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Hello!
Last week, instead of writing a blog post, I gave myself some extra knitting time. I knit a number of mini-mittens, a sock, and half a sleeve for a cardigan. I also finished my Library Vest, a project I chose partly because of its name.
To me, libraries are wonderful places. I still remember the first time my mum took me to the local library (I must have been about four) – so many books! And you can even take some home! Working in a library seemed a great job, being among books all day and stamping return-by dates in them. At home, I played being a librarian as a child, but apart from working as a library assistant in the evenings for a while to earn some much-needed income as a student, I never became a librarian.
I still love spending time in libraries. This is ‘our’ library in the nearest town, in a building that used to be a bank:
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Not terribly attractive on the outside, but very welcoming inside.
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Dotted around the place there are always themed displays of books. Last week, there was a large table with books about Sinterklaas in the children’s section.
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Officially Sinterklaas is on the 5th of December, but for practical reasons we are celebrating it tomorrow. Shopping for Sinterklaas gifts, I spent an afternoon in Bolsward, a town with a great independent bookshop and other non-chain stores. Its library is housed in a far more impressive building than ours:
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The library shares these beautiful premises with a museum and a café. Part of the café staff have Down’s syndrome, which gives the place a relaxed and light-hearted atmosphere. The young woman serving me proudly announced that the carrot cake they had baked that morning was one of the best ever, so how could I not have a slice?
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Well, let’s not forget the Library Vest this whole story started with. It’s a sleeveless garment knit in simple stocking stitch, with a slight A-line, a few short rows above the hem to make it hang more evenly and shoulder seams placed a little forward.
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It also has knit-in pockets. It is always hard to sew pocket bands in place neatly, but the pattern has a clever technique for that. Selvedge stitches are added on either side using bits of waste yarn (photo tutorial in the pattern). Perfect!
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Beside the name, another reason for knitting the Library Vest was that I had exactly the right yarn for it left over from another project – a soft, navy blue tweed yarn called Lamana ‘Como Tweed’. It looks and feels like a fingering-weight yarn, but knits up at 22 sts on 10 cm/4”. With 120 meters/131 yards to a 25 gram(!) skein it goes a long way.
Instead of the rolled reverse stocking stitch edges that the original design has along fronts, armholes and pockets, I used the same ribbing as along the bottom (k3, p1). The faux leather buttons nicely bring out the tweed neps and somehow I think they are just what a librarian would choose.
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If I’d become a librarian, I would probably have lost my job years ago, when almost all of the paid staff were replaced by computers and volunteers. Sometimes I think it might be nice to work in the library as a volunteer, but, hmmm, should I? It isn’t that the volunteers aren’t doing a good job, but it doesn’t feel quite right that this valuable work isn’t valued monetarily. Is this just a Dutch thing, paid staff being replaced by volunteers in certain sectors, or does it happen in other countries too?
I’ll consider volunteering seriously when I retire. Until then I’ll just play being a librarian at home, wearing my Library Vest (pattern here on Ravelry) and my geeky computer glasses.
Wishing you a relaxing yarn and book-filled weekend! Xxx
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Libraries are among the first places I search for whenever we relocate to a new town. If I can get to books, all will be well. And what lovely libraries you have access to. Lucky you! A library plus cake and coffee? And happy people too? Be still my heart.
Your vest is wonderful, perfect for a bookish soul. The style is perfect, the buttons are perfect, the color is perfect, and even the yarn looks…perfect. It even has pockets!! I’m sure you will wear it often, I can imagine so many things in my own wardrobe it would work with.
I’m off to Ravelry to have a look at that pattern and yarn…you’ve got me thinking.
Do you relocate often? It’s one of the best outings, isn’t it, a visit to a library? The vest pattern is, what shall I say, perfect, haha. It has photo tutorials for several techniques and tips for making the vest in any length you’d like. A really nice knit.
I should have known it was from Churchmouse! I have far too many of their patterns in my queue. I do love their aesthetic.
Beautiful vest – I love the color. Sounds like you are getting a lot of knitting done.
Am I really getting a lot of knitting done? Hmm, yes, maybe a little more than usual. But this vest has been a long time in the making, and I only needed to finish the last few details. I love the colour, too, plus the yarn is very light and soft.