Recently I have been reading about some big names: the Yarn Harlot, Ann & Kay, Clara Parkes, Amy Singer, and even She Who Must Not Be Named (shhhh, come closer... it's... Alice Starmore). I've also been reading about someone just like us, someone who loves to knit and was overcome by the need - yes, the need! - to knit a certain sweater.

Adrienne Martini's Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously is, ostensibly, a book about Adrienne's quest to knit Alice Starmore's Mary Tudor cardigan. Her own mission impossible: knit an intricate and intimidating fair-isle design from an out of print book that calls for long-ago discontinued yarns in one year AND write a book about it, despite having two jobs, two children under the age of seven, a house and cats. That sounds like a lot, but somehow, with this book, she's managed to do even more. The book is funny and fascinating. It moves seamlessly between knitting (why DO we knit fair-isle in the round and then cut it??!!), a little geography (where is Fair Isle anyway?), a little more knitting (a swatch - yikes!), a little gossip (what is Alice Starmore's problem?), a little more knitting (casting on 357 stitches, four times), a little history (what do YOU know about Mary Tudor that you didn't learn from The Tudors on Showtime?) and a lot of sitting down and chatting with cool knitty people (Adrienne takes us to Nashville, Rhinebeck, Toronto, New York City and western Massachusetts - what a ride!).

And now live, via previously emailed questions and answers, here's Adrienne herself to tell you a bit more about her journey:

Q: First things first: the sweater. I kept hoping for color pictures of the sweater in progress in the book. I decided that the fact that there were no pictures meant that the book wasn't really about the sweater. It's not a collection of blog posts or wip updates. It's really a book about about obsession, challenging oneself, the power of impossible ideals and the joy of accomplishing something that's truly your own. Well, that's what I thought. What would you say the book is really about?

A: When I started really diving into the meat of the writing, I thought it was all about the sweater - its history, the color, the concept. But the more I wrote, the more I realized it really was about the journey, not the knitting. That the journey is one that isn't unique to knitters. Anyone who makes something - a sweater, a book, a quilt, whatever - goes through the same process of discovery and creation.

The lack of pictures, however, was not so much a conscious choice but a cost and liability choice. Which isn't a very sexy answer but is the truth.

Q: But it really is about the sweater, isn't it?!

A: You have to admit that it's a really cool sweater to design a book around...

Q: Your research for the book was fascinating! Which part of your research (be it learning the history of Fair Isle or Mary Tudor, or interviewing a particular knitting celebrity) did you enjoy the most (or the least!)? For folks who haven't read the book yet, can you share a bit about what you learned from this particular research?

A: My all-time favorite part was going up to Toronto and talking to Amy Singer and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Not only are they both great fun to talk to, Toronto itself has a great fibery culture that you can almost feel when you're walking down the streeet. Plus, knit night at Lettuce Knit is something that every knitter should experience at least once.

I don't think there was any bit that I didn't enjoy. Research might be my favorite part of any project. If I could make a living digging up obscure facts, I would be a happy, happy woman.

Q: The connection between knitting and community was a continuing theme in your book. From small knitting groups to the enormity of the internet with over a half a million members on Ravelry, we're all a part of some sort of knitting community, but it's nice to be reminded that we are a part of something really special. What sort of regular knitting communities are you a part of? (Translation: where can we find you?) And how have these communities supported you?

A: I am on Ravelry (martinimade) but don't participate as much as I should. My wee little town in Central New York has a knitting group/ice cream appreciation society that meets weekly and is a great source of support, both of the craft and life variety. I also spend a lot of time cruising knitting blogs, which I justify by calling it research. Plus, I have my own blog (www.martinimade.com) and am not shy about posting strange questions about patterns along with pictures of my cats and kids. I'm not sure I can put my finger on how these communities have supported me - more that it's all just part of a much larger conversation about life and craft. And I hope that I've offered support to others when they've needed it as well.

Q: I appreciated your acknowledgement of several knitting truths, such as counting to 10 is hard, swatching sucks, and "sleeves leech away your will to live." Remind me of why we do this crazy knitting thing? What were some of your conclusions, after finishing the sweater and the book, about our need to knit?

A: I keep going back to something that Stephanie said about knitting passing the time. She wasn't saying it in a dismissive way and neither am I. Rather, for me, even with all of the frustration and will-to-live sucking, there still something about knitting that fills the time in such a satisfying way that I can't imagine giving it up. Plus, I seem to have become addicted to making my own socks. So there's that.

I agree whole-heartedly. And except for knitting, I can't think of a better way to pass the time than to sit down and go on this journey with Adrienne. So, check out the book!

You can get more info about Sweater Quest here.

If you're a local here in the Boston area, you can come meet Adrienne at Porter Sqare Books on April 15th at 7pm.

But wait, there's more! A CONTEST! Check out the Simon & Schuster site for a chance to win a copy of Sweater Quest and a $250 gift certificate to your favorite yarn store (so you can get started on your own sweater quest).

And now, after all that reading, go knit something!

Can't knit. Can't sew. Must read more...

How fabulous is Lily Chin? I remember being impressed when I caught her Knitty Gritty episode back in like 2005, called "Tips & Tricks." Well those tips & tricks are all here - plus all the knitting basics - in Lily Chin's Knitting Tips & Tricks: Shortcuts and Techniques Every Knitter Should Know. You will find brilliant tips here, like exactly how much yarn you need for the long tail cast-on (three times the width of your piece plus 10%), the best way to work with ribbon yarn (hang it up like toilet paper so it won't twist while you knit with it), how to make the perfect left-slanting decrease (twist the stitches on the row before by wrapping like Combined knitters do then k2togtbl on the decrease row), and a foolproof way to space buttonholes evenly (evenly mark dots on a strip of waistband elastic and stretch it to fit the buttonband). These little bits of genius are interspersed in what is on it's own already an excellent overall guide to knitting.

When I started knitting, a friend gave me a copy of the old Harmony Guide of Knitting Techniques: Volume 1. It was a slim volume that touched on all the major stages of the knitting process with large, helpful pictures. It was my go-to guide when I was learning, since it was not encyclopedic or chatty, but a bare-bones, just-the-facts-ma'am reference. That volume is now out of print, but if I were starting now, I could totally see myself using Lily Chin's book to the same end. It's much more thorough with a lot more explanation (hooray!), but Lily Chin is no-nonsense: she gets right down to it and tells you all you need to know, no bullshit. And it's in a super handy little format. It's no bigger than your Vicki Square Knitter's Companion but there's so much more in here than in that book! (And - bonus! - for crocheters, she's even put out a companion book of Crochet Tips & Tricks. It'll be a must-have for any future crocheting projects of mine, I can tell you!)

Thanks to all my sewing for wee one (with Pink Fig and Oliver & S patterns), I am proud to say that I skipped Wendy Mullin's first book, Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe. It's a great intro to home sewing and approaches the topic with the same sort of demystifying, you-can-do-it attitude that was in Amy Karol's awesome book, Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew. And whenever I feel ready to make something like pants for myself, I'll be sure to try out some Built by Wendy patterns (maybe then I'll get the Sew U book), but for now, what really mystifies me, what I'd really like a course on, is sewing with knit fabrics and using my mega-intimidating serger.

Enter Sew U Home Stretch: The Built by Wendy Guide to Sewing Knit Fabrics, Wendy Mullin's second book all about sewing those scary-seeming knits. She says making projects with knits is easy, easier in fact than making things in woven fabrics, in part because stretchy fabric means there's no closures like buttons and zippers to deal with. Yes! I hate putting in closures. They're like seaming a knitting project: that last step that is totally fiddly, seems to take nearly as much time as the rest of the project, and has a disproportional impact on how good the final piece looks - no pressure! The only difference is that I'm good at seaming knitting projects; sewing in zippers and making buttonholes, not so much. So none of that sounds good to me! The book starts by going through the most important stitches the serger makes and tells you when you'll need to use each one. This is precisely what my owner's manual does not do. It's all super technical, giving me just as much detail about the never used stitches as the two or three I'll be using and putting everything in a multi-page chart translated into four languages. Uh, not so handy actually, thanks (danke, gracias, and merci). Wendy also explains how to sew knit fabrics with a standard machine for the majority of sewers out there who don't have sergers (well, I could have used that info before I got a serger!). Then she offers a quick and easy guide to the different sorts of treatments knit fabrics will need, in particular different hems and different neck finishings like ribbing, and finally there's patterns, like a t-shirt. A what?! I can make a t-shirt?!?! Well, sign me up for that! I'll be keeping this book right by my serger and - alert: new year's resolution, right here - together we will make a t-shirt!

I've just started Iceland: Land of the Sagas co-authored by Jon Krakauer (the Into Thin Air Everest Disaster book dude). It's a beautiful book about Iceland and the authors' tours of its unique and spectacular landscapes. I've kinda had a little crush on Iceland ever since we started taking our yearly trip to visit the in-laws in Germany via Iceland Air. It's pretty neat what with geysers, lava fields, glaciers and freaking fabulous knitted sweaters. So when hubby and I started thinking about taking a trip - just the two of us - for our tenth wedding anniversary (coming up in just a few weeks!), the first place we thought of was Iceland. We never had a honeymoon and we never travel anywhere without the kids. (We go out to dinner, alone, on our anniversary and the in-laws have often given us two days in Germany for a kid-free mini-vacation, but that's it for us until the next year.) So this year, for our tenth, we're getting greedy and planning a week-long trip to Iceland! We won't go until the summer - the in-laws will be doing the kid-sitting in Germany - so we haven't made any plans just yet. We're still in the exciting, we're-really-going-to-do-this stage. Any suggestions??

