Novels and Books

In addition to creating quilts and the like, I also write. My focus is science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction and mysteries. I have one contemporary cozy mystery series that I'm writing. This image is the basic design for one of the quilts in the first book.

After reading a few cozy mystery novels based upon quilting or knitting, I decided that I wanted to write a series that covered all of the fiber arts, hence the Fiber Arts Mysteries. Currently under development, I hope to start publishing by the end of the year. The first book is called The Ties that Bind, and takes place in Western New York. The amatuer sleuth is Azni Murphy, a newlywed who lives in a little town where both she and her husband grew up.

At the end of each month, I will post an update concerning books that I am writing or that will be published. My desire in all of my fiction novels is to incorporate artisan crafts as much as possible. Books like the Fiber Arts Mysteries are easier to accomplish than other series. Historical fiction is another easy one to incorporate arts because so much of the ancient ways included crafts in the every day.

Are there certain crafts that are more readily known and observed in historical fiction? I don't know. Most of what I read focuses very little on any crafts save quilting. What would be interesting would be to write a series that shows the majority of crafts that were done from blacksmithing to glassblowing. That idea is for another day, though.

Snow . . . Again

Woke up earlier this week to snow. It's March in the Great Lakes, and we have snow. Not happy about it, but what am I going to do?

Photos from outside my kitchen window.

Taken around 8 in the morning. Even though I don't like snow, it gives me an extra chance to enjoy nice warm socks and quilts. I enjoy creating quilts, socks and other items mainly because they are, for the most part, practical. I took painting in college, and while I enjoy portraits or landscapes, I can't use them to keep me warm or dry.

Sock Update

Finished the trial sock last week. No photo of it since its AWOL. I found a new sock style - toes up. It's easier than going from cuff down. I do need to figure out a better way to bind off the top. My normal bind-off is too tight for the cuff. The one suggested in the book was still too tight, I felt. Keep looking until I find it, I suppose.

Toes Up

Trying a new knitting technique. It took a little time to master the style, but I think it'll become my go-to knitting style. I have an order for some Mom and Me socks, and wanted to try a different technique than the one I typically use. The blue yarn was planned for a woven scarf, but it's turned into the practice yarn.

I have the hardest time keeping my toes from unraveling after I bind them off using my normal top to bottom knitting style. Another problem that I have is running out of yarn. When I make socks for myself, I knit only the slightest leg to the socks, but if I make socks for someone who likes more sock on the leg, I run out. Hopefully, with starting at the foot, I won't run out as often. I wonder if it will feel as though the sock will finish quicker by starting at the bottom. All of my shaping happens from the ankle to the foot, maybe having the leg being a no-brainer, it might go faster. Well, at least psychologically.

The photo was taken after I had started the foot of the sock. Now, I have to admit that this might just end up turning into a pair of mittens, especially after I lost my favorite pair. I realize that it's March, but I live in the Great Lakes area, and we can have snow in May.  
When the mittens/socks are finished, I'll post a photo.

What's on the Loom

Just a quick look at what is on the looms right now.

These are for a Mother's Day gift at my church. I'm using baby blue and white softball yarn, woven at 7.5 dpi making it a balanced weave. The length of each item is 26 inches long, and 11 inches wide. Once washed the towels will shrink about two inches all around. I found that the yarn doesn't dry dishes as well as I had hoped, but it does dry off hands. Eventually, I would like to use this yarn in a honeycomb for a set of face towels.

On another loom, I have a series of belts that I'm weaving.

One half of the loom. The first warp is baby blue and brown; the second is coral and brown; the third is white and baby blue.

The other half of the loom. The first one is baby blue and white (I have three blue and white warps on the loom). The second one is magenta and blue, and the last one is magenta and lime green.

Each belt is woven on a 12.5 dpi. This is the same yarn that I wove at 7.5 dpi. The bands are slightly warp-faced, but it isn't turning out quite what I expected. I was using ripsmatta as the basis of the belts, hoping the alternating colors would show. The bands are turning out to be more log cabin and less rep weave. The other problem is that each of the belts takes longer to weave than I expected. I crowded seven bands onto a 20 inch loom. Once all the belts are done, I think they will look nice. They will take a little longer than I first expected.

Good Read Saturday

On the first Saturday of each month, I will do a review of various and sundry fiber related books. I will mix new and old titles, but will let you know when a book is out-of-print. In addition, I am including fiction as well as non-fiction books. Even though it is fun to learn different styles, I enjoy reading about fiber arts in fiction as well.

I purchased Rep Weaves by Laila Lundell about a month ago because I was interested in the ripsmatta or rep weave style. I found several articles about it in Handwoven, and wanted to learn more.

The book is a good introduction. Originally published in the late 1980s in Sweden, this book is published now in English. There are 27 projects ranging from belts to large rugs. Some of the coolest items that I liked were the traditional weave patterns, as well as some of the more modern styles. In one of the early projects, she shows a photo of the exact same warp using three different wefts. With the different wefts, she made matching table runner, seat cushions, and a rug.

One of the great things about this weave, and the book in particular, is that I can use my 4-shaft loom. This is wonderful since the 4-shaft looms that I have are quite old, and I cannot expand them easily. For some of the larger projects, more shafts are needed simply to hold the warp.

All in all, I think this is a worthwhile book for anyone interested in learning more about rep weave. A side note about the instructions for the patterrns: the book uses metric. At the back is a conversion chart, which inlcudes how the metric dpi (dents per inch) would measure in standard dpi.

My March Challenge

The photo is of the Cross of the Scriptures at Clonmacnoise in County Offaly, Republic of Ireland. The cross has scenes from the Bible including the Crucifixion and the Last Judgement. It also shows the laying of the foundations of the monastery. High crosses can be found all over the British Isles. The one in the photo isn't the original, but a replica since the original is inside the visitor's center.

The challenge will be a photo, poem, lyrics, or quote. The purpose is to challenge myself to create something from the initial idea. Sometimes they'll sink, and sometimes they'll fly. If anyone wants to join me in the monthly challenge, feel free to join me. I'll post the finished item on April  7, and issue the next challenge. On the first Thursday of each month, come back and see what my new challange is.

Welcome

Welcome to Honeybee Pineapple Fiber Studio's blog. I weave, quilt, and well, most anything with fiber arts. Come see my monthly challenge tomorrow, and good reads on Saturday. Hope to see you then.