Sally Melville rocks. We know that from her awesome Knitting Experience Book series. But did you know that her daughter also knits? Well of course she does. As I was knitting on Mother's Day yesterday, I thought it would be a perfect time to take a closer look at the new knitting book Sally and her daughter, Caddy Melville Ledbetter, have recently published, Mother-Daughter Knits.

The subtitle of the book is 30 Designs to Flatter and Fit and the chapter at the start about knitting to fit is classic Sally Melville: full of clear, concise details and a multitude of useful illustrations. She explains ideal sweater lengths and shapes, how to measure yourself (not just a basic bust measurements, but more specific measurements like shoulder width and waist length), and how to adjust any pattern to fit you better. Sally's motto is "you should never follow a pattern without personalizing it to your measurements" and this insight and info will go a long way to answering how some of our great knits sometimes end up looking so "wrong". I'm not quite sure what this all has to do with "mother-daughter knitting", but, hey, a lesson from Sally on anything has got to be worth the price of admission on its own!

What's unique about this book is the glimpses you get in the later two chapters of the special connection these two women have to knitting and to each other. Surprisingly, they have not been knitting together for decades - Caddy writes that she only started knitting as an adult - but it is clearly something that brings them together now and it's lovely to see them sharing it with each other as they share their talents with us. The book still feels a little disjointed however, with Sally introducing one chapter and Caddy another. Both chapters contain patterns by each of them but, like the separate introductions, there isn't much of a link between Sally's patterns and Caddy's. You never really get a sense of them thinking or designing as a "we" (something that I do feel, for example, in the Mason-Dixon Knitting books). But although there isn't quite enough of the "mother-daughter knitting" for my tastes, there is still plenty of brilliant knitting.

Just look at all these sweaters that Sally has designed for the book!

Sally, rather tellingly, describes the book as "dual generational" and I think this is a better way of understanding its contents than in terms of mother-daughter knitting. Sally's patterns show her expertise that comes from years of experience, her classic sense of style, and her knowledge of what is flattering on all types of women, including older women. Caddy, who describes herself as part of the "AFMAK" generation (that's "absolutely, fabulously, mad about knitting!") has designed patterns that are all fresh and young, hip and fun.

oooh, I love that last one!

Caddy's creations are often simpler, but also somehow more innovative. The two women have different styles, but together - a mother and a daughter, two generations of knitters - they are genuinely able to offer something for every woman. (The proof: they do a lot of the modeling themselves!)

This is a beautiful knitting book. It's not just that the pictures and patterns and sentiments are all lovely, but it's seems likely to become one of those books that I'll end up keeping and looking at more for inspiration and information than for patterns to knit. I'm not sure there's anything in here that's gonna end up on my must-make queue, but, then again, there are a lot of possibilities! It's definitely worth taking a peek at next time you're at the yarn store and it would make a lovely gift for the mother or daughter in your life who knits. Or if you're the knitter, you can make them something from the book (how many good patterns for mom do you find out there these days, huh?!). And there's no need to wait until next Mother's Day!