Oh, it's all so thrilling it makes me want to do crazy things like read sagas. Or make a t-shirt. Or seam my cardigan while knitting it. Or learn Icelandic.

do you audioread while knitting?

Congratulations to Regina, who won a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on CD! Regina, send me an email with your info and I'll send you your audiobook.

Happy audioreading to everyone else who shared suggestions and played along!

Audiobooks. Why did it take me almost nine years of knitting to get hooked on audiobooks?

My gateway drug, so to speak, was the sweet sweet voice of Richard Armitage (from the BBC series "North & South," "Robin Hood," and "Spooks"). When I saw that he'd done an audio version of Georgette Heyer's Sylvester, I had to have it as soon as it came out. (To hear an audio sample for yourself, go here.) I enjoy Heyer's Regency novels (think Jane Austen lite) and loved this version. (In fact, I think I'll click over to the audio sample myself for another hit of that voice.... ahhhh, niiice...) Suffice it to say, it's left me wanting to hear more.

Erm, read more. With my ears, that is. 'Cause it is so freaking cool to be able to knit - and sew - while "reading" a book! I generally watch television while knitting, but there's usually only like one show a night I really want to see. The other shows I watch are pretty much just time-fillers until "my" show comes on and with a DVR, I can watch the good shows whenever I want. Of course, I can't watch anything while sewing because I really need to be watching the needle to be sure I don't run it over my fingers. But I can listen to a book! In fact, when I finished with Sylvester, I felt like I needed another audiobook just to help me get through the Halloween costumes!

So I checked my local library and found an audio version of one of Georgette Heyer's mysteries (she also wrote several murder-in-an-old-English-house style whodunits). I've spent the last seven hours of sewing/knitting/workout time trying to figure out who done it in her novel, Footsteps in the Dark. (If you want to hear the opening of this book, click on the "Chapter 1" link on this page.) But now I'm almost done! What next?!

Well, what book would a knitter read if a knitter could read a book? That is to say, if my knitting and my reading were no longer mutually exclusive, what would I read? Hmmm... maybe The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Or That Old Cape Magic. Man, I love Richard Russo!

Or I could even "reread" New Moon before the movie comes out this month!

can you tell, I enjoy these preview thingies?

I'm actually reading The Mysterious Benedict Society aloud to my boys right now and they are loving it! Somehow, in the back of my head, I felt like reading it aloud to them would justify my reading so-called juvenile fiction. Juvenile or not, it's great stuff:

hey, we just read this exact chapter!

The third graders in the boys' school spend a lot of time in their literacy units reading aloud and listening to audiobooks. In the shift from learning to read to reading to learn, they emphasize reading aloud to help the kids slow down, focus on what the author is trying to emphasize and on how they are setting a scene. Well, I say, if it's good for them, why not for us grown ups? Why should being read to end just because you're 8 or 38? When I lived in New York, I went to a few Selected Shorts shows with my mother. Noted actors would read short stories all related by a certain theme. It was fabulous! (You can hear or subscribe to a podcast version of these shows here.) I'd forgotten about how much I enjoyed them until now.

win a copy of of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society audiobook!

So, do you audioread? Wanna audioread along with me? Leave a comment here about what you're listening to, what you'd recommend I listen to, or just tell me what hell audible.com is so I can get my hands on more audiobooks and you can win a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on CD! Yes, I've got one extra copy to give away and it could be yours! I'll keep the comments open until the end of Saturday (EST) and choose a winner at random on Sunday. Wheeeee... fun!

(Hey look, we could even listen to No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting while knitting!)

UPDATE: The giveaway is now over. Congratulations to Regina! Send me an email with your info and I'll send you your audio book. And happy reading/listening to everyone!

Welcome to the latest stop on the Vintage Baby Knits whistlestop blog tour! (with two giveaways, so keep reading...)

I am pleased to present to you Kristen Rengren's beautiful book chock full of classy baby knits with the signature look and stylish details of knits from the first half of the twentieth century.

Jackie Cabled Cardigan set

Rather than construct new patterns with a vintage feel, Kristen has collected and studied hundreds of genuine vintage patterns, selected 40 of these and updated them for knitting in modern yarns with modern techniques. If you've ever examined a vintage knitting pattern, you know that it's not as easy as simply taking said pattern to your lys, picking out yarn and needles and starting to knit. Needle sizes were different, yarn types had all sorts of strange designations and most patterns included no schematics whatsoever. Kristen has done all the hard work for us, translating a bevy of delightful patterns for modern knitters. There are dozens of darling sweaters and cardigans, several constructed in one piece (like the blue cardigan above) or from the top down (like the sweater on the cover). And all of them, including those with more traditional or complicated construction, have excellent and thorough diagrams.

 
Pearl Shrug

This adorable shrug - the first pattern in the book and a stunning example of the quality of all of these patterns - has such a unique construction, I was overcome with the desire to make it just after looking at the schematics! (Seriously, I really want to make one of these! Since my little one is too big for these patterns - most go to 12 or 24 months - I guess I'll have to make one to give away. If you'd like me to knit one for a little baby girl in your life, leave a comment and let me know. I'll pick one name and make the Pearl Shrug just for you! UPDATE: The contest is closed and a winner has already been chosen.)

The smaller and simpler patterns are just as compelling, including soakers, blankets, hats and three perfectly vintage stuffed animals.

 
Pixie Hat, Rupert the Lion & Elmer the Elephant

Kristen has masterfully given these old patterns new life, making them appealing to a modern audience by presenting them in contemporary yarns (the Pixie Hat above, for example, was knit in Blue Moon Fiber Arts' Socks that Rock!) and in contemporary knitting parlance, but always keeping the true vintage style. She has resisted the urge to change the gauge or details too much. The patterns are still knit a fine gauge with traditional motifs and pattern stitches and therefore, still convey all the delicacy, elegance and charm of vintage style.

Liza Sideways Sacque

Wanna win a free copy of Vintage Baby Knits?! Click here for info on how to enter the contest being run by STC Craft. You can also peek at a gallery of many more of these gorgeous projects and even download a free pattern from the book! And be sure to check out the whole blog tour for some funny interviews, insider info on knitting for the book and much more still to come! (Next stop: Handmade News tomorrow!) You can also visit Kristen's blog for a whole series of articles on knitting vintage.

(A question to the brilliant folks at STC Craft who followed up Melanie Falick's lovely Weekend Knitting with Heather Ross' fabulous Weekend Sewing: can we hope for a Vintage Baby Sewing book sometime in the future? Pretty please?)

UPDATE: Congratulations to Robin, who left the lucky 14th comment and is the winner of a handknit Pearl Shrug. If you see this, Robin, send me an email and we'll talk yarns! Thanks to everyone who played along!

All this rain (and a particularly crazy day yesterday) have left me in need of a little mood enhancer. Enter Wacky Baby Knits!

We all know that I enjoy babies in wacky knits. Especially my babies.

     
I'm feeling cheerier already.

So you won't be surprised when I tell you that I couldn't resist this hilarious little book full of silly knits for kids. I brought it to knitting group this weekend and we were all in stitches looking at the adorable photos of the babies in the funniest little knits. Like...

...these complete frog and pirate outfits. (And don't forget the cow suit on the front cover!) Now those are some Halloween costumes just begging to be knit!

In addition to these outfits, there's a series of seriously laugh-out-loud funny hat patterns. Are you ready? (Swallow that coffee, we don't want any messes on the keyboard.)

 
Elvis hat and Mohawk hat

Those are just too good!

And for those who like to knit baby booties, there's a gaggle of giggle-inducing footies too.

 
Furry Bear Feet and Monster Boots and Mitts

Oh my, I feel so much better now. What's a little rain or a stressful mommy day when I can stay inside and knit a baby Elvis hat for my kids?!

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!

I feel like there's been so much excitement over Cookie A's book, Sock Innovation: Knitting Techniques & Patterns for One-of-a-Kind Socks, that I want to talk to you about the other new sock book, Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up: Essential Techniques and Patterns from Wendy Knits.

This book is freaking awesome! Not that Cookie's book isn't awesome but it's Cookie A, ya know: it's innovative, just like the title says, and is full of one-of-a-kind socks. But I'm not sure that those kinds of socks are my kind of socks or everyone's kind of socks. And I'm really not sure that I need a whole book of them. Wendy's book, however, is totally a sock book for everyone. If it weren't limited to toe-up socks, I might even say it's THE sock book that every aspiring sock knitter should have. But then again, why couldn't it be? So what if they're all toe-up socks. I mean, some of us learned to knit on circular needles and have barely even held straights in our hands, but we can still knit all the same things. And some American knitters learned to knit in the Continental style from grandmothers from the Old Country, but that doesn't mean that they're missing out on something. Judging from Wendy's book, a knitting lifetime of only toe-up socks looks pretty darned fulfilling.

And not limiting at all. In fact, Wendy includes a clear description of knitting socks on double-pointed needles, one circular needle ("magic loop"), and two circs, so that every type of sock knitter (even old-fashioned dpn users like me) can feel comfortable using her patterns.

