Needles and Novels

I’m a twenty something with moderate dreams and the determination to change them to suit myself. I really love crafting, specifically knitting and sewing. Since I was young I have loved reading almost any fiction I could get my hands on. This blog is my attempt to spread the information about these two subjects and spur conversation as best as possible. And also to have fun.

[nestingtendencies]

Hourglass by Katya Novikova on Ravelry

[colubrina]

[lynati]

I don’t think there’s an applause gif big enough to properly convey my reaction to this. Also, I love that if anyone tries to say that you’re just “another hack fic writer with no ideas of her own who is jealous of the “real” writers out there”, they could quite literally be crushed under your catalog of award-winning original writing as a response. They can’t dismiss your stance on this topic the way they do to so many unpublished / fanfic writers because you’ve already met all of the standards that they insist someone has before they’ll accept their opinion as worth listening to.

[seananmcguire]

Right?

“Well, fanfic authors never win awards, so–” “WOULD YOU LIKE TO HOLD MY HUGO.” “That’s basically, it’s, you know, the People’s Choice, so–” “LOOK AT MY NEBULA.” “That’s a science fiction award, it doesn’t really–” “LOOK I’VE WON THE ALEX.” “…” “IT’S GIVEN BY THE SAME PEOPLE WHO GIVE THE NEWBURY.” “…” “I’M THE FIRST PERSON TO WIN IT TWICE IN A ROW.” “…well you wrote porn.” “GOSH I SURE DID.”

[dduane]

More attention to this, please. :) From yet another of the I Wrote Fanfic First And I Decline To Feel Shame About It brigade.

(And I also wrote for My Little Pony, which means I may have inadvertently contributed something to Seanan’s state of being. [Which I will file under the “Quiet Unholy Glee” heading.])

:)))

[quinfirefrorefiddle-deactivated]

Damn I love the internet.

[cluegrrl]

Fanfic is the Folk Process of the Literary world, and we who create it are the travelling bards taking our own spin from place to place so that the stories, survive, albeit in many forms, for millennia. Fanfic is the inevitable, guerrilla reaction of storytellers when Story is throttled by Profit and Propriety. Fanfic will NEVER DIE!!!

[jackironsides]

As a folk musician and morris dancer, HOLY FUCK IT IS. Fanfic is absolutely folk culture.

[knittystitch]

Hearts of Pride Cowl

Fully intended to be customized to suit your specific pride flag needs, this cowl is a quick knit that uses basic stranded colorwork in a cozy worsted weight.  Happy pride month, everyone!

Available as a free pattern on Ravelry!

[podkins]

Mitered Squares Throw With a Fabric Lining - free knitting pattern with a ton of pics over at italian dish knits.  Love the colours as well!

[shakespeaker]

Who are the Anti-Stratfordians?

People who think Shakespeare wasn’t actually Shakespeare, but that ‘Shakespeare’ was a secret pseudonym for someone more important and better educated, like the Earl of Oxford. 

See also: imbeciles.

[dukeofbookingham-deactivated202]

This

[thebookishgurl]

Not to piss anyone off, but why does this matter? The author is literally (and possibly metaphorically) dead.

[dukeofbookingham-deactivated202]

I feel like I have to address this. I tried not to, but I actually think it’s really important. Most of the people who make the argument that ‘Shakespeare wasn’t Shakespeare’ are doing so on the basis that the real William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon simply didn’t have the literary wherewithal to have written what are now the most famous plays in the English (or possibly any) language. They like to argue that because Shakespeare’s family wasn’t particularly wealthy or influential, and that he never got more than the Elizabethan equivalent of a grade school education, he couldn’t possibly be as well-read or as eloquent as the person who wrote Hamlet, or Macbeth, or what have you. 

The reason Stratfordians are so vehemently defensive of Shakespeare as himself is because (a) there’s literally no proof that he wasn’t exactly who we think he was and (b) we believe that it’s entirely possible that a man who was nominally ordinary became the world’s most famous playwright. If you take that away from him, you are doing the world a huge disservice, by reinforcing the idea that in order to have a significant impact on the course of history, you have to be wealthy or politically powerful or socially superior. I for one want to be able to tell any struggling middle school kid with average grades not to give up, because passion is more important than money or power, and he or she could be the next Shakespeare. 

