Reading List

Books are a mirror into the mind

What are you reading, and why?

How does your reading list relate to your goals?

I work for another business part time in order to fund my business. It has hours that vary, and last week circumstances were such that I was working 35 hours there, and another…. 16.8 hours on my business. Suffice to say that after 46.8 hours spent ‘working’ in one way or another I was (quite exhausted, emotionally) dead. Gone. A ghost whisked away by a breeze.

Suffice to say that I have learned that running my business and having a full time job is outside of my capabilities if I want my business to expand steadily, or to have any time for other hobbies.

Even Nummite was tired from the long days. She is not supposed to be sleeping on the nice aran sweater, but at least she is a fashionable cat.

These next couple of days I intend to spend doing more research than production. Perhaps also some production research. I have a few ideas that have been knocking about in my mind that I must get into the physical world. Here is a peek at my reading list, and why I am reading each book.

One big stack of books

A Dictionary of Colour Combinations Vol 2

I am always looking for new colour combinations and colour harmonies. This book shows printed palettes, and items that the colours were used with. Whether it is an advertisement, a teapot, box, or clothing. I always love how surprised I am that a vintage kimono’s palette appears to have clashing colours, but remains harmonious. Viewing palettes from different perspectives helps me refine my eyes and my intuition.

These two volumes are in no way a complete palette. A flood destroyed several hundred combinations before they could be published.

View some of the combinations here.

Soft Selling in a Hard World by Jerry Vass

The title is pretty explicit. This is a book on how to communicate with customers the assets of your product and how to show its benefits for them. I was recommended this my a very successful potter and believe that it can benefit any craftsperson. It breaks down different aspects of products into clear traits, and shows how each aspect interconnects, and what is actually valued by the customer.

Indigo From Seed to Dye by Dorothy Miller

I first picked up this book to answer my questions about the indigo growing process when I was growing Persecaria Tinctoria last year. Dorothy Miller is one of the first people who brought Japanese indigo and its use to North America. My copy is the 5th printing which was done in 1999. Recently, I was reading sections of this book when reviewing the details of starting a fermentation vat. Admittedly, I have not touched it since.

The Art and Craft of Natural Dying by J.N. Liles

I was reading this for the same reasons as the previous book, and to review the processes used to bind Alizarin pigment into cloth. It’s a fantastic record of old techniques used up to and over 1000 years ago. Most of the principles in this book are still used today, even if our understanding of how and why they work has changed.

Books, glorious books, wonderful books.

Singing the Blues: Soulful Dying for all Eternity by John Marshall

A book on indigo dying that I reviewed while studying indigo vats, and dying wool fibres. This is the first book I picked this up when growing indigo last year. Whenever I have a question about using indigo I can turn to this book for a clear, witty recount of techniques and my options.

Knitted Lace: A collections of Favourite Designs from Interweave by Anne Merrow

I was been wanting to use lace more in my designs. I have a LC2, a lace carriage compatible with the Singer SK360 and SK700 knitting machines. The LC2 reads a punch card and commands the carriage. I want to use some ‘computer’ driven lace designs to create scarves and large, airy garments.

Sabbats by Edain McCoy

Mabon is approaching. The autumnal equinox is on September 23rd. I review and reflect upon previous rituals as each sabbat approaches, and decide on how I want to celebrate this year.

Books that I intend to read.

Knitting New Mittens & Gloves: Warm and Adorn Your Hands in 28 Innovative Ways by Robin Melanson

Is a book that I have by my side in order to become better at reading charts. Do I pick it up often? No, but it is present, and that proximity encourages me to use and consider how I am going to chart projects.

In order to do that I may need to invest in a licence for Stitch Mastery.

Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People by Amy Sedonis

This book is amusing, and about working with what materials are on hand in interesting ways. It is a resourceful, homourous view on making with little, and making do to do a lot. I don’t pick up this book nearly as often as I should.

Books that I truly should pick up more often.

I also have a small stack of books that I read online, but they are all fiction

Okay, they’re all fiction except for when I am reading ridiculously dense scientific papers. Such as Dyes and Dyeing Methods in Late Iron Age Finland by Krista Vajanto, or the Microbial Communities Associated With Indigo Fermentation That Thrive in Anaerobic Alkaline Environments that I was reading a few weeks back.

Since you asked, one of my favourite non-fiction stories that I am currently reading is the World Concept series by Haid. The books (Heart, Absolute, and Infinite) are three different styles of storytelling that explores a common world as the protagonists travel and adventure. I was initially lured into the series by the classic fantasy story, World Concept - Heart, which is about a seamstress who must leave her home and endeavours to travel across the world of Arret. She meets and aids others in an eternal quest to understand just what ‘heart’ means. It’s wholesome and full of gorgeous descriptions of a world equally full of beauty, wonder, and horrors. I find it a refreshing break for the reeling hamster wheel in my mind.

What are you reading? How does it help you?

Please enjoy this bonus colour combination. Pretty. I believe that I saw this on a plant in the back garden. Probably on the Thai Basil. Or this one! I saw this in the garden earlier this year.