Holiday Road

Last Thursday was a public holiday here in the Netherlands.  I have no idea why, but who can complain about a day off?  B took Friday off instead, and  we caught the train down to Brugge (Bruges en Français), Belgium to see the "best preserved medieval city in Europe," or something like that. 

Anyone who's taken a trip to the low countries will gush over Brugge.   It does have a huge number of old buildings in its endless historic center.  I think if you were only traveling around Holland and Belgium, then maybe your perspective on Brugge would be pretty great.  However, we've seen some damn, quaint shit here in Europe, and we're not convinced that Brugge deserves all its superlatives.  I mean, the bar is set really high with Dinan, France where we spent New Year's Eve this past season.

Nevertheless we had a nice time, and the weather couldn't have been nicer.  Whenever we go to Belgium, we obligate ourselves to do three things:  eat great food, buy lots of chocolate from indie shops, and stock up on obscure, Belgian beers.  Brugge did not disappoint on all three fronts, especially the chocolate.

Yes, those are stacks of 2" thick bricks of chocolate from around the world.   See the flags?

Brugge's connection with yarn and knitting these days is pretty slim.  However, it was once a bustling hub of the textile trade.  British wool was once shipped to Brugge to be spun and woven into high-quality cloth.   These days, you mainly find kitschy lace shops along with other tourist traps.  Brugge is really just Medieval Disneyland, a sentiment reinforced by the nagging feeling that no one actually lives there.  It's a bit weird.

Almost There; Stay on Target

I knit like crazy each way on the train, and have made mad progress on B's socks.  I'm almost done, so I'll hold off on showing you anymore photos until I can drag him off somewhere for a photo shoot.  We've been pleasantly surprised at how far we're stretching this skein - it will produce proper-sized socks.  Woohoo!

Meanwhile, I placed an order at Woollyworkshop in the UK for some Crystal Palace Panda Cotton for socks for my mom.  Turns out she's got a mighty wool allergy (no wonder she only ever knit acrylic sweaters for me when I was a kid!), so none of the skeins in my stash would work for her.  I hear good things about this cotton/bamboo blend, so it's all good.  Of course I picked up other goodies, but you'll just have to wait and see.

Do it Myself?

We were at the American Book Center on Saturday (after we popped into the M.C. Escher museum, which was as you would expect), where I discovered that they stock the Vogue Stitchionary series.  I've had my eye on the first two (Knit & Purl and Cables) for some time, but didn't want to throw down real cash sight unseen.  In my meager opinion, these books are amazing!  I want.  Could I perhaps design my own socks and sweaters?  I could at least design some fab scarves.  What are the ethics of designing your own garments when you get the stitch pattern from a dictionary?

Anyway, I stuck to my no-book-buying rule until we move back to the States.  Like we need any more big, hardback volumes to amp up the weight of our household goods.  Amazon.com has them for a fraction of the list price anyway.

Last Thing I Swear

B and I are trying to hit up a bunch of European destinations before we leave.  We've decided to go off the beaten path a bit and check out the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in July.   I know very little about traditional knits, but a voice in the back of my head says that at least one or two of these countries should prove interesting from a knitterly perspective.  If you have any info, let me know.

Comments

[Jennie]

Oh my, I'm not a super chocoholic, but dang, I am soooo drooling over the bricks of chocolate. I bet the smell was awesome in that store. Yummmmmmm! Oh and great pics! :)

[Heather]

I just bought some Panda Cotton several days ago--you are going to die when you see how cute and little the skeins are, my friend calls it 'tiny town yarn'.

I think that consulting stitch dictionaries is how most designers come up with their patterns, so no ethical dilemma there at all, that's why they exist.

And I love that you mentioned Dinan, a truly magical place...

[becky]

I live in regularly in that space between designing my own and following a sure-fire pattern (is there such a thing?) The only thing that keeps me from really jumping into the designing part only is then I'd have to blame myself twice when it didn't work!! Once for design and once for knitting.

The woman who taught me to knit was one of the girls who used to make lace sitting in orderly rows along the sidewalks of Bruge. (She's 77 now) She knitted her way through the Holocaust. I know there is a story there but I can only get it in bits and pieces.

[Josie]

There was something I was going to say about stitch dictionaries being a tool just like needles or fibre, but I just can't stop thinking about that gigantic stack of chocolate!

[Jen]

Jennie and Josie: You'll be happy to know that we did not buy a brick of chocolate -mainly b/c it would go bad before we could get through it. ;) It really is for sale like that, though. Crazy.

Heather: Uh, do you think two skeins will be enough for small-medium sized women socks?

About Dinan, we adored it, and the people were so lovely. We're heading down to Normandy in two weeks to meet up with the in-laws. We're debating if we'll drag them down to Dinan - it seems worth it, but also a touch far. WILL be heading to Cancale. I'm sure you can guess why. :)

Becky: I think I'd start with scarf design. No shaping. hehe Shame you can't get a story out of your friend - does sound like there could be something there.

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*And you know, become friends, I was most happy.