She also provides us with three different heels, including a slip stitch heel (on right) that exactly matches the one made when knitting socks from the top down. I personally love a good short-row heel (seen on left), but this "gusset heel" of Wendy's (middle) looks so clean and neat. I gotta try it! There are also thorough explanations, with illustrations, of the myriad cast on and bind off techniques associated with knitting socks from the toe-up. These sometimes intimidating techniques (like the turkish and figure eight cast ons) are presented clearly enough for beginning sock knitters to tackle, yet there's enough technical stuff here to give an intermediate sock knitter plenty of new challenges.

Wendy starts off the pattern section of the book with a basic sock pattern for all three heel types. Just how your go-to, all-you'll-ever-need, essential sock book should begin. The patterns are expertly written for two sizes in a standard sock-weight gauge but include simple explanations for adjusting them to any size or gauge. And the socks look beautiful, even though they're simply knit up in just white sock yarn! Indeed, all the photos in the book are amazing. I'm telling you, it can't be easy filling a book with pictures of feet after feet after feet. But this book is gorgeous. Each successive sock pattern is knit up in pretty but not distracting variegated sock yarns and is presented with several pictures, showing the whole sock, the specific heel construction, and a detail of the stitch pattern. I can't remember ever getting so many helpful pictures in a pattern book before!

The majority of the remaining patterns are for lace socks. They are lovely. They may not be the most unique patterns you've ever seen - I'm sure you've seen similar ones - but that's what makes this book THE sock book for everyone: all the pretty sock patterns you've ever seen, or something very much like them, are here! Wendy follows the lace socks section with a section on gansey patterned socks - so Wendy! - and then a few mini/mock cabled sock patterns. (She and I are of like minds that less is more in the cabled sock department. Too much bulk makes for unhappy feet.)

The final section is my favorite and includes three patterns for sportweight socks. I love making socks at this gauge! They're just a little bit faster, the patterns are on a larger scale and they're great for beginning sock knitters. And I honestly think her sportweight socks are some of her most striking patterns in the book.

Okay, once you've mastered toe-up socks a la Wendy and you want to do something more challenging, more innovative, or more fabulous, go ahead and get the other sock book, the Cookie A book. Just get this one first.

I'm a fool to keep reading these, but it's April Fool's Day, so I'm giving myself permission today.

Dyer Consequences is the fifth in Maggie Sefton's knitting mystery series and it's as formulaic as the rest (in order to keep my blog from being as repetitive as these books, I'll simply refer you to my earlier review of the fourth book). I'm barely into the book and it's already perfectly clear who's number is up. It's like one of those old Columbo shows - as soon as you see the guest star, you know he's the one who did it. Except I liked Columbo: the show; the stories; the character. I don't really like these books. I don't really like the main character. And I find the mysteries themselves forgettable (I don't remember any of them, in fact). So why am I still reading these?

Just foolish, I guess.

There must be some sort of baby boom going on, because the great baby knitting books just keep on coming!

The latest one I've spotted is The Expectant Knitter: 30 Designs for Baby and Your Growing Family by Marie Connolly, who is the owner of Stitch DC. (I actually visited Stitch DC - the store on Capitol Hill - a couple of years ago. It was a lovely store and she is very nice. I have no idea how she managed to run three stores, be a mom to two kids and write a book, but brava!)

I knew I was going to like this book the minute I opened up the Table of Contents. The projects are arranged in chapters according to Trimesters. So clever!

And I was tickled to see that the very first chapter, "Planning Ahead", contains several projects to knit even before you're expecting! 'It's never too early...to start your own hope chest," she says and I think she must be right. I learned to knit while I was pregnant and I remember knitting all my thoughts and dreams of a new life into those first projects. Why not take the time before you're pregnant or have adopted to make heirloom projects like the stunning christening gown or delightful knitted pinwheel quilt?

The next chapter focuses on the first trimester and all those lovely little things you instantly want to knit for a little one on the way. There's cutie patootie sweaters and vests, a sweet baby dress and a way fun leggings set.

this Baby Racer Set is so cute - you gotta check it out!

There are also several pages of advice and information for the first trimester, quite reminiscent of the classic What to Expect When You're Expecting. She recommends taking your vitamins, "some ginger tea to soothe your stomach," "some indulgent knitting time," of course, and helpful ideas to start picking out a baby name. Even though I'm not pregnant now, there's a sweet nostalgia to reading through these milestones of pregnancy and remembering how I experienced them when I was.

The Second Trimester chapter focuses on some more practical considerations. There's a discussion of diapering, along with excellent looking patterns for diaper covers and leg warmers (which always seem to go together in the cloth diapering set, but look good on all chubby baby bottoms and baby legs!).

The chapter also talks about older children and how they might feel when the new baby arrives and offers patterns for them as well, including a charming hoody for the big brother, a lovely little lady sweater for big sis and a even a doggie sweater for the pet pooch.

The final chapter (rather too appropriately named, "The Final Stretch"), recognizes that those last few weeks of pregnancy can be difficult, when you're feeling large and tired. She recommends lots of rest, massages, and keeping your knitting simple. This chapter is chock full of patterns for small accessories like washcloths, bibs and hats.

You can tell that the author of the book is a real mom, who loves knitting for her kids. Her genuine enthusiasm and joy in knitting and in being a mom are present throughout. It goes without saying that this book would be a perfect gift for a knitter's baby shower. But there's still plenty there for the knitters whose friends and family always seem to be expecting! Most of the patterns are sized up to 24 months, so there's even a few things in here I might hope to make for my wee one. Whether you're expecting, or expecting to be expecting, or expecting a friend to be expecting, or already expected, I expect you'll like this book!

Meet my new favorite sewing book, Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing by fabric designer, Anna Maria Horner. I do love it! Even with that silly punny title. It's informative (it begins with over 50 pages of "sewing school" with answers to questions I swear I have asked my sewing machine dozens of times!), it's beautiful, and the projects are faaaabulous!

So I open up the projects page, and as if this book is written for exactly someone like me, the first project is a storage cube - not just any storage cube - it's holding yarns!

I'm still in the middle of my yarn re-org and I could seriously use some cool yarn storage cubes. How did she know? The very next project is another must-make. Now, I know every one of these new trendy sewing books has a pin cushion pattern, but this one's also a mini-storage case.

I swear, she must have been to my house because I have that exact little pile of threads and notions on the corner of my sewing table! She also knew that the bare patch of wall over my sewing machine is calling out for pattern number three, a pretty fabric-covered magnet board for hanging notes or photos.

Again, somehow, this one speaks to me more than the other fabric noteboards I've seen in other books. Maybe because it's so simple - just a delightfully practical way of using some special fabric. (Pssst.... the pattern for this one is being offered for free through Amazon.)

There's also bags (check out an amazing version of the taxi tote bag on her blog!), a super chic apron pattern, cute and creative pillow patterns (look over here for a free download of one!) and, my favorites, the prettiest girl's peasant blouse ever (love the trims!) and a totally rad little girl's skirt.

Get out! It's like she's seen my girl too and knows exactly what I like to put on her! Uh, yeah, I pretty much want to make everything in this book. Don't you?!

Another new sewing book I just got my hands on is amy butler's little stitches for little ones. I actually won my copy through a fun "Handmade Holidays" giveaway at Sew Mama Sew (love that blog!).

Even if you're not a sewer, I'm sure you've seen the name Amy Butler in the Rowan publications. She's one of THE names that is practically synonymous with the Rowan brand. She designs fabrics, patterns, everything. She's profiled everywhere. She's like the Debbie Bliss of quilting! Now, I've resisted most of the Amy Butler hype through my first year of sewing/quilting pretty well. I own a couple of fat quarters of her fabric, but none of her books or patterns. But after seeing this book in person, I had to share with you just how delightful it is.

First, I feel the need to point out how similar these two books are. I mean the actual physical books. They are the exact same size and shape. Both square hardcovers, both with a spiral binding inside and a big stiff pocket in the cover for the pattern pieces. The instructions in both books are accompanied by quaint hand-drawn illustrations and diagrams. Even the chapter openings look the exactly same, with full page close-ups of prints from the designers' own fabric lines. Apparently, this is THE style for these hip, new sewing books. And why not: it's pretty; it's practical; it's charming.

And charming is just the word to describe the contents of this one too.

The book opens with this adorable snuggle wrap blanket, sort of a quilt version of one of those hooded baby bath towels. How sweet is that?! It almost makes me wish my wee one were still that small. Almost. Then I think about how she sleeps 12 hours straight through the night these days and I snap out of that. Speaking of sleep, up next in the book are these awesome kimono-style pj's.

That Amy Butler has got style! And these projects are really very simple to sew. I love that the fabric designers are becoming pattern makers - they seem to be willing to make simpler patterns that rely more on the fabric to give them their "wow". Check out this beautifully simple dress:

It is all about that fabric!

The book also contains several fab bag patterns (oh, if there's one thing Amy Butler can do well, it's bags!)...

...along with stuffed toys and lots of practical items for the nursery (like a crib bumper, a changing pad, even a cheeky monkey laundry bag). I simply adore this book. The only problem (and this is something Amy Butler could not have foreseen) is that I had my baby two years too early! I don't have a baby to sew any of these things for. The nursery items in the book are the kinds of things my almost 2 year-old has already outgrown and the clothing sizes top out at about 12 months. Still, I think it could become a great resource for sewn gifties for friends' babies-on-the-way, sorta like my sewing equivalent of Itty-Bitty Hats. Good stuff.

Well, I hope I've tempted some of you knitters out there thinking about straying to start sewing! Like last year's Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew, these books do feel like they're introducing a new way to sew. No more fold out patterns on crappy paper with inscrutable directions and frumpy little pictures. The new sewing rocks!