So, that’s why it matters. 

[engrprof]

^^^This^^^

[melusineloriginale]

Yes. All of this. The Oxfordian authorship theory is rooted in classist, elitist attitudes that insist that a glovemaker’s son from Stratford-on-Avon who never left England couldn’t possibly have written 37 plays based simply on extensive reading and a great deal of imagination.

Also they have no conception of what “grammar school” actually means. A grammar school education in the sixteenth century usually included extensive study of rhetoric, philosophy, and history. Ben Jonson claimed that Shakespeare’s Latin was mediocre and his Greek nonexistent, but there were a wide variety of classical texts available in English translation during his lifetime and we can clearly see echoes of those translations in Shakespeare’s works.

Lastly, the Oxfordian theory is rooted in an 18th century forgery popularized by a man named Looney (pronounced Loh-ney, but WHATEVER). The best book I’ve seen on the subject is Contested Will by James Shapiro, which is marvellous and snarky and everyone should read it.

[gnimmish]

It’s the exact same logic that tries to discredit Mary Shelley as the author of Frankentstein, because a particular school of (white, upper class, male) critical thought can’t stand the idea that an eighteen year old girl could have written something so profound that it founded an entirely new literary genre. 

They don’t like being confronted with the fact that great art is not the preserve of the ruling class.

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

Also, here’s another reason it matters: Shakespeare populated his plays with characters from all the social strata, from prostitutes to monarchs, and everyone in between.

The view of such people, their attitudes and foibles looks a lot different when you’re looking at them from the same level than if you’re looking down at them from above, with only a vague, abstract, view of what their lives are like.

Therefore, knowing that Shakespeare had come from “common” origins and worked his way into the patronage of King James by the time he retired, gives us a different understanding of his plays, and the history of the time and place in which he wrote them.

[ms-demeanor]

Also as much as meaning is subjective and in a philosophical sense everyone experiences reality differently FACTS ARE STILL FACTS AND IT’S STILL IMPORTANT THAT YOUR WORLDVIEW RESTS ON AT LEAST SOME PORTION OF REALITY.

ANTISTRATFORDIANS ARE HOW WE GET FLAT EARTHERS AND ANTI-VAXXERS. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?

You know who looooooooves the antistratfordian view? Anti-intellectualist pricks who want to knock down academia a few pegs. People who believe in revisionist histories in this way are also more likely to believe in revisionist histories in other ways.

We have historical documentation that Shakespeare was Shakespeare. We have proof. We have a hell of a lot more proof that the holocaust happened but that doesn’t stop people from trying to rewrite history to reflect the world they wish they lived in.

We shouldn’t have to litigate facts like this but the fact that we DO have to means it’s incredibly important to shut down folks who say that none of it matters.

It does matter. History matters. Facts matter. What happened in the past matters. Reality matters.

[bakuhatsuo]

No we don’t have facts on Shakespeare thats literally the whole point. Recent studies have considered that perhaps he was a girl all along considering how his plays employed outspoken female characters, which was very feminist of the time period.

[bemusedlybespectacled]

We have extensive, documented evidence that Shakespeare was a real person who wrote the plays attributed to him. A lot of that evidence is very boring, like tax rolls (for taxes that he dodged) and surveys of assets (which for Shakespeare was a certain amount of malt grain), but some of it is stuff like contemporary theater and literary critics commenting on his work. 

It’s true that we don’t have very much evidence in the way of primary documents, like notes written in his own hand. But the idea of keeping records for future use was a foreign idea in Shakespeare’s day, unless it was an official government document or the important papers of someone noble. And Shakespeare was not a noble. Shakespeare was a middle class guy from a podunk town. Any argument otherwise – whether it’s speculation that he was secretly nobility or a woman or anything else – has to overcome that documentary evidence. Otherwise it’s just speculation.

[unexpectedyarns]

credit:  NatalieDee.com

[teanster123]

I made a gif of Bob the Tomato from VeggieTales knitting because knitting is cool.

[crochetmelovely]

[dirtyriver]

“Wait! I lost my book!”

