating vintage patterns for the modern-day knitter. I may not actually knit any of the designs in their entirety, but there are tons of ideas and stitch patterns to take and work with while creating my own knit and crochet creations. I'm keeping this book for reference, plus, the photographs are beautiful. You can see photos of some of the designs here.