Okay, okay, back to knitting tomorrow.... (promise).

I did some new knitting book browsing while at knitting group this week. We meet in a bookstore and I don't get much time to shop normally, so I grabbed a handful of new craft books and brought them down to the knitting table for us all to check out. We loved the patterns in Wendy Bernard's new book Custom Knits!

The cover has this gorgeous fair-isle detailed sweater with a unique laced v-neck. It's a beautiful sweater and a beautiful picture. But then it dawns on you that she's wearing that sweater with a swimsuit. That pure alpaca sweater. With a swimsuit. Why? It's pretty and all, but I'm kind of confused. The incongruity, the inappropriateness of the knitting in this scene is kind of irritating. (Like winter hand knits against bare skin can be irritating.) What does a hand-knitted winter sweater have to do with a half-naked girl on the beach?

And it's not just this girl. Apparently there are lots of girls who also only get chilly on top after a day at the beach.

Or maybe it's morning and this girl hasn't been to the beach yet. I don't know. Whatever time it is, she doesn't seem to need pants. Ever.

In fact, very few of these women need pants. Upon first opening the book, we meet this girl, who's taking photos of herself in a knitted sweater and underwear.

This is starting to weird me out a little. Kinda like those American Apparel ads that are way too provocative. Taken out of context, simply lying around in the magazine rack in the bathroom, they totally look like porn. Is this how we sell knitting books now?

My inner prude is finally reassured when, a ways into the book, we find a woman appropriately dressed.

What a relief! And what a pretty sweater. Look at the rib... wait, what's that naked guy doing in the background?!

And omg, I don't even want to know what these two in the next picture were up to right before she got dressed for work from the waist up.

The placement of that bowl. The glistening flesh beside her. The naughty little grin. Yes, yes, you're very cute, you're very sexy. Can I just see the knitting please? And how about you give the guy his shirt back now. And try "custom knitting" yourself some pants.

Seriously, I LOVE all these sweaters, but this isn't a "naughty knitting" book or "sexy knitted lingere" book. There aren't any patterns like that in here. So why are all the same kinds of pictures in here?

At first, the book reminded us of another recent knitting book full of girls in skimpy outfits, It Girl Knits: 30 Fresh Styles for the Young and Fabulous.

But this girl - the author, the designer, and often, the model - is an actual teenager, a real "It Girl", writing a book for other teens who want to be hip, fabulous it-girl knitters. There's an innocent sexiness here.

She's a diva. Not a cougar. And look how natural she looks getting ready to surf in her handknits!

She's not making some man clean her pool in his boxer briefs. Her companion is much more wholesome (not to mention, much more clothed!).

So, here's the deal. I'm not anywhere near 17 and even when I was, I never looked like any of these girls, nor could I have ever worn any of those fab little outfits. But the It Girl Knits book is not meant for me. (If I knew a fun, fashion-conscious teenie, I'd totally get her this book. Like Custom Knits, the patterns are super stylish and are constructed very simply with a lot of top-down, knit-in-the-round techniques.) However, I do feel like I should be part of the intended audience of the Custom Knits book. I've read Wendy's blog and admired her patterns for a long time. Heck, I'm knitting one of her patterns right now! Her knits are really fashionable and flirty (I'm not against a little flirting!) and the patterns are constructed, as advertised in the subtitle "Unleash Your Inner Designer with Top-Down and Improvisational Techniques", in a way that makes them very customizable for different styles (more in at the waist, more room in the bust, longer sleeves, shorter sleeves) and different sizes. But here's my question: is the style of this book customizable to someone like me, who does not prance around in her underwear or roll around in the hay all day long? It's cold where I live. I've got three kids. Is that who I'm supposed to be? Is that who I should want to be? Is that supposed to make me buy this book?

I get similarly annoyed by some of the layouts in the Rowan magazines: fancy old estate homes filled with iron bed frames, silk bedding and lacy cushions. It makes total sense that the model is wearing a Kid Silk Haze dress in that home, but not so much in mine. Who are these women and who am I supposed to be when I buy that magazine or knit that garment? Are the knits costumes? If it's not Halloween, I don't have time to make or wear a costume.

Now, before you get the wrong idea of me, I'm not a totally hopeless frump. I can be encouraged by Tim Gunn telling some woman on tv that she should wear cashmere sweaters for running errands. I can even be inspired by the sort of "be a fabulous mom in heels and a cocktail dress" ideology of someone like Laura Bennett from Project Runway. But this sort of "The Knits of Sex Games Cancun" theme isn't really speaking to me. Let's put it this way, you had me at fair-isle sweater. You didn't have to go and get naked.

Don't get me wrong, the book's on my wish list. I'll certainly buy it. But if I make that alpaca sweater, I'll just be wearing it to school, to the grocery store, or around the house. Wearing it dowdily but proudly.

But let me tell you, you won't be disappointed!

The new Mason-Dixon Knitting book, Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines, is just as good, dare I say even better, than the first! I know, it sounds impossible, but it's true. You'll see when you get the book, which I know you're going to do anyway.

The subtitle this time around is "Patterns, Stories, Pictures, True Confessions, Tricky Bits, Whole New Worlds, and Familiar Ones, Too". The first book promised, and delivered, patterns, stories and pictures as well, and the ones in this book more than live up to the standards set there. What I especially like about this second book is that there's more of a focus on Kay and Ann's stories - they're our favorites anyway, right? My favorite is Ann's story about entering a knitting design in the State Fair. The story is lovely, funny, delightful (everything you'd expect from these two) and the adorable pattern is included in the book.

"Fern" cardigan

There are several more really nice kids' patterns in the book - an excellent follow up to the baby patterns in the first book. One totally cool pattern is the SK8R sweater pattern, a hip, denim sweater for the kids who usually think of themselves as too cool for handknits. Ha, not anymore! Kay is teaching us how to "besweater the unsweaterable"!

"SK8R" sweater

And this time, there's even more of those silly yet stylish home-y projects we've come to love from these two. In the first book we got "warshcloths" and hand towels; this time around it's a swiffer-style mop cover and kitchen gloves.

"Golightly" gloves

Now, what was really special about the first book, in my opinion, were all those blankets. The Mitered Square blanket from the opening page was spectacular and then there was the whole section on log cabin knitting with the gorgeous Moderne Baby blanket and Blankie of Many Colors patterns. This time around, the centerpiece of the book is an introduction in to the world of Fair Isle, with an entire chapter of tips, tricks, and even more amazing blanket patterns.

"Liberty" throw

Oh and there's women's patterns too, and more funny drawings and comments in the sidebars. And, if all that's still not enough, they've also thrown in the secret of knitting and a guarantee:

These gals have just the right attitude about knitting. It makes reading their blog and their books a joy! So go read your copy, which I'm sure you already pre-ordered. You're gonna love it!

Have you ever heard this story about quilts being used to help slaves escape through the Underground Railroad? I originally discovered this story while online searching for info on the children's book, The Quiltmaker's Gift. Amazon recommended another kids' book about quilts, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, where a young slave girl sews a map to freedom into a quilt. I clicked through from that book to another and another and found Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad.

This book takes the oral history of one descendent of slaves and pieces together a history of a system of codes which could be hung out by abolitionists in plain view in the form of quilt blocks with names like "North Star", "Wagon Wheel" and "Sailboat" to help slaves find their way to safe homes and eventually freedom in Canada. A few more clicks led me to this book, Facts and Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts and Slavery, which presents the now prevalent opinion that although the idea of quilt codes is a lovely way of thinking about the time, the people, and the way that quilts and quilt blocks have always represented the important things in the lives of those who made them, it is mostly fabrication (revealed by the errors in the story and the fact that no other such narratives exist). The story is compelling though and has worked its way into classrooms, libraries, and quilt shops (check out this link for a video and explanation of some of the blocks!).

from Eleanor Burns' Underground Railroad Sampler

This is a sampler quilt of the blocks mentioned in the original narrative about the quilt codes. I have to admit that I love sampler quilts (the block of the month quilts I'm working on are sampler quilts, of course). It's so fun making a different block each time, learning new techniques, and hearing all the interesting traditional names the blocks have had. So, despite all the controversy, I was intrigued. And when knitting and quilting buddy, Carol, said she was interested in making a civil war sampler, I knew I wanted to make one along with her.

We headed off to our lqs and collected some reproduction fabrics, with the muted shades and calicoes of nineteenth century prints and shirtings. The fabrics from the period tend to be pretty dark (not like all the bright prints of the 30's fabrics) and I found myself always searching for the sweetest and prettiest of the group. Pretty civil war, I kept calling it. And it is, the whole story. A lovely story about a horrible time. It's a shame that it's not true. It's just a quilt project. My 2007 block of the month quilt doesn't say anything about the year 2007 and this one won't really say anything about the Underground Railroad. It's okay.

Speaking of pretty civil war, I really want to glance through these books, The Civil War Love Letter Quilt and The Civil War Diary Quilt.

The author, Rosemary Youngs, has chosen or invented quilt blocks inspired by the real stories of civil war women and men. Very pretty civil war indeed. But it's surely a more legitimate mixture of fact and fiction than the quilt code book and probably more interesting reading than some of the quilt lit that's out there. Still, 121 blocks? Pretty or not, that might even be too much sampler for me!

I feel a little bad that my last couple of knitterly book reviews have been less than unequivocal. So I asked myself what I could really recommend, without any reservations, to everyone out there. Then I asked the kiddos for some suggestions. And here's what we came up with...

