I'm not dead yet!

But I'm not doing much knitting and won't be doing any blogging for the rest of the week.

So check out this book. It was sent to me by a dear friend, and I've been feasting on it. Lily Chin is a wonderful designer, and she has top marks for her crochet design from me. Her beading is fabulous for most of the examples in this book. Some of the fabrics are lightly beaded with edgings and they're nice, but other fabrics are filled with beads and they are divine. M m m m.

Knit and Crochet with Beads, Lily M. Chin, 2004, Interweave Press,ISBN: 1-931499-44-6, Softcover, 160p., $21.95(USD)

Book

Romantic Style: Knits and Crochet to Wear or Display by Jennie Atkinson, 2006, Martingale & Company ISBN:1-56477-715-4, 128p. $29.95(USD)

I bought this book last week because I find it charming. I shy away from project-based needlework books more often than not, but this is an exception. As usual, I'm not looking at instructions or the more technical aspects of the book, but I like the photos of the knitted items. Ms. Atkinson uses designs from other designers to good effect, and keeps a very beautiful and delicate theme going throughout. She offers designs for a wide variety of garments and also accessories. I like them all, although I'm inspired by one or two to actually try them or something like them. One of the purse designs grabbed me right away, and I'm sure I'll be riffing on it for some time to come.

Although I'm not following the directions, I'm already working on at least three purses based on that inspiration. It's plain stockinette stitch pattern embellished with buttons, and I've rifled through one bag of buttons in my stash and am actually trying to remember where all the rest of my pounds (oh yeah) of buttons are.

I'll make one technical comment regarding a pattern chart. Laid out on a grid that is SHADED with a dark tan, the one pattern I'd like to try is almost impossible to read. I don't know what posessed the book people to shade this chart but lemme tell ya, it's a very very bad idea if reading it is the purpose. Not only that but it's practically microscopic. Sheesh! You'd think the book designers would have a clue.

Having finished the stockinette piece for the purse, I realized how long it's been since I've made a plain stockinette piece of knitting with plain worsted wool while I was blocking it last night: years and years. I've had quite a trip with novelty yarns. Now that the wool's dry and I've collected my mother of pearl buttons I'm ready to start stitching the buttons onto the wool, and I'm adding some beads too.

Books

Knit 2 Together: Patterns and Stories for Serious Knitting Fun ; Mel Clark and Tracey Ullman ; 2006 ; Stewart, Tabori & Chang ISBN: 1-58479-534-4 ; 168p. ; $27.50(USD)

I found this to be quite an interesting book, but I haven't purchased it yet. I like Tracey Ullman's work, and her kntting seems to be quite sophisticated, but I'm still not certain why I'd buy the book - what do you think?

Book

Nicky Epstein's Knitted Embellishments: 350 Ways to Enhance Your Knitting, by Nicky Epstein, 1999, Interweave Press, ISBN: 1-883010-39-X, 276p. $31.95(US)

I'm getting a thing for Nicky Epstein. I like the illustrations and directions in her books and the way the pattern ideas are organized. This is the third reference work, I'll call it, that I've appreciated not only for the sheer volume of ideas, but the way it's not about specific projects, but about an aspect of knitting. The three I happen to like are all about ways to embellish. But I'm all about embellishment, so she's my gal. She takes a form and then illustrates many variations, so I feel like I've really gained an understanding of what the embellishment form can do, how to expand it if I want to or how to alter it in other ways that make it just right for my current project. This sort of thing keeps me going for years. I've already thought of dozens of ways I can spruce up my own knitting from ideas in this book, and I'm not contrained by specific patterns. Since I don't usually work from patterns, this is a good thing.

Books

Folk Hats: 32 Knitting Patterns and Tales from Around the World, by Vicki Square, 2005, Interweave Press, ISBN: 1-931499-63-2; 144 p. $21.95(US)

I mostly just look at the photos when I get knitting books. I like many of the hats in this volume, but others seem just stupid, like the knitted version of the Samuri helmet and the European women's skull cap. Vicki Square looks at folk hats and then develops knitted interpretations of the designs. Many are wonderful, but several cause me to wonder about her point. Each hat gets a little "folklore lite" blurb. It's inspiring for the moment, but it's not a keeper and will be donated to my local library knitting collection soon.

A lot of time to knit

Ove the past four months I've had a lot of time to knit. It's been interesting to try to decide *what* to knit. I have been buying knitting magazines for inspiration and trying new stitches, and now that I've got the photo upload thing together, I'm about to go out with my camera and take photos of what I've been doing.

But in another medium, I've just finally purchased a book called The Art of Manipulating Fabric, and it's inspirational for anyone who works with textiles. I'm sure it's easy to find reviews, since the book has been out for a few years. It was one of those books that I've held in awe, and yet couldn't just *buy* outright.

Lorre-Bob sez check it out.

