Camy made clothes!

Camy here! I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to show off a little. I just finished knitting this sweater! I love it so much—mostly because it’s pink!—but also because I actually made it! I made clothes!

The pattern is actually based off of two vintage knitting patterns published in 1945 and 1952. The lace pattern is from a pattern for a chemise underwear that women made to stay warm. Knitted underwear gave extra warmth when women had to wait at cold bus stops and train platforms to go to work, especially in the years during and after World War II.

The rest of the pattern was based off of a classic “jersey” (sweater) pattern.

Here’s my Ravelry page if you’re interested in my knitting notes.

Isn’t this neat? I feel like my grandmother as I’m knitting with these vintage knitting patterns.

How about you? Any knitting or crocheting projects you’re working on?

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Her romantic suspense, Treacherous Intent, released December 2014, and her romantic suspense novella, Necessary Proof, is available for free. She is a staff worker for her church youth group, and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she ponders frivolous things like knitting, running, dogs, and Asiana. Sign up for her newsletter to hear about new releases or sales on her backlist.

Bayerische socks

Camy here! I must admit, I am inordinately proud of these socks! The patterns are Bavarian motifs and I absolutely love them! They took me a long time to finish, but that was partly because I wasn’t knitting much during the latter part of last year.






My knitting notes are on Ravelry for any of you who are interested: http://ravel.me/camytang/bs

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. The fourth book in her Sonoma series, Narrow Escape, released January 2013. She is a staff worker for her church youth group, and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she ponders frivolous things like knitting, running, dogs, and Asiana. Visit her website to sign up for her quarterly newsletter.

You Know You Need Therapy When ...

Camy here! And yes, I am admitting I probably need therapy.

Since January, I’ve been learning how to spin wool into yarn. Yes, going way old school! I decided to learn because a lot of knitters spin yarn, and I thought it sounded kind of neat, and I may as well try it.

Well I bought a drop spindle and loved learning how to use it! Spinning is incredibly soothing. Something about the feel of the wool and the physical motions of drafting and stuff is just really relaxing.

So then I started haunting Craigslist and found a used spinning wheel for really cheap. The picture above is what it looks like. It’s a Louet S15, basically a beginner’s wheel.

And here’s the yarn I made! You can see the varying degrees of ugliness. :) I am also experimenting with different drafting methods so that’s also why the second skein from the left is so incredibly uneven.

So why do I need therapy? Possibly from LOVING THIS NEW HOBBY WAY TOO MUCH THAN IS HEALTHY FOR ME! I stay up late spinning! I can’t wait to ply my yarn! I want to try all kinds of new types of spinning! I have even calculated that spinning my own yarn can sometimes be cheaper than buying it and I am seriously considering spinning my own yarn for a cardigan I want to knit!

Aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuugggggghhhhhh!

I need serious help.

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Her novels Single Sashimi and Deadly Intent are out now. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, is a staff worker for her church youth group, and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she gives away Christian novels and ponders frivolous things. Sign up for her newsletter YahooGroup for giveaways!

Knitting and reading

Camy Tang here, with another weird combination. :)

I love the feel of a book in my hands—I love the smell of the paper, the pretty cover.

I also love knitting. The only thing I don’t like about knitting is that it takes up both my hands so I can’t hold a book (although knitting is a good way to stop snacking at night, since I can’t knit and shovel food in my mouth at the same time!).

So what a knitting reader to do?

Ebooks!

I love electronic books. I don’t yet have a Kindle ebook reader from Amazon.com, but I love reading ebooks on my computer.

Some people’s eyes have a problem with the computer screen, so this might not be an option for them—they will probably need an ebook reader that has the eye-easy screen like a Kindle or Sony Reader.

The best part about reading ebooks is that you only need to hit a button (on my computer, the down arrow) to turn the page. I also don’t need to actually hold the book in my hands.

So guess what I can do??? I can knit and read at the same time!

Granted, I need an easy project that only calls for stockinette or garter stitch, so I don’t need to stare at my knitting. No lace patterns or intricate cables.

But socks with self-striping yarn are great! I can knit stockinette stitch in the round AND read an ebook on my computer at the same time!!!!

Am I using enough excited exclamation points??!!!!!!

Seriously, I love this. I go online, buy and download the Love Inspired novels every month on ebook. The cost is comparable to the Steeple Hill subscription service, but I can choose to buy which books I want from the three different lines (Love Inspired, Love Inspired Historical, and Love Inspired Suspense).

The best part about ebooks is that they have a longer shelf life than the books at Walmart. So if I want to read a book that was published a few months ago, it’s available at ebook stores and I can download it in a jiffy.

So, blog readers, what’s your verdict? Am I nuts? Or a genius?

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Her novel Single Sashimi is out now, and her Love Inspired Suspense novel, Deadly Intent, releases in July this year. She runs the Story Sensei critique service. In her spare time, she is a staff worker for her church youth group, and she leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she gives away Christian novels and ponders frivolous things. Sign up for her newsletter YahooGroup for monthly giveways!