From me:

This brand new book, Knitted Critters for Kids to Wear: More Than 40 Animal-Themed Accessories, is soooo cute! It's got 20 different animal hat patterns, most with coordinating accessories like mittens or scarves. Not only are these things simply adorable, but I'm amazed at how such simple embellishments transform the basic hat shape into animals.

This whale is so cool! And he's an awesome example of the simple design elements
Jean Adel uses to transform the hats into critters.

The hats look very knitable for knitters of all levels. They're even divided up into chapters based on their level - either beginner, easy or intermediate.

Jeremiah the Frog is my favorite in the "beginner" patterns

I LOVE Bandit the Raccoon!

There are several doggie hats, but this one from the "intermediate" chapter is just perfect!
Don't you just love the little folded down ears?

Another thing I really like about the patterns in this book is that they're truly unisex. There are only a handful that seem too girly to work on a boy (and for a change, the "girl" patterns are not even the cutest ones!). It's just such a treat to find a book where you're getting as many good boy patterns as girl patterns. Especially when it's a book like this, that you probably want to have in your knitting library as your go-to kids' hat book for all the nieces and nephews and grandkids. The sizing is 3-7 years, so this book would be an excellent supplement to Itty-Bitty Hats, giving you a whole zoo of patterns for those now-toddlers you've spoiled into expecting unique, fun, knitted hats from you!

From the boys:

S loves Ivy & Bean!

The boys LOVE the Ivy and Bean series! I never would have thought to get them these, since they're about two girls, but my mom took a closer look at them and knew that the girls and the stories were so funny and cool that the boys would like them. She sent them the first two.

B loves book two

The second one, Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go is B's favorite at the moment. They read through those two in no time and we had to rush out to get the lastest two, including the last one, Ivy and Bean: Take Care of the Babysitter, which is S's current favorite. They love the books so much that we even had to make special rules about choosing books to read in bed at night otherwise they'd fight over the Ivy & Bean books every night!

From wee one:

What can I say, she loves food and books. So this First Book of Sushi pretty much combines her two favorite things! And apparently, it's yummy too!

Happy reading from all of us!

The nice long weekend gave me some time to finish up Maggie Sefton's latest knitting mystery, A Killer Stitch.

I have to say, I was really not liking it at first. The beginning eight or nine chapters reminded me of nothing else but the last twenty or thirty chapters I'd read in this knitting series (this is the fourth book in the series). In each chapter, Kelly, our sleuthing knitter (or rather knitting sleuther, since she doesn't ever seem to get much better at knitting), finishes up her work, dashes over to the yarn store, dips her hands in the always scrumptous yarns, knits three or four rows, runs over to the cafe for coffee, chats with other yarnies (who I can never keep apart in my head) about the latest details of the latest local murder, and ends the chapter saying she has to get back to all her work. In the next chapter, she finishes up her work, dashes to the yarn store, caresses some yarn, gets coffee, gossips, and goes back to work. Work, yarn, coffee, work. Occasionally she does something sporty or goes out on a date with her much more interesting but rarely appearing boyfriend. And even more occasionally, clues are revealed about the murder and the prime suspects. I started asking myself exactly why I keep reading these books. And then I got to the last few chapters, which I actually kinda enjoyed. The ending to the mystery was much more satisfying than the last few (I don't even remember them) and the personal stuff about her friends was much more enjoyable. Then there was this awesome chapter at the end where someone new arrives to join the little knitting family and as he's introduced to all the characters, you get a little review of who they all are. This was great! I kept thinking, "right, who the hell was she again?" and then she'd give me all the important details. That was just what I needed to get me ready and dare I say eager for book five. What a sucker I am.

I still don't know what the title is supposed to mean though. The first book, Knit One, Kill Two, had two murders. Okay, makes sense. The second, Needled to Death, had someone stabbed with a knitting needle. Uh-huh, got it. Number three, A Deadly Yarn, was titled generically enough to fit the death of a fiber artist. But this fourth book focuses on the spinners at the local yarn store. And the victim, who is not a knitter, is killed with a shovel. So, a killer stitch? Uh, over my head. I see that the forthcoming fifth book is called Dyer Consequences, so I'm already concerned for the well-being of any yarn dyers who might show up at the House of Lambspun in the first few chapters. (Don't you just love these mystery series where waaaay too many people tend to die around some amateur sleuth. I mean, if you see Angela Lansbury getting on your train or visiting your neighborhood, RUN AWAY!)

Alright yarn dyers, you've been warned. Apparently you're next! The book arrives this summer and you know I'll be reading along.

Do you love tweed like I do? Really? Cause I am immediately drawn to it in the stores. All those little flecks of color, the rustic look of the yarn. There's simply nothing else like it. But I don't actually knit with a lot of tweed. It's too often scratchy and the flecks and texture tend to overwhelm any interesting patterning. Take the babycable vintage cardigan I'm working on right now. I originally started the sweater in another yarn, a tweed. Because... I love tweed. I had some Rowan felted tweed in my stash that has been long awaiting a perfect project. I thought I'd found it.

compare this with the silky wool

Love the yarn, but not in this pattern. You can't see the little baby cables at all. Drat! I ended up choosing Lavold Silky Wool because it had a similar character - rustic with slubs of color - but was more truly a solid and therefore better able to show off the details of the sweater. And so the felted tweed went back into the stash.

What's got me thinking about tweed is Nancy Thomas' new book, Tweed: More Than 20 Contemporary Designs to Knit.

I was so excited when I heard about this book. I loved the look of it. I was fascinated by the idea of it. I couldn't wait to get my hands in it. (Is this sounding familiar?) But I think what I was expecting was something like Clara Parkes' The Knitter's Book of Yarn just all about tweed yarns. Oh, how we've been spoiled by Clara's book! It's incredibly informative, it's interesting and practical, and the patterns are great. I can't decide if the Tweed book just pales a little in comparison or if, perhaps, I don't, in fact, like tweed as much as I thought I do. I could almost sense it right as I sat down and started in with the book; this is what happens to me with tweed yarn. I can't keep myself away from it in the yarn store, but when I sit down to knit with it, I end up wanting it to be less tweedy and more like some cashmerino yarn that's always perfectly smooth and lovely.

The Tweed book begins well, with an opening chapter on the history of tweed yarns, where we learn that "the formation of tweed...is a story about woven fabric, not knit fabric." Interesting. There's a description of the rustic, homespun fabrics originally made in the countrysides of the British Isles and worn to resist the harsh weather. Thomas explains that so-called "tweed" yarn was spun for these fabrics but eventually took the name itself. And the flecks, we discover in a blurb accompanying a photograph, were first created by accident! This is a nice little introduction, but it's over in a page. The end. Wait, I want to hear more! But Thomas moves on to briefly describe how the wool is made and how to handle it. If you've read The Knitter's Book of Yarn, there won't be anything new here, except maybe a nice page on felting, something that would be done with tweed yarns more than other yarns. Funnily enough, just when I started to get annoyed about not hearing more about the history or the production process, another beautiful picture of gorgeous tweeds would always appear. Drool. What were you saying?

Next, Thomas gives us a chapter full of stitch patterns to use with tweed yarn or to produce a tweedy effect. Even she seems to agree that tweed is a difficult animal. She includes several tips for working with tweed to keep it from getting too stiff or hiding your stitch patterns or getting out of shape. Finally, here, we get the full story of the nepps or flecks so typical of tweed yarns. And then we get to the patterns. Lots of tweedy patterns, just like you'd expect.

stunning scarves

big, textured sweaters

and some stylish tweed as well

There's some standard patterns thrown in amongst the rest just like there's some disjointed info thrown in amongst the rest in the beginning. I think what it comes down to is that if you really like Tweed (real tweed), you're probably a pretty traditional knitter and you'll find plenty of patterns here to suit you. I'm realizing that I tend to go in for the newer breed of tweeds, those that are blends with sophisticated color choices: Jo Sharp Silkroad Tweeds, Rowan felted tweed, Jaeger's luxury tweed. Maybe they're faux tweeds. Nancy Thomas actually includes many yarns in the book that aren't real tweeds, including some variegated yarns and others with plies of different colors. She's broadening the definition of tweed, I think, to include a lot of the tweed wannabes out there like me. And there's just enough interesting information, pretty pictures, and contemporary designs to satisfy us posers too.

So, reading this book, I learned a little bit about tweed and a little bit more about myself as a knitter. Conclusion: it isn't easy being tweed.

As you can tell from the last two posts here, I've turned into a quilting dork. We're not too surprised though, since I was pretty much of a knitting dork already. The latest sign of my descent into dorkdom is the quilting book on my nightstand. It's not a beautiful pattern book, like my recent faves, Kaffe Fassett's Kaleidoscope of Quilts and Quilts in the Sun which sit on my sewing table, or a useful book of techniques like Diane Gaudynski's Guide to Machine Quilting, which sits on the microwave so I can browse through it while the baby smears her lunch in her hair. No, it's this book.

we knitters and quilters aren't that different after all, are we?