Books

Apologies for the photo-my usual source doesn't have one for this book.
The Art of Knitting is a book I've been stalking for weeks. I'm fondling copies of it in shops and letting my eyes wander all over the delightful photography. It looks terrifically inspirational. Some day the urge may strike when I'm not saving pennies for other things and I'll get to take it home to bed (now shared with a rather tasteless fall issue of Knitter's magazine). The Art of Knitting looks both inspiring and educational. It's the first book I think I've ever seen that mixes discussions and illustrations of machine knitting and hand knitting.

Here's the full cite: The Art of Knitting: Inspirational Stitches, Textures, and Surfaces by Francoise Loumagne Tellier, June 2005, published by Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0-500-28557-8 320p. $39.95

Books

Yes, I chose this book because of the cover.

I'm glad I did. I like the size of the "Knitting on the Go" series by Vogue Knitting. I also like the fact that they stuck this crochet book in the series. I believe there are a few more crochet titles, but I like this one the most. The scarf on the cover is well worth the price of admission, IMNSHO. But there are also other gems inside. For those of us who think that crochet design is ugly for the most part, this book offers some way cool scarves. I go more for very good illustrations in a book rather than trying to pick apart the directions. This this book I found the directions to be clear as well, an added bonus.

Here's the whole cite:
Vogue Knitting on the Go: Crocheted Scarves, by Trisha Malcolm, 2004, Sixth&Spring Books, ISBN:1-931543-42-9; 88 p. $12.95

Books

Knitting on the Edge is another title I've been stalking for months. It kept disappearing from my local bookstore before I had a chance to get it myself. It's a "keeper", and a reference source I'm sure I'll use often. Nicky Epstein arranges these edgings around themes, using original designs and traditional ones. Each chapter has a a color theme, sort of like Maggie's Ireland, only in this book the edgings in each chapter are variations on ribs, baubles, cables, or other overall design motives. There are 350 altogether, which is plenty to digest. When I looked at many of them I was thinking that the pattern will work as an overall pattern as well as an edge pattern. So I can see not only dressing up plain designs, or adding a truly sophisticated touch, but making fabrics for pillows, scarves and other items. I like the book because it's not based in the "project" format, but truly a resource for knitters who aren't afraid to make up their own designs. Lorre Bob sez add it to your knitting reference collection and also give her forthcoming title a look, Knitting Over The Edge : Unique Ribs Cords Appliques Color Eclectic - The Second Essential Collection of Decorative Borders.

Books

Note: the twisted stitch in the scarf from the July 29 entry is from Vogue Knitting International Fall 2004 issue, pattern #23 "Posh Pullover". The stitch pattern doesn't seem to have a name.


That said, here's a review of the book: Erica Knight is another inspiring designer that gets my thoughts going. There's just something about beautifully photographed knitting that is endlessly attractive for me. One of the more memorable pieces is the pair of satin ribbon slippers (on the cover) that I swear I'm going to make some day! Knight leads knitters through a variety of unconventional knitting materials, and is very good at also giving examples of household items rather than sticking with sweaters and scarves. I think her sensibilities and hip style sense make knitting look positively the hippest of the hip. She gives an example of knitting with wire, and also knitting by cutting up those omnipresent poly bags that everyone brings home from shopping. Cutting into my stash of those things is definitely on my list. Caveat: I read knitting books for the photos and rarely use the directions, so if you want a more technical review of her pattern writing, please find other reviews.

Here's the full cite:
Simple Knits with a Twist: Unique Projects for Creative Knitters, by Erica Knight, April 2004, Stewart, Tabori & Chang,
ISBN: 1-58479-361-9 Softcover, 128p. $19.95

Books

I lusted after this book for weeks on end before I took the plunge. Maggie Jackson's designs are mind-bending in many good ways. The photos of Ireland are delicious, yet there's just enough over-the-top giddiness about celebrating it all that it ends up being silly. There are photos of the caterer for the project. Maybe I've just become dour in my middle age. It has the Xenakis touch, always lush, and perhaps it's he who makes sure that there's a bit of the behind the cameras scene brought into the work itself.

Anyway, the way that Maggie puts together fabrics and embellishments is worth study. I simply adore the way that she creates many textures within a fabric, using stitches and attached thingies. Between the various slits, holes and attached thingies there are endlessly attractive pieces. There are also some things I consider just plain weird, but I like weird. Especially because so much knitted design is the same, with very fearful people who don't seem to be able to think of much outside what's already been done a million times. Yay, Maggie! The book goes through various colorways so that each chapter has its own color theme. I enjoyed savoring the effects of each color and how the various types of yarn that Maggie produces look in the various colors. There's a good variety of garments too, so it's not just sweaters and more sweaters. I also like the way she uses diagrammatic illustrations. For some reason, I always get a boost in understanding the garment construction when I see these diagrams. Maybe it's from my sewing background. They complement the photographs and really give a great sense of her design thinking.

