eight(y)

One extra random fact about me - as a new knitter I swore that I would never do socks. I didn't see the point. Round and round, endless knit stitch, fiddly notions like turning heels and picking up stitches, all that debate about Kitchener stitch, blah blah blah - no thank you. And then I knit my first pair - aha, I understand. Knitting socks is great fun.

This pair (only my second!) was a gift for Tim's dad on his eightieth birthday. I still think that the self-striping sock yarn is so effective and so impressive.

The Vital Statistics
Pattern: the classic basic Patons sock pattern.
Yarn: not sure. I got it from Ozknitter and think that it originally came from Lincraft ... Oh, and a bit of Patonyle in a steel blue (#4303) there on the toe to make it easy to remember which is the left sock and which is the right (that is to say, I ran out of yarn).
Needles: op shop 2.25mm aluminium, not very nice to knit with. I really want to get some bamboo dpns.
Start to finish: July 2007 to 9 January 2008 (I suffered from second sock syndrome for a while).
Comments: a great sock knitting experience all round (ha ha). This was my first pair of adult socks and I was pleasantly surprised by how easily the project moved along. Yes, it's a lot of knit stitch but it is punctuated regularly enough by leg decreases, turning the heel, picking up stitches, more decreases. It was very goal-oriented knitting, working my way towards the next structural element. And watching the self-pattern unfold - quite addictive.

the magnificent seven

Stephanie over at Spices for Violet - curious name for a blog, I should tag her back and ask her to explain - has tagged me to share seven things about myself, some random, some weird. So here goes:

1. The name Amelia means industrious and striving. If I may say so, this suits me to a T. It is derived from the Germanic word for work. I know that the German word for work is arbeid (same as Dutch) and I always wondered how on Earth Amelia was derived from that. I later learned that the Germanic word for work (as opposed to the modern German word) is amal. Now that makes more sense.

2. I like to paint my toe nails. Deep red, or dark blue or silver sometimes. But I only ever paint the first three nails because my fourth nail is a bit, umm, misshapen and I don't want to draw attention to it. Painting only three of my five toenails draws attention to my feet nonetheless - can't win.

3. I'm not musical, although I am trying. I have dabbled with the recorder (compulsory, primary school), the violin (primary school, short lived) and the piano (ditto). For my birthday last year Tim gave me half-a-dozen singing lessons which is one of the best presents I have ever received. I've always been self conscious about not being able to sing in tune and just two lessons so far have made a world of difference. I have to book the next ones in pronto.

4. I cannot stomach bananas, licorice or coffee. I love ice cream.

5. Motherhood has taught me many things, including how to fall instantly into a very deep sleep. I lay down for a quick nap at about 5:30 the other afternoon and woke at 6:10 - instant panic, phoned the childcare centre to assure them that I hadn't deserted baby bear. The phone had rung a few times already when I realised that it wasn't a childcare day at all and that she was in her pram in the hallway, still asleep from our walk an hour or so earlier.

6. Craft heresy I know but I loathe softies, particularly the deliberately ugly ones. Not endearing, just ugly.

7. As of tomorrow, I'm a uni student again. I have enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Health Economics at Monash Uni, just one subject to begin with 'Introduction to health economics'. It's taught through distance education (which suits well when you work part time and have a child). I've done some distance education subjects before through another university and so far I am impressed with the efficiency and organisation of the Monash course.

The image above is a detail from the woodcut from lesson twelve in one of my all-time favourite books, Orbis Sensualium Pictus (The Visible World in Pictures) by Joannes Antonius Comenius. It was originally a German/Latin textbook with some hundred and fifty lessons, each page a different topic illustrated with a woodcut and with two columns of text, the German and the corresponding Latin. It is apparently credited as being the first picture book for children. I have a facsimile of the third London edition, an English/Latin version, which was published in 1672 (the original that is, mine is Sydney University Press, 1967.)

a tree grows in balaclava

Quite some time ago, ok, October last year, I showed you the felted jumper tree bag that I was working on. Yes, I'm still working on it. I actually have no knitting project on the needles at the moment, except for the baby ballerina top which has taken on albatross-like proportions and I can't find the last ball of yarn anyway. So I have been hand stitching like a fiend these past few days and making great progress. (Thanks go out to my dear friends who understandingly let me stitch through Friday night dinner, Sunday morning play at the park and Sunday afternoon picnic at Rippon Lea without ever once accusing me of not giving them my complete and utter full attention.)