Stash Envy is a funny little book of articles about funny little things that happen when you're a quilter. It's very much like Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Yarn Harlot book (still my favorite of hers, by the way), with chapters on a wedding quilt that was started much too late ("try making a quilt for the bride and groom. You will find that, instead of an entire year, you will only have 12 months to finish it!"), or the complex algebra of ufo's (for every two good quilts, there's one bad one in need of finishing, mitigating factors include the gf - guilt factor - and the amount of chocolate one has in the house), and, of course, stash envy ("I do not have a wing of my house devoted to tone-on-tone fabrics. I think my husband's unreasonable insistence of having somewhere to sleep is cramping my style."). The author, Lisa Boyer, is a self-proclaimed dorky quiltmaker. Her first book was called That Dorky Homemade Look and is full of silly reasons why your imperfect creations are perfect just the way they are ("you should plan on cutting off about half your triangle or star points. Any more than that is showing off."). Very consoling reading for a beginning quilter like me! And proving that we crafty dorks are all alike, get this, she kniiiiiiiits! And when she's stressed out about quilting, she crochets intricate doilies - omg!

See, I haven't strayed too far afield here with this quilting thing. And if anyone else out there wants to become a quilting dork like me (and some folks have asked for some suggestions on where to begin, so don't think I'm assuming you do!), here are some ideas. Now, I am not a fan of those huge encyclopedic reference books, certainly not for brand-spanking new beginners, but many folks, in response to my own beginner-type questions, have recommended that I get these books: Your First Quilt Book (or it should be!) and Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! : The Complete Guide to Quiltmaking. If I were a total beginner now, I might buy a new book, Piecing the Piece O'Cake Way, which seems to have great pictures, step-by-step info on how to make your first quilt, and tips for making many traditional blocks. Oh heck, I may still get it!

What worked for me is taking a class and that's what I'd really recommend. Quilt shops are wonderful and unlike knitting shop owners and employees, who are, I'm sorry to say, often less than nice, I've found quilt shop folks to be universally open, helpful and friendly. I also watched a ton of those old Simply Quilts episodes too. There's a lot of info in there, especially for beginners. And there's even an episode with Lisa Boyer!

Gasp, I just thought of something. If there are mediocre knitting mystery books out there, there must be mediocre quilting mysteries! Must. go. check. now....

Time for first grade knitting again! This week I thought I'd take a break from forcing all my first graders to sit and try to knit and instead talk to them a little bit about all the different places yarn comes from. And who better to help me out with the question of where yarn comes from than Clara Parkes, author of the most excellent book, The Knitter's Book of Yarn!

Last year Clara played a little mystery yarn game with some of us, sending us teeny mini-skeins of mystery yarns and leaving us to test our knowledge of yarn and guess their content.

I'll be bringing in some of those wonderful yarns to show the girls in my class, so they can see the wide range of fibers that are used to make yarns. With a few additions from my stash, we can play a guessing game of our own, trying to match up each yarn with the picture of its source.

 
sheep & goats

 
bunny & cotton

 
alpaca & silkworm

 
flax & wood pulp

 
yak & buffalo

I'll have Clara's book for back-up, in case they want to know why sheep's wool is the most common and popular source of yarn (it's hygroscopic - look it up in Clara's book! - flame retardant and very resilient), whether angora comes from angora goats or angora bunnies (it's bunnies; the goats produce mohair), why alpacas spit so much (possibly self-defense against all those squealy, touchy school kids that visit them in the petting zoo), how on earth we can get yarn from a worm (the worm can secrete 800 yards of fibroin in one continuous thread!), and why you might ever want to get yarn from a yak (his rugged, warm coat can be spun into a rugged, warm coat for you too). I'll also bring my little mole book with the story of how little mole gathered up flax and washed it and combed it and found other animals to spin it, weave it and cut and sew it into trousers.

I hope it's cute enough to entertain the kids for a few minutes at least. If not, I've just got to hope that the snacks hold out long enough to get us through the period!

Over my seven years of knitting, I've never really picked up the 'knitting for home' books. I've always wanted to make garments. Maybe a baby blanket, a stuffed animal or two, but things for the home? I don't have that sort of a home - you know, the kind with ruffly things and lacy things and clean things. My home is books, toys and functional ikea furniture. Every surface is covered with kids' stuff, craft stuff, and more kids stuff. No vases or pretty bowls or little art pieces. And no room for those lovely cushions and pretty pretty decorative items that one finds in the 'knitting for home' books.

But then I started making blankets. It started with wee one's blankie, then new blankies for the boys, then the afghan for my in-laws, and now I'm quilting. Why am I so obsessed recently with blankets? Am I just cold? Blankets may possibly be the only home decor item that won't seem out of place in my home. Is there a natural progression from knitting for yourself to knitting for your home? After clothing yourself and your family in handknits is the next step to fill your home with them?

Fact is, those knitting for home books look a lot more appealing to me these days. And one that's just caught my eye is Erika Knight's newest book, Classic Knits at Home: 15 Timeless Designs to Knit and Keep Forever.

I love that throw on the cover! It's so cool. First of all, it's hexagons - I've already been dreaming about making a hexagon quilt. And second, it's a combination of knitted hexagons in different stitch patterns and fabric hexagons from different fabrics. I love the idea of combining fabric and knitting in a traditional pattern. That's what Erika Knight's done so well in this book. The patterns are classic and traditional, but they have something fresh and new about them too. Check out this awesome houndstooth pillow. Modern houndstooth - coool!

Erika Knight's other new book, Glamour Knits at Home is also gorgeous but those things have no business being in my house. In my home, that incredible chinoiserie beadspread (again a mix of knitting and fabric!) would be covered in nutella, baby spit-up and first-grader sized shoeprints in no time! Still, the things are so amazing. Even though I neither own a beautiful teapot, nor have a spot to display a beautiful teapot, I feel an intense desire to make this divine little teapot cozy knit from strips of tulle!

Yeaaaaaahhhh, I'll probably be sticking to the hexagon throw. Maybe I could even felt down some old sweaters and cut hexagons from them as well. The pattern just has so many possibilities! Here I go, getting all excited about a blanket again....

Can you hear my gritted teeth? I've been making i-cord for two days now, preparing for my next after-school knitting class with the kids.

We started with knitting spools last week. Some of the girls managed an inch or so of knitted cord, a couple made more, and a few did nothing at all (says 8-year old who looked out the window during my demonstration: "I didn't get it.") This week, I'm bringing in some i-cord and some craft ideas. Hopefully, they'll make some things and be inspired to make a little more i-cord with their knitting spools.

I found several pretty and basic i-cord projects in this awesome book my mom spied at Purl this weekend.

It's called Girls' Best Book of Knitting, Sewing, and Embroidery and it really has projects at just the right level for crafty little girls. The projects are all very stylish and cute and the instructions kept very simple. I'll be making these little i-cord/felt flowers with the girls in my knitting class.

In the sewing section, there's funny sock and glove creatures:

And even patterns to make clothes for the sweet little cardboard doll you can pop out of the cover:

There's so much more in this book. Check it out if you've got crafty girls in your house. Oooooh, I can't wait until I can start crafting with wee one!

Here's something I'm soooo excited about! Starting later this week, I'll be teaching a little after-school knitting class to first through fifth graders at my boys' elementary school. I've always wanted to do this!

I've been poking around the bookstore and library to find some good resources for teaching kids to knit and cute patterns that the kids can actually make. I want to have a nice collection of projects that can be made out of simple pieces and basic shapes. A scarf, a flat hat, a headband are great options and are in all the kids' knitting books like Melanie Falick's must-have book, Kids Knitting. But I also wanted to find some projects that kids will be really excited to make. And I got really excited when I saw Kids Learn to Knit by Lucinda Guy (I looove her other books, especially And So to Bed which has Otto the Owl in it!).

Just look at how she transforms a knitted square into a funny toy!

I want to make one of these just for me! I'm really psyched about this find. The whole book has the same sort of whimsical attitude that her other books do with cute drawings and fun pictures and the knitting instructions are written with the same approach. Man, I just like her style.

Melanie Falick's book is an excellent resource though with great info and patterns as well as little chapters on finger knitting and yarn dyeing and making knitting needles - all things I'm thinking about trying with the kids. I'm also planning on doing some spool knitting with them - although it's something I've never really done before. Any suggestions on what the kiddos could do with lots of i-cord? And any other tips or resources you can recommend would be much appreciated!

supplies!

I've heard that at least half of the students who signed up are girls from the boys' classes. I hope they have a good time cause I see all their moms all the time!

Hey, it's all green things this week so far...

More mystery yarn from Clara of Knitter's Review and the forthcoming The Knitter's Book of Yarn. These are soooo soft and fuzzy. While I was trying to figure out what they are, I realized that I don't really know too many fibers that give yarn a lovely halo. I'm betting these are probably some fabulous fiber that I've never seen before like qiviut or something. Yuuuuuummmmmy.

These next two yarns are, according to Clara, "bast fibers". I had to look that up! My fingers have some guesses, but I haven't actually worked with any of these fibers before. My hands like soft. They can find alpaca, no problem. They looooove alpaca. Rhinebeck is usually all about me touching something, liking it and then discovering that it's, yup, alpaca. It's never a bast fiber, I can tell you that! But it was cool to finally read about what bast fibers are and how they are produced because I've been reading this Czech book to the boys for years about Little Mole (Little Mole cartoons are shown on a popular German kids' program) and how he gets help from all the animals in the woods to make some trousers out of flax. Flax - a bast fiber!

Look, he combs out the fiber on hedgehog!

The spiders spin it, the hardworking ants build and work the loom, the crayfish cuts it and the weaver bird sews everything together.

Yarn makes people (and cute woodsy creatures) happy.