Here's the full citation: Maggie's Ireland: Designer Knits on Location
by Maggie Jackson, April 2004 Wyrick & Company ISBN:1-893762-18-1 Hardcover (Trade Cloth)168p $37.95

I was wandering around in a nearby knit shop in the Berkshires very early this past spring, Colorful Stitches, and found a MaggiKnits kit, on sale for $285.00. It had been marked down from $400.00

Books

The dreamy photos capture my imagination. Although I spent many hours with this book, I'm not going to knit anything based on the patterns. I bought it because it's eye candy. So I can't really make comment on the quality of the patterns, although I have found XRX Books to generally be high quality when I have used them. I enjoyed very much the variety of designs and the range from simple to very complex pieces that would keep your mind wrapped up in counting for the entire piece. After absorbing all I could in terms of enjoying the various ideas, I donated it to my local library. I'm sure I'll visit it from time to time for the pleasure of looking at the photos. I was inspired each time I opened it.

Here's the whole citation: Arans and Celtics: The Best of Knitter's Magazine by Alexis Xenakis; November 2003; XRX Books;
ISBN: 1-893762-05-X; 108p. $19.95

Books

Since I'm a sucker for Xenakis's photography, I love this book. It's been in my bed for quite awhile because I ruminate over the shapes and ideas as I'm falling asleep. The variety of shapes and weights and textures is wonderful food for thought as I forge my own designs. The editors have selected casual as well as delicate and dressy wraps and ponchos. There are more than a dozen, but that's ok by me. It feels like there are a hundred, because when I leave the book alone for a few weeks I go back to it and there are more ideas for me to ponder.

Here's the whole citation:

Ponchos and Wraps: A Knitter's Dozen; Alexis Xenakis (Photographer); April 2005; XRX Books ISBN: 1-933064-01-3; Softcover (Trade Paper)80 p $15.95

Books

My latest book purchase is providing me with inspiration for small projects that will use up all my short strands of yarn. Freeform Knitting and Crochet by Jenny Dowde has lots of interesting tips.

The full citation: Freeform Knitting and Crochet, Jenny Dowde, September 2004,Sally Milner Publishing Pty, Limited ISBN:1-86351-327-2Softcover (Trade Paper),160p.
$17.95

I appreciate what she includes regarding design, but feel a little let down by how little it actually is. She invokes the feeling that you should study design, but then really only mentions it. I think what knitters need is lots of ideas regarding design. I feel she explained the technique in a few words and then spent lots and lots of time giving instructions for things like fragments, which she admits should not really be made according to instructions. I think she should have spent the effort more on design and left the basic technique up to readers to discover. Espcially since that's what freeform is all about.

But....I'm always a bit put off by how much space lots of knitting books dedicate to technique. Almost every knitting book editor feels obligated to include basic knitting lessons as though every single book must have them. I disagree. Only the most remotely placed individuals cannot get ahold of knitting technique information.

In Jenny Dowde's case, I think it was a seriously misplaced idea that she should coddle the beginning knitter. The beginning knitter is going to have extreme difficulty doing things she's proposing anyway. They involve a very high level of ingenuity, and beginners are still learning how to hold the needles and yarn at the same time.

But I still like the book, only wish there were more illustrations and inspiring tips for advanced knitters who are leaving patterns behind and taking off in freeform ideas. I also think she does a very good job of describing the techniques that are needed to accomplish projects using the freeform ideas of putting together fragments. Her Funky FX chapter also rocks. I'm definitely going to be adding some funky fx to my knitting in the near future.

This book is in my bed, which means it ranks high.

Books

Teva Durham has published a collection of her designs that is inspiring and delightfully contemporary, yet they're looking back at a long tradition. It's called Loop-d-Loop. She writes that those words describe for her a lot of what knitting is all about. Her web site, Loop-d-loop, http://www.loop-d-loop.com/, gives a good preview of the book's contents. She has very strong style elements and her designs strike me as being good for beginners because they'll knit up quickly. She generally encorporates nice big bulky yarns that make small pieces go together in a snap. I get tired of looking at the same old things, so I was encouraged by Ms. Durham's designs to believe that there's still more to invent when it comes to knitting.

I got this book at my local independent bookstore, because I don't shop for books on the web and want my bookstore to be around for a long time. If you like Loop-d-Loop, I recommend you get it either from your local book store or yarn shop.

The whole citation: Loop-D-Loop, by Teva Durham and Adrian Buckmaster, June 2005. Stewart, Tabori & Chang
ISBN: 1-58479-414-3 (hard cover) 176 p., $29.95

Loop-d-Loop 

Books

Good book! 

Oh yeah, I'm not just a knitter. A couple times a month I go to my nearest independent bookstore and look at their knitting and crocheting books. Recently I got 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix and Match by Jan Eaton. I like the whole concept of the book, which involves developing blocks of the same size so that crocheters can pick patterns for the blocks and develop their own combinations. The one way in which the book just totally falls down for me is the color choices for the illustrative photos. I could rant for quite awhile about it and make wretching noises, but I'll say merely that they are horrid. On the whole, however, the book is a very positive experience for me. I'd certainly recommend it as a reference work for patterns if you don't already have something like that to draw on for your crochet projects. Not only does it have the classic granny square patterns but lots of others that are useful beyond the "block" context.

Here's the whole citation:
200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix and Match by Jan Eaton; Interweave Press ISBN : 1-931499-68-3; Sep 2004 Price: $24.95