In the past few days I have stitched each of the leaves and the trunk to the backing and am a little more than half-way through satin stitching around the leaves. Just to recap if you can't be bothered with the link above, the backing is a felted woollen jumper, the trunk is cut out of another woollen jumper and the leaves are cut from the raglan shaping of a cotton jumper, all purchased from the op shop. I have also unravelled a section of the cotton jumper so that the thread around the outside of the leaves matches perfectly. I had thought about machining around these edges but, actually, I have been enjoying the hand stitching so much that I just kept going. There's something that feels very independent about doing it by hand, no unpacking the Janome, no electricity required. I must also admit though that I was concerned that the cotton thread wouldn't fare very well going through the machine.

I've realised during the process of hand stitching, which allows you to really pay attention to what you're working on, that what I like so much about this design is the great use of negative space that is contained within the curves of the branches. I plan to do satin stitching around the outline of the trunk too; this serves to secure the threads of the appliqué shapes. Then I want to add some birds from another felted op shop jumper (orange), more hand stitching, make up the bag, line it and work out a handle arrangement. I'm not sure yet whether I want a single strap or two handles, fabric or leather or bamboo? There's a lot yet to be done on this one so it's pretty ambitious for me to make it one of the two projects that I have to finish before I can cast on for anything else (and I am itching to).

vol 4

Volume 4 of Golden Hands: the complete knitting, dressmaking and needlecraft guide introduces three more crafts - patchwork, fringing and toy making (softies 70s style). There's not an awful lot that inspires me in this volume although as per usual the Fashion Flair and Pattern Library pages are classics - check out the gay appliqué pot holders.
These Golden Hands posts are a good opportunity to report in on my crafting progress. I have finished knitting the latest pair of socks - hooray! Graft the toes, weave in the ends, give them a wash, take photos, package them up, post them off, wait a few days then reveal them to the world.

I love to write lists, have I ever mentioned that or has it just become obvious? Tucked in the front of my diary is the 'great universal list of things to do'. It's my consolidated list (as opposed to a list of everything to do in the universe which would take so long to compile that you'd never get around to doing anything). In my lists, I like to break tasks down into smaller components. The closer I am to getting around to something the further I break it down. That way the most immediate tasks are the smallest and are easily achieved which gives a great feeling of satisfaction. This approach also has a tendency to rapidly multiply the number of tasks but also gives a great illusion of productivity.

friday

"Monday I have Friday on my mind/Gonna have fun in the city" Easybeats, 1967


I'm so pleased that it's Friday because that means that it's the weekend and Tim will be home and there will hopefully be some time to recoup. I feel so drained at the moment. My mum has been visiting for the last couple of weeks which has been lovely but she left yesterday and that's always emotional. I don't like goodbyes. Baby bear came home from childcare on Wednesday afternoon with a cold and slept for only about four hours that night. Subsequently I slept only four hours that night too. There is a well of tears which I can't quite realise just lurking there in my chest and I find that really draining. I just need a good cathartic sob but can't quite trigger it.

Anyway, my Freitag bag is one of my favourite things. Actually, I think that Freitag was one of the earliest examples that I came across of making things out of recycled materials in an innovative way - used truck tarps, used car seat belts, used bicycle inner tubes re-emerge from obsolescence as bags, wallets, i-pod holders, each one visually unique. So cool.