I've been taking a peek at Susan B. Anderson's new book, Itty-Bitty Nursery and I'm drooling like wee one. You remember Anderson's first book Itty-Bitty Hats that I knit all of wee one's cutest hats from? Well, this book is even bigger, has even more projects, and they are just gorgeous!

There's a simple squares and rectangles baby set, a super sweet layette set I wish I'd made for wee one, a garter stitch baby blanket for knitters to make for an expecting friend, a funny grumpy teddy bear, and the coolest wipes box cozy ever (I am soooo making that one!).

But the really amazing projects in this book are the ones where Anderson has added her own unique details. She's so good at coming up with cute and whimsical ways of putting a new twist on baby basics. And she's really good at making very detailed and embellished projects seem make-able. Okay, I didn't finish that rosebud hat yet, but the other hats I made from Itty Bitty Hats were totally painless and well worth the extra finishing. And then she presents everything so clearly - hey, it's just small parts like an i-cord here, a few rows of garter stitch there - and it's all in such bright, fun colors that I can't help but think that I should totally make one of the pacifier clips.

psst... there's also an elephant and a froggy version - and you can get the flower pacifier clip pattern for free on Anderson's blog!

And I could make a few pieces of the 25-piece cupcake tea set (it even includes sugar cubes!). Hmmmm... maybe if me and my friends with girls all make a couple of pieces, the kiddies can play together with one complete set someday!

And a clothesline of mini-separates to decorate wee one's room (they'll go with the booties already hanging up in her room). Or even The Mobile. I capitalize it because it is absolutely incredible. You've gotta check out the book to see it!

But first, I think wee one is going to get a little chubby bunny. It's part of a set that is just so typical of Anderson's books - she takes her signature circles and dots and totally transforms a simple baby knit into a lilttle treasure.

And while I plan to make some things for baby to play with, I get to play with some yarn on my own. Clara Parkes, from Knitter's Review is coming out with a new book all about yarn, The Knitter's Book of Yarn, and she's playing a little fiber guessing game with a few folks. I guess to show them how little they actually know about the yarn they use. Well, that's how it is in my case at least!

Last week, I received these two tiny skeins of yarn and a clue to determining their fiber content. It's so fun to try to guess what they are. I can't wait for my next clue and then for the book, so I can really learn about yarn and see if I got ANY of the answers right. Ha!

Well, that was something! I really appreciate everyone's comments. It's too bad that there are so many similar stories out there. Let's see if I can switch us over to some different and more pleasant knitting stories, specifically of that strange genre, knitting fiction.

Just in time for my summer beach reading, the fourth knitting mystery from Maggie Sefton, A Killer Stitch is out! (Don't you just love these titles?)

I've read the other three (please tell me I'm not the only one out there who's indulging in these silly books!), and even though I find the heroine a bit flaky and the stories kinda thin, they've made good bedtime or playground reading. To be honest, I can't really remember who's been killed or why in any except the first book, but I'm in for number four anyway!

And I've already picked up the second knitting mystery from Mary Kruger, Knit Fast, Die Young.

I find the characters and the plot much more engaging in this series so far, but these books have been slower to come out (probably because they're better - you get what you wait for!), so I've had to snack on the Sefton series while waiting for this second one to finally arrive.

Now, who's read The Friday Night Knitting Club? I hear they're turning this one into a movie with Julia Roberts. Is it any good?

As for some of the other knit-fiction out there, I sort of missed the whole The Shop On Blossom Street series. I was waiting for someone to say I really had to read them and then that didn't really ever happen. I'm pretty sure that I'm not up for the seriously sad sounding themes in The Knitting Circle. But then again, Knitting Under the Influence sounds entirely too fluffy for me. Anyone like any of these?

And because it's almost Tuesday (time for sock watching!) I'll mention that I just got Interweave's Favorite Socks. This book is so lovely, I actually have it on my nightstand for bedtime browsing.

And visions of embossed leaves dance in my head... and killer knitting needles.

No not the baby, the book!

the cover's still in final design stages,
but the final version should look similar to this

Yes, I've been working on a book - Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter - (when boys and baby on the way have allowed me) for the last year and it's almost time! And what a time it is - the book should come out in May and the next Harry Potter movie and book are both coming out right afterwards in July. The book is chock full of fun HP patterns by me and other designers I'm sure you know, as well as many knitter/fans turned designers you might not know. Stay tuned to this blog for details and some sneak peeks of the projects (and maybe even a pattern preview)! And you know we're going to do some Potter-knitalonging 'round here, right?

The baby knits books have a new home - in wee one's bookcase. Since she's sharing her room with my yarn stash, she'll be sharing her bookcase with my book stash too!

All my faves are there, like Rowan Pipsqueaks, Phildar Tricotez Calin, Itty Bitty Hats, Jess Hutch's Unique Toys, and the Miss Bea books. And don't worry about wee one, thanks to my friends, she's already got an awesome selection of books!

So what are some of your favorite baby (knitting or otherwise) books? Anything wee one's bookshelf still needs?

Since last week, sockapaloooza has been non-stop update receiving, sock ogling, email sending, sock savior finding workapaloooza. I need a break.

crappy knitting mystery, take me away!

After reading Knit One Kill Two last summer, I couldn't resist getting the second book in the "knitting mystery series" (yes, it's a series!), Needled to Death. Don't know exactly why I'm so excited about reading this one. I mean, the mystery isn't really that suspensful or well-crafted and the knitting talk is often annoyingly basic (like a paragraph about how the main character can't believe how knitting in the round is going to make a sweater) or down right insipid (as many times as you say that the yarns look gorgeous and feel incredible, I still can't see or touch them). Still, there's something about the fact that the main character is always walking across the street to the local yarn store or squeezing in a bit of knitting that appeals to me. She seems so normal. So she's fallen into a rather mediocre mystery novel. She's a knitter, like us. Plus, this one has alpacas!

A major Lego crisis kept me from posting earlier. Apparently tardiness is my lot. For example, this Christmas, my husband and I finally moved into the 21st century and got an iPod.

I don't have much music ripped (remember?), but now that I feel like I'm legit with an actual iPod, I thought I might check out all those hip knitting podcasts I've been hearing about. (You don't need an iPod to listen to them by the way. I was just feeling too inadequate about always behing behind the curve of cool and not worthy enough to listen.)

But not anymore! I spent New Year's day listening to some great interviews on Knit Cast while the boys were building Lego contraptions (and losing all the pieces they needed this morning). It's so interesting to hear the voices and personalities of knitters you've so often read or read about. (Did you hear the interview with Lily Chin? I really get a kick out of her. I loved watching her on Knitty Gritty too.) I've still got a dozen or so podcasts from the archives to listen to - I'm trying to listen to them just a little at a time to save them - and am particularly looking forward to some of the upcoming interviews like with Kerrie from MagKnits and Annie Modesitt. It is so fun!

But the podcast that I really love is Cast On! While Knitcast is more like a brief newsy Q & A with a knitting celeb, Cast On is usually about an hour long and feels like a real knitting show. There are great stories, well written and well told, and awesome music. And the host is just a pleasure to listen to. Knitting to it is a delight, like having a little private knitting group in your living room. There are only a handful of episodes so far but the host says she'd like to start doing a show every week. Fingers crossed!! (Check out all the episodes here. I especially enjoyed the Holiday on Ice episode!)

But I'm sure you knew all this already. Forgive me, if this is all old news. I'm slow to catch on to these things, you know. So talk to me about podcasts. What else have I been missing out there??

So, I'm in the Barnes & Noble a couple weeks ago. I enjoy going there with the boys because they can look at books the way they like to. (Let's face it, they're boys, they don't do the sit calmly on a bench and look at a book thing. They tend to pick out the loudest of the interactive press-the-button-make-some-noise books, two of them of course, lay them out on the floor, and scoot and squirm around with them beeping just out of synch with each other. Not exactly library behavior.) And in a brilliant move, my B&N decided to locate the craft book section directly next to the kids section, so I usually grab a knitting book and read it on the floor next to the boys.

The last time we were there, I noticed a new book, Vickie Howell's New Knits on the Block. You know Vickie Howell - she's the fabulous host of DiY's Knitty Gritty and designer of cool knits like Tinsel and Banshee from Knitty.com. Yeah, that Vickie Howell! (And yes, she does really knit!) So here's this neat book all about knitting things your kids would actually like to have, like fun knitted objects for playtime and costumes for dress up. And as the creator of Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes, you know I was diggin' this book. (These Swamp Thing hats in fact, totally reminded me of the thing hats I made for the boys for Halloween. I have got to get some googley eyes!) Then when I got home, I had an email from the publisher that Vickie was going to be doing a blog book tour for the book and would I like to participate. Yeah! I've got some questions for crafty grrrrl, Vickie Howell.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Q: Just how crafty a grrrl are you? What other crafts do you do besides knitting? Knitting is the best, right? (wink, wink)

A: (nudge, nudge ;-) ) If it involves yarn, fabric, thread, paper or glue, I probably do it! I sew, crochet, embroider, decoupage, cross stitch, card make, etc. Seriously, I dig anything that involves crafty goodness. Knitting holds an extra special place in my heart though--it's the one craft/art form that seems to always hold my attention. It's been years since I've gone more than a day without picking up my needles.

Q: Were you always this cool or is there hope for the rest of us? Can we knit ourselves cool?

A: LOL. Well, thank you. Ummm, I'm embarrassed now and don't know how to answer your question so instead, do you mind if I just curtsey? *curtseying* Thank you.