“The Beast” in Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica #132, December 1966, art by Dan DeCarlo 

[crochetmelovely]

Just gorgeous! 😍💗👏

[lazy-vegetarian]

Mars Rover Hat by Sarah Milkovich (free pattern on Ravelry)

[crossstitchworld]

Got inspired after seeing this pattern posted here several months ago and finally finished it! by Ollivertigo. (source)

[medusabraids]

name a more iconic mercutio

[bixbiboom]

[rannadylin]

This was such a great project to be a part of! For those curious to see more of the Mantle of the Tempest and the process to create it:

Marisha’s Twitter thread from the images above links to many of us who worked on it, including the project organizer’s thread of pictures during and after assembly!

There’s also a thread on the Ravelry Knit ‘n’ Crit group where many of us got involved that has some leaf progress pics. And for Critter knitters & crocheters who would like to be more involved in CR crafts (maybe future collaborations like this?) you are welcome to join us in the Knit ‘n’ Crit!

[megmerilees]

Slipcover for Eames-style Eiffel Chair

So, in my recent months of searching for decor and accessories for my new place, I came across a picture on Pinterest, showing an Eames-style chair with this gorgeous knitted slipcover. Of course, it being Pinterest, there was no pattern attached 😑

I scoured the internet, trying to find one, but was completely unsuccessful. The original photo was featured in an interior design magazine, so it was never geared toward knitters. So, being the kind of hard-headed person I am, I decided to make up my own pattern! This is the chair I started with -

I measured every dimension of the chair, found the yarn I wanted to use, knitted gauge swatches, and designed the colorwork I wanted to use. I finished the piece last night, and blocked it on the chair after washing -

I essentially knitted it like a sock with two toes. I began at the top, using Judy’s Magic Cast On as if was making a toe-up sock. Then I added ribbing after the curve of the seat, to ensure a close fit -

At that point, I knitted flat, to accommodate the legs, then cast back on to rejoin in the round. I finished it like the toe of a cuff-down sock, with symmetrical decreases and a kitchener stitch to close the seam -

I tried to use ribbing and precisely placed increases and decreases to minimize the need for additional ties or fasteners to hold it in place, but I still ended up threading a drawstring around the perimeter under the seat, just to make it more secure. It may have worked without it, but it also might have slid around any time I sat down, so I decided to play it safe.

I did have some trouble with the colorwork, making it match up with the increases and decreases, and it’s a bit wonky in a few places -

But overall, I think it turned out well. This is the first custom-tailored piece I’ve made, completely from scratch with no original pattern to use as a jumping off point.

I used Plymouth Encore worsted, held double, one skein of each color. Colorways are #1415 and #555. The whole thing was knit on US 10 circular needles.

This was a really fun and challenging project. I’ve really been into knitted home decor and housewares lately, and this is just one of the projects I have planned. I think my next adventure will be throw pillows!

[purple-rose-emporium]

This is brilliant!!

[tachastangles]

Wow!!!

[adarhysenthe]

Now I have plans for my office chair…

[gangler]

Barnes and Nobles is gonna start serving food and alcohol.

Everybody’s cracking jokes about how it’s a desperate attempt to stay relevant in the age of Amazon.

But you know what? Props to them. This is exactly what Blockbuster didn’t do. At no point was Blockbuster like “Hey, movie rentals aren’t the lucrative enterprise they once were. Perhaps it’s time we become known for our cheesy garlic bread.”

[mackasaurussex]

Okay but…if someone wants to take me on a date to a Barnes and noble and get me dinner and a drink and then let me peruse the stacks like I’m not saying no. A sandwich, a beer, and 2-5 books on various topics I hope I’ll someday read about? Good night.

[silvysartfulness]

The Swedish equivalent of Blockbuster is now best known for its candy, snacks and sodas.

[thestraggletag]

This is El Ateneo Grand Splendid, an old theatre turned bookstore in Buenos Aires:

The stage itself was turned into a cafe:

You can’t even begin to comprehend the massive amounts of money this place makes, despite the fact that they turned the theatre boxes into reading nooks like this:

I’ve literally spent days holed up in there reading books for free while also consuming massive amounts of coffee and pastries.

Adapt or die, people.

[frayedcobweb]

Take me to Buenos freaking Aires… Leave me in this bookshop… Never look for me, you will not find me again.

[yaliteraturebookshelf]

I feel attacked