And I did have fun in the city this evening. I headed in just after 5:00 to the launch of issue 3 of mixtape at Sticky in the Degraves Subway. The atmosphere was quite electric as the end of the working week flowed past, eager to catch the train home. it's "a zine about making time for the small things! mixtapezine is a collision of craft, eco-cool and pop culture kitsch!" I believe that bollewangenhaptoet even got a mention back there in issue 2 (thanks Martine!) so that gives you an idea of just how great it is. It was also great to be out and about, part of the (underground) life of the city. I love Melbourne, everyday.

knitting new scarves

Compromise - a knitting book review.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my local library? I put in a request for Knitting New Scarves: 27 Distinctly Modern Designs (by Lynne Barr with photographs by Tyllie Barbosa) and they purchased it. Lovely.

I so often get carried away when I see knitting books, particularly books that are beautifully presented and styled and attract my attention with my favourite colour - red - and think that I am going to knit absolutely everything therein. That's the case here too - not to say that the scarves aren't wonderful, they are, but I am more fascinated by the innovative techniques that are used to make them, such as Drifting Pleats on six double-pointed needles - six!

The scarves are well photographed and I particularly like the little detail below the introduction to each scarf - a line drawing that echoes the shapes or forms in the scarf itself.

Although I think that there's only one scarf that I may actually knit (yes, Drifting Pleats) there are plenty of techniques to be learnt.

Illicit sock knitting update - one sock complete bar the grafting and ends, halfway through the heel on the second sock.

bias

Ah, finally I can correct some of the bias towards book reviews and best intentions. Look! I got crafty and completed something:

Ah, the obligatory before-and-after shot (replete with poor before lighting and crisp after image, completely incidental by the way). Before is a fine knit white cotton t-shirt with an envelope neckline (brand - Target, size 2, purchased from op shop with tags still attached for less than $2 I imagine). After is the same t-shirt with a scrap of Marimekko fabric appliquéd to the front. This is a leftover from when I made the knitting needle roll way back in July last year (which may also have been the last time I had the sewing machine out).

Having let that slip I can no longer claim that these lovely stitches are the hand stitching that I have lately been indulging in. More of that some other time. No, this is the work of my Janome 720. I think that I did a nice job though with sewing around the curve. The scale of this fabric (Kaivo) is huge compared to the scrap that I have used here and the contrast between the pink and red isn't great so I just wanted to help the definition along a little. Baby bear will look great in this and finally I can add something to the finished items list! I'm so relieved.

I find the effort of getting the sewing machine out of its case and plugged in and threaded up such a mental block but I so enjoy the actual sewing when I get into it. I've also lately found the oomph to get the iron and ironing board out and have produced a few lengths of bias binding.

Now, secret finished socks and appliqué t-shirt - that's two finished projects, which according to my new year's resolutions means that I can start on something new. Whoo-hoo. Now, what will it be? Perhaps the half-finished pair of socks that I started a couple of weeks ago ... oops.

hands

‘I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.’

D.H Lawrence

What do you do with your hands that makes you feel calm? Until recently I would have said knitting, although I have lately rediscovered the mesmerising lull that can be hand stitching. I can understand why you would want to hand quilt a bedspread (ok, maybe a pillow cover).

Anyway, Taryn Ferris of London Metropolitan University wants to know what you do with your hands that makes you feel calm as part of her Hands Project 2008. You can complete the Hands Survey and can also contribute an image that relates to your answer.

All the information is available here.

compliments

Compliments - I've had a few lately and just wanted to say thank you to the kind readers who have visited and left a comment. I am myself only an occasional commenter so don't feel that I am in a position to exhort you to comment but be assured that it is lovely to receive feedback.

In part this is because one of my reasons for starting the blog was to share the happiness in my world, along with some knitting, some ideas, some inspiration and the odd book review. I find it very satisfying to think that there are people out there sharing in it. If you have recently arrived, perhaps you would like to go back and visit the first post in July last year. There's an explanation of how bollewangenhaptoet came to be named as it is. Feel free to peruse the rest of the archive while you are there.