Q: The patterns in your New Knits on the Block book are awesome! As a mom who dressed her boys up in handknitted Halloween costumes this year, I discovered that it is amazing what they'll let us make for and put on them as long as it's fun. Knitting for kids really isn't so hard, is it?

A: Nah, it doesn't have to be! Even a simple, garter stitch belt (like the one from the Knight's Chain Mail project) can be fun for kids, because it gives them a place to hold their sword. :-)

Q: I don't have any girls to knit for, so, do you think I'd look bad in that Hawaiian dress? How about the mermaid tail? Okay don't answer that. I noticed that a lot of your own patterns in the book are knitted objects (totally LOVE the bowling pins, by the way!). Do you enjoy this sort of knitting more than garment knitting?

A: I feel your pain, I don't have girls to knit for either! Don't think I haven't tried to squeeze my 32-year-old behind into that mermaid costume, though. ;-) Thankfully the designer, Tina Marrin, will be on a future episode of Knitty Gritty showing how to make an adult skirt using the same stitch that she used for the mermaid.

I really dig the sculptural aspect of knitting objects but I don't necessarily enjoy knitting them more than garments. I think that for this book though, I wanted to design a few projects that a child could see developing before his or her eyes while the objects were being knitted. The bowling ball and pins especially, take shape really quickly and are worked in chunky yarn that makes them knit up fast. For me at least, those two features are important when trying to fit knitting into a busy life.

Q: Are you knitting lots of holiday gifts for people this year? If not, can you help me with mine?

A: Oh man, I had grand plans of knitting tons of gifts but there just hasn't been time. I have one lacey scarf done that I made for a friend months ago, but that's it. I feel so lame for being this professional knitter who can't even get her own gifts made. Ummm, so no, I can't help you - but thanks for asking! ;-)

Q: I saw recently on your blog that your 6-yr old son asked you to show him how to knit. Do you think he could help me knit my holiday gifts? Heh, heh, sorry, what I really meant to ask is, are your boys crafty too? I can't get my boys to spend more than a minute in front of a craft project. Do yours enjoy your crafting?

A: That depends. Does the job pay well? Just kidding. Yeah, that post was written during the course of the one row that my son knit before he promptly sent the needles back to their more valiant post as weaponry in his mythical army. My youngest son seems to be more interested in crafting than my oldest, but neither of them is quite ready to slow down long enough to get serious about anything more than throwing yarn balls.

Q: Speaking of boys, what's up with feminism these days? I mean we're having kids, we're knitting, we're knitting for our kids - this is a good thing, right?

A: Absolutely. To me, the 3rd wave of feminism means being able to choose your own path - making the decisions that are right for you as a woman, no matter what they are. A true feminist embraces that which makes her feel whole - we can bake, we can borrow, we can boardroom. It's our world now!

Thanks so much to Vickie for virtually stopping by. I hope you've been following the tour. If you haven't, go back and check out Knit and Tonic's hard-hitting interview from yesterday and catch Vickie at Lolly's tomorrow.

- - - - - - - - - -

By the way, once I got the book home, the boys seemed to get that it was really something for them. They took a peek at it, so I told them they could flip through the pages and pick out one thing and I would make it for them. They immediately found the swamp thing hats. But in the end B asked for the bowling pins and ball (hooray! I soooo wanted to make those!) and S picked the memory game. (He really liked the crown, but since B picked a toy, he changed his mind and went that way too. Phew!) So those'll be the new knits on this block after Christmas.

And speaking of things I HAVE to knit, did you see the most recent Knitty Gritty with Tina Marrin making the high heeled boots with the drilling and everything?! Too cool. I don't even wear heels, but I feel that I have to make these things. I mean, there's a drill involved and like 10 double-pointed needles. How can I resist? It's like those dang sweatpants I made last year. I could not get the silly things out of my head until I made them. So who's up for making the funky boots with me? Come on now, friends don't let friends knit silly stuff alone.

I've gotten a few new knit books in the last couple of months and have acutally managed to squeak out an hour or two to look through them. Here are a few of my new faves! I've found that all these books really recharge my knitting batteries and get me excited about knitting when I'm either run down by a long day and feeling too tired to knit or stressed out by deadline knitting and overwhelmed by how much I have to knit.

Alterknits by Leigh Radford - What an amazingly beautiful, inspirational knitting book. This is definitely a book that I'll pick up and look at again and again for new ways of thinking about my knitting. I still can't get the one question out of my head: "what would you attempt to knit if you were guaranteed not to fail?" (answer: probably a more shapely version this sweater). And there are some neato patterns, like the felted bulletin board and the custom cushion. I love all the lace-up designs and adore the recycled sweater totes. I don't know if I'll ever really make anything from the book and I'm even more certain that I'll never be hosting a knitting party like she describes, but the suggestions she gives for exploration and experimentation are still swimming in my head. I like that.

Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush - Another beautiful book, and it's all about socks! I have yet to get Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' Simple Socks Plain and Fancy (a book I know I'll use and love), but I have looked at it and, like it's title, it's pretty plain looking. Nancy Bush's Vintage Socks book is the total opposite. It's gorgeous, with such lovely pictures of the socks, it's like looking at a beautiful catalog. And there's plenty of info there too, like different traditional heels and knitting methods and historical background into the old knitting patterns. I think this book will also end up being more inspirational than instructional, but I keep cracking it open to take another look.

Yarn Harlot by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee - This one is on everyone's favorite list, I'm sure. And not for no reason - it's funny, and serious, and true, true, true. I must say this is what I was hoping her first book was going to be. The first was funny, but I didn't find the tiny little entries that satsifying. This one's exactly what I was hoping to read from Stephanie! So far, my favorite chapter is the one on sock knitting. I've already found myself referring to it when customers in the yarn store ask about whether a particular yarn would be good for socks, or when my mom told me she hasn't worn the socks I knit for her very much, so as not to wear them out. Well, I tell them, Stephanie says that knitted socks are "an unmistakeable expression of love, simply because they do not last forever.... a knitter will have invested an average of twenty thousand stitches in the name of love and warm feet, knowing full well that...the recipient will walk big honkin' holes in them."

Confessions of a Knitting Heretic by Annie Modesitt - I must confess, I really, really, really enjoyed this book. I can't say exactly why, but I think it was just such a nice surprise. I held off getting this book for a long time because I couldn't decide if it was a how-to book or a knitting memoir type of book. And of course, as it is self-published, it doesn't have the beautiful, glossy, designed look of books like Vintage Socks or Alterknits. It ends up that the book is both memoir and knitting guide (and it works!) and the content is plenty good enough to overcome the homemade look (and honestly, as knitters, we can't really have anything against the homemade look, now can we?). I just love Annie's attitude that we should all knit whichever way works for us. I try very hard to convey this same sort of idea to my beginning knitting students. We're supposed to be having fun, relaxing, and sharing joy at making something and when we turn knitting into some sort of precision drill or judged competition it kinda ruins it. Thanks, Annie, for reminding us.

Next time when I start blogging about reading about knitting, I'll be looking at Vickie Howell's new book and then maybe I'll review some of my favorite knitting books of all time. That is if I can find them - the best ones are too often used to ever just be sitting on the bookshelf!

It's been hard dividing my free time over the last week betweeen knitting and reading. I've been making progress on the feather and fan scarf, but each night I force myself to put it down and go to bed early so I can read a little. No, I'm not reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince just yet. After starting the first two chapters, I realized that I needed to go back and reread the fifth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As I was pulling out the old books, I realized that I was about 100 pages away from finishing the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when I had set it aside last winter (I was planning to reread all the books). So I finished the fourth and should be starting the fifth very soon. Then I'll get to six, so don't tell me what happens, 'kay?!

But I said read two. I'm not just reading Harry Potter. During the day, when the boys are playing hard on the playground (and it's like 90 degrees so I can't knit!), I can sometimes sneak in a little reading time, but it's not good Harry Potter reading time (I can't focus too much on the book while I'm watching the boys and there's no way I'm carrying the giant tome that is HPOoP to the playground!). Nope, on the playground, I'm reading Knit One, Kill Two, subtitled "A Knitting Mystery". The Amazon reviews of it are terrible, and it is pretty predictable. For example, the main character, a young woman who finds herself having to solve the mystery of her aunt's murder, finds she has to stay in town longer than she had planned. Her new friends at the local knitting shop, who are teaching her to knit like her aunt did, would love her to stay and live in the house she's now inherited from her aunt. As soon as one of the girls says, oh yes, you should stay longer, I think, well, there's got to be some sort of love interest if this girl's gonna stay longer. Turn page. Enter love interest character. Still, as light, playground reading, I have to say I'm enjoying it. It's actually supposed to be the first book in a series! Here's a little from the book description for the next one: "...splayed out on her original hand-woven rug, her blood seeping into the design." (Roll eyes now.)

Still, this is all loooooaaads better than this book, which was so sappy and maudlin about knitting and it's power to bring some ridiculous, stereotyped characters together that I just had to stop reading it after about 20 pages. Yuck! I'd rather be knitting wool in the 90 degree heat, thanks.

While I've been busy, a huge pile of new knitting mags and books has accumulated!

Not surprisingly, I've spent the last few evenings with my knit lit instead of my knit kit. New knitting books are hard to resist, especially if you find yourself in a little post-project blue phase like I am now. They're filled with possibilities, are always the perfect size and there's no need to frog them ever. A few hours with Rowan, Verena and Stephanie and I'll feel much better.