Now, speaking of book reviews - Alexander McCall Smith is perhaps better known for his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, of which I have read only the first two. Ho hum, I'm afraid. I much prefer the Sunday Philosophy Club series and have recently read this, the fourth installment, The Careful Use of Compliments. I like the characters in this series better and find the narrative a bit meatier (but by no means heavy). The storyline of the first book irritated me greatly but they have improved since and I really enjoyed this most recent one. McCall Smith conjures up a careful Edinburgh world of philosophical and moral deliberation and detective stories which aren't quite such in the traditional sense. It's also interesting to read these beside Ian Rankin's Rebus series which conjures up quite a different Edinburgh to that of Isabel Dalhousie, her Georgian house and fondness for Peploe.

Speaking of which, I visited the 'Modern Britain: 1900-1960' exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria today (for the second time, no less!) I too have a liking for Peploe.

vol 3

Welcome to volume 3 of Golden hands: the complete knitting, dressmaking and needlecraft guide. There's 'Fashion Flair: capes tunics and skirts' circa 1974, an introduction to the feather stitch family including double feather stitch, quill stitch open cretan stitch and threaded herringbone stitch, and an introduction to tatting. I love the visuals of that top photo on the embroidery page with the matryoshka dolls and the strong primary colours. Sure, the 1970s could be garish but they could also be beautiful.

So while volume 3 is only just introducing tatting it is up to part 13 on embroidery. Understandably, a greater part of the volumes are given to knitting, embroidery and dressmaking (and to a lesser degree crochet) with less common crafts appearing infrequently.

Tatting has never really appealed to me although, having said that, I do own a fabulous book called The Art of Tatting by Lady Katharin Hoare. And there you go - feel free to download it yourself from the University of Pennsylvania library. Lady Hoare's work has incredible intricacy, depth and texture and comments from the Queen (the Roumanian one, I think). I find the visuals quite inspirational.

genesis

In the beginning there was a load of washing. By the afternoon it was hung out to dry. In the evening it was brought in to be folded. The next day the whole process started all over again.

Early on baby bear was what is termed a 'happy chucker' - immediately after feeding, half an hour after feeding, a bit later on as well. Given how often she chucked up, you can imagine how thankful I am that she did so happily. I changed not only her outfit several times a day but also mine. This is how it comes about that my washing machine - a Simpson Genesis 505 - is one of my favourite things. Basically, I would be lost without it.

I got it when I was 19 from my grandmother's house, after she passed away. I don't know how long she had owned it for but it must be a good 15 years old and still going strong.

One of the liberations of motherhood for me, I must say, has been the discovery that there is no such thing as hand washing. In the past I would have had a separate pile of things to be hand washed - special detergent, gently agitated, thoroughly rinsed, carefully wrung out, laid out to dry - which, needless to say, rarely actually got done and as such also rarely worn. But not anymore. Silk cardigan? Woollen handknit? Vintage dress? All of it, in the wash (albeit in a laundry bag - also a favourite thing).

ovum

For a couple of years now (even a few?) we have had a pair of turtle doves bill and coo in our back garden and nest in one of the trees. Last year (or was it the year before?) I watched mummy turtle dove brooding on her precarious nest, heard the tiny cries of the hatchlings, watched as the little chicks grew and grew and teetered on the edge of the nest as they dared to fly. And then one day they were gone, flown away.

I thought that I had seen the turtle doves around again (is it the same pair? do they return to the same spot?) so imagine my utter delight when I noticed an egg in the nest. A small white ovum. I tried to take a photograph of it but was hampered by the washing line and the foliage that was in the way. My manoeuvering did give me a better view of the egg though, and it is actually only half an egg (which explains why I haven't seen mummy turtle dove brooding lately). So no chick this time but also no avoiding that section of the washing line.


Last weekend we went to the Strathbogie Summer Festival and Art Exhibition where I indulged in local berries, no massage, and a Devonshire tea. We stopped to look at the alpacas and baby bear was given a tuft of fleece to feel and take away with her. I bought a long-sleeved Aran knit tunic from the white elephant stall - it weighs nigh on 500 grams, cost $1.50 and is 100% silk. Half a kilo of eggshell white silk.

I always look at the knitted garments in the op shop or at markets, usually with the intention of unravelling them in order to knit something else. But not this time as I love the lines and textures of Aran-style knitting and think that with some careful (machine) stitching and cutting I may be able to use the fabric as is. To make something for baby bear, of course. I can't wear a pale shade like this very well and she has no choice in the matter at present time. There was a lovely Aran-style t-shirt designed by Michael Kors in Vogue Knitting (Holiday 2005) which I had actually considered making a version of for her. This might be another option and would be a great play on scale.

strathbogie summer festival

Local berries and cherries, massages, Devonshire teas - what more could you ask for? The Strathbogie Summer Festival and Art Exhibition is on tomorrow from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Strathbogie is straight up the Hume Highway, take the exit for Euroa. bollewangenhaptoet and family will be there.

noritake

This wonderful dish, bowl and cup set was originally Tim's and is now used by baby bear. It is made of melamine, is by Noritake and dates from around 1974. I find it very interesting that Japanese tableware should have featured a kangaroo that many years ago.

I know that you can't keep everything but every now and then you do and it is so wonderful. Thank you to Tim's mum for having looked after this for nigh on 34 years.

New year knitting is proceeding well - I have a finished project! Alas, it is a gift project so it won't really be complete until it has been wrapped and given and that won't be until later next month. Now only one more finished object required before I can cast on for something new - yippee! I think that it will be the tomten, if only because that is my next closest-to-finished work. And what shall I cast on for then? Had I mentioned the three skeins of Noro Kochoran (shade #17) just waiting to become the next tomten? Then there's the Grignasco Bambi that's ready to become Lynda, not to mention two more pieces of gift knitting. Truly, I am so excited.

the incredible mr tulk

Mr Tulk - such a strange name for a cafe (or licensed cafe espresso bar as the case may be).

"Who is Mr Tulk?

The cafe is named for Mr Augustus Henry Tulk, the Library's first Chief Librarian. He was appointed in 1856, and worked with Redmond Barry to build the foundations of the Library’s collections. He led the Library for 17 distinguished years."

I do love libraries but, surprisingly, have not spent a lot of time at the State Library of Victoria. There was an ill-fated tutoring excursion when I was at uni (didn't have change for the lockers, didn't know my way around, didn't know what I was doing basically) and I have made a couple of visits for myself, once to look at a rare book which was quite an exciting experience. It was brought to me on a pillow and I had to wear white cotton gloves to leaf very gently through it. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all what I was looking/hoping for, so I leafed through it in a matter of minutes which didn't seem to befit the circumstances at all.

Anyway, Mr Tulk is the licensed cafe espresso bar at the SLV and as it is but a brisk ten minute walk down Little Lonsdale Street from work, I expect that I will be going there more often. An odd floor plan but good dimensions, dark wood and white walls, midsummer light streaming through the windows. I have just ordered yet another copy of a library book that I coveted to the point of purchase. Imagine what would happen if I got stuck into the SLV collection ... I think that I'll have to keep my lunch breaks short.

vol 2

In volume 2, Golden hands: the complete knitting, dressmaking and needlecraft guide introduces the gentle crafts of daisy work, hooked rugs and macramé - "versatile, unusual and fun to do". I'm surprised that it hasn't caught on further. I haven't made anything from this volume but the Knitting Know-how lessons in increasing and decreasing have certainly come in handy. And from the Basic Wardrobe I do like this bloomer suit for a little girl. Perhaps while baby bear still has no say in the matter?

I must admit that I am more than a little dismayed at the lack of finished items that I have to display (or not, as the case may be, or rather, is). I seem to have a severe case of finishitis or hyper-cast-onitis whereby nothing ever gets finished and I am constantly casting on for new projects. I'm almost embarrassed to mention the baby ballerina top (just how long has that been going on for now?) but now that I have, I'll update you. I started on a sleeve, knitting from the top down in order to not run out of yarn and got about 20 rows in when I decided that it was too wide and frogged it, to start again with a few less stitches. That's where that is at.

Jeremy, on the other hand, is completely knitted and just requires blocking and seaming. And some embroidery on the collar - I've bought the tapestry wool for that. Oh, I have no problem with gathering supplies, sometimes I feel as though I am drowning in them. I have also recently purchased the yarn for Lynda (Grignasco Bambi in #416 - so soft and a great range of colours) and assorted balls for another project which I will have to keep quiet about because it is to be a gift for someone.

And the tomten, the poor dear tomten which is probably the most interesting thing that I have knit lately is languishing, in want only of having the i-cord fastenings sewn on. Ah well, it'll wait another week. Indeed, i suspect that is part of the problem. Much of what I am knitting for baby bear is for her to grow into in the future so there is no great rush to finish, except for the displeasure of having all these unfinished projects laying around. So, even though it is not a new year's resolution, I have a knit resolution. Two finished items for every item cast on anew until I have a manageable number of projects on the go - say three.

And just to prove that I haven't been doing nothing recently, this was last night's dessert. You'll have to take my word for it that my version looked just as good for the evidence is long gone.

42

People who don't come from this part of the world are often aghast, mouths agape, when I tell them that we have ski fields in Australia. Ok, they're not Whistler or St Moritz but there is snow in winter (usually) and lifts and ski runs. But not today. No, currently it is 40.3°C outside (that's 104.5°F for our imperial friends) with a hot northerly wind. I tell you, it's like an oven out there and it hasn't yet reached the forecast 42°C. And I'm knitting socks in your typical 75% wool 25% nylon mix sock wool. I am also safely ensconced within an air-conditioned office block enjoying the mild 20°C that we have in here.

What am I doing knitting at work? Well, nominally it was my lunch break and being New Year's Eve, there's not a lot going on here (apologies Victorian tax payers). I continue to be gratified by the response of the (knit-)uninitiated to self-patterning sock wool, not to mention their wonder at the process of knitting with double-pointed needles.

So, resolutions for 2008? I don't really make new year's resolutions. I know that I have lots of plans for the next twelve months but I think that I would have those plans whether it were June 30th or December 31st. I am going to have a little bit of free time each week to myself next year and I plan to get really productive on the re-use/refashion front. All of those best intentions will, I hope become reality. I'll keep knitting - it would be nice to participate in a swap actually. I wonder if there'll be a sockapalooza in 2008?

And keep reading - currently waiting in line are The Careful Use of Compliments, The Poisonwood Bible, Don Quixote, and Amelia. Yes, how could I resist an eponymously titled book - Amelia (1751) by Henry Fielding? I do love the Penguin Classic cover. It's a painting called 'Life of a Country Girl - Married Life' by Francis Wheatley who was an English portrait and landscape painter. Dear girl, what's that she's busy with? A bit of needlework I think - how appropriate. She's also wearing a rather silly mob cap - I won't be doing that in 2008.

Best wishes for a very happy new year - safe, healthy and prosperous.

restless

That about sums me up at this time of the year - restless. I'm like this at the end of the month too. On about the 24th I just want it to be next month. By mid-December I just want it to be next year. And it makes me restless.

I finished this novel a couple of days ago - told you I was on a reading spree, have you noticed the lack of knitting content? I really enjoyed it. I had originally heard a few chapters read aloud on the Radio National book reading so I reserved it at the library. I read somewhere that someone had found the interspersed contemporary chapters boring but I felt that they served to heighten the suspense although some of the sub-plots there weren't satisfactorily wrapped up.

What I need is to stretch my legs, take a walk around the farm, find a bit of peace. Ah, off to Tim's parents' place today - ideal. I hope that you find a bit of peace too this holiday season and take it all the way through the year.

re-use

Re-use is my favourite 'r'. Recycling is great but apart from the satisfaction of putting out less rubbish and more paper/glass/plastic, you don't really get to see what becomes of your old phone bill. Reduce is, I must admit, one that I'm not so good on although I'm getting better at it. But re-use, re-use is the best because it's practically an invitation to be crafty and creative and innovative. I too aspire to one day be crafty and creative and innovative but in the meantime want to introduce you to a couple of projects that already are.

I love Stringativity's leather coat project (first encountered over at Wardrobe Refashion). Tracy has taken one, slightly damaged, coat and re-used the leather to create a number of items, including a book cover, a wallet, a bag and a top. I love the use of the curve in the original garment in this version of the top (which unfortunately wasn't the final one).

On a similar note but a grander (or at least more commercial) scale are Ashley Watson's bags (discovered via fiftyRX3) which again take the detailing in the original garment (purchased second hand) as a starting point for the finished product.
I love the way that three bags can be the same shape but different colours and with different detailing. It must make choosing one a nightmare though - what if you like the black leather but want the pocket on the brown bag?

havoc

Ah, what an appropriate theme for this time of the year.

I saw this book at the bookshop when it was released and was attracted by the cover - lovely 17th century-style woodcut - and the great title, Havoc, in its third year. There's something about the cadence that really appeals to me. And I had to look up a number of words in the dictionary - phthsical, wittol, apodictical - I love a book that increases my vocabulary. A good read, the style was quite unusual. The world that the novel creates - England in the 1630s, "turbulent times", moral and religious hysteria - while evocative was just a little too intangible for me and made me realise how little I know of British history in that period (or any other really, to be honest).

I borrowed it from the library (of course) after seeing it mentioned on Only books all the time. My, that woman can read! And she appears to like the odd list or two - I love a list, so am going to follow the leader and complete the Back to Books unread book meme.

These are apparently the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing's users (on 3 October 2007). And I've added a few of my own comments as well.

bold - have read
italics - started but couldn't finish
strike through - couldn't stand
asterisk* - read more than once
underline - on the to-read list

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and punishment
Catch-22
One hundred years of solitude - thumbs down
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: a novel
The name of the rose
Don Quixote - once Tim finishes it
Moby Dick - wonderful
Ulysses
Madame Bovary - thumbs down
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice - I've definitely read Emma and another Austen or two but can't for the life of me remember which one(s)
Jane Eyre
A Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveller's Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin - love Atwood, her best
The Kite Runner - umming and ahhing, it's on the shelf
Mrs. Dalloway - for uni
Great Expectations
American Gods
A heartbreaking work of staggering genius
Atlas shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran: a memoir in books - I have read Lolita
Memoirs of a Geisha - after the shorts to the movie, no interest whatsoever
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury tales - the odd one for medieval English literature at uni
The historian: a novel
A portrait of the artist as a young man
Love in the time of cholera
Brave new world
The Fountainhead
Foucault's pendulum
Middlemarch - wonderful, oh Dorothea
Frankenstein - thumbs down
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A clockwork orange
Anansi boys
The once and future king
The grapes of wrath - I'd liek to read this
The Poisonwood Bible: a novel - on reserve at the library
1984
Angels & demons
The inferno
The satanic verses
Sense and sensibility - my other Austen?
The picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park - ?
One flew over the cuckoo's nest
To the lighthouse
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - boring
Oliver Twist
Gulliver's travels
Les misérables
The corrections - I liked this
The amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time
Dune
The prince
The sound and the fury
Angela's ashes: a memoir
The god of small things
A people's history of the United States : 1492-present
Cryptonomicon - Tim's read it, all three of them actually, does that count?
Neverwhere
A confederacy of dunces
A short history of nearly everything
Dubliners - bits of it for uni
The unbearable lightness of being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake: a novel
Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion - ?
Northanger Abbey - ?
The Catcher in the Rye - thumbs down
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics: a Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: an Inquiry into Values - I read this when I was eighteen and living in Japan (another story), I'm not sure that I got all out of it that I could
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity's Rainbow
The Hobbit - but only the first few pages
In cold blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences - nope
White teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The three musketeers

It strikes me how many of these books I didn't like - perhaps a lot of these are unread for good reason!