First, the facts:

Title: The Weaver’s Idea Book: Creative Cloth on a Rigid Heddle Loom

Author: Jane Patrick

Published by: Interweave Press, 2010

Pages: 239

Type: Weaving.

Chapters:

1. There’s Nothing Plain about Plain Weave
2. Finger-Controlled Weaves
3. Pick-Up on the Rigid Heddle Loom
4. Welt- and Warp-Faced Fabrics
5. More is More with Two Heddles

The In-Depth Look:

This is a tricky one for me, because while I have a few books on weaving and am intrigued, curious, awestruck, and tempted by the things weavers can do … I don’t actually weave myself. I’m like the star-struck kid who devours Variety and other movie magazines but has never gone to Hollywood.

All of which is by way of saying … I’m not really qualified to review this book as a weaver. The only loom I’ve got is one of those square frames with nails along the sides.

But, still … I actually have several books on weaving (and have read them) so … let’s give this a shot, shall we?

The author says right up front, “In writing this book, I’ve assumed that you have at least warped a loom and know something about throwing the shuttle back and forth.” So, there’s that. This really isn’t meant to be a “Welcome to your rigid heddle loom” kind of book. Think more intermediate-to-advanced weaving levels.

She also says, “Although I’ve written this book for the rigid heddle loom, the truth of the matter is that many of these ideas and techniques apply to other types of looms. Therefore, I have also included drafts for shaft looms.” I think that’s a fairly important point. Rigid heddle looms are the entry-level loom–not too expensive to try getting your feet wet, but often considered limited by weavers who have gone on to the more elaborate, expensive looms. It’s good to know that this book could be used not just now, but forever, by weavers who may have stepped up the path of complexity.

I like the fact that this book does focus on the rigid-heddle loom, though, because that’s where most people start–and a lot of people end in their quest for weaving experience. There is also a lot of detail about specifics like choosing yarns, or determining size and spacing. She also provides patterns for things to use your woven fabrics for, like a felted scarf, a wrap, or a skirt.

Most of the book, though, focuses on creating different kinds of weaves, so that your rigid heddle loom becomes more flexible than you may have thought. The author says, “I kept hearing weavers–new and old alike–lament that they could only weave plain weave on a rigid heddle loom. Every time, I’d reply that much, much more was possible.”

Ultimately, speaking as a non-weaver, this looks like a great book to me. The photos of different weaves are clear and easy to see. The illustrations are good, the explanations seem like they’re clear if you understand the weaving jargon (which I’m not). The physical structure of the book is good, too–a hardcover with a wire-binding, so it’s sturdy and will stay open to whatever page you need while you fiddle with your loom.

Sound interesting? You can get it here at Amazon.com.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Interweave Press. Thank you!

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Review: The Weaver’s Idea Book

• 1,000 Fabulous Knit Hats by Annie Modesitt. (Is it immodest of me to mention that one of my hats is in here?)
• 60 Quick Knits: 20 Hats*20 Scarves*20 Mittens in Cascade 220 by Sixth & Spring Books
• Aran Knitting: New and Expanded Edition by Alice Starmore
• Around the Corner Crochet Borders: 150 Colorful, Creative Edging Designs with Charts and Instructions for Turning the Corner Perfectly Every Time by Edie Eckman
• Around the World in Knitted Socks: 26 Inspired Designs by Stephanie van der Linden
• The Art of Knitted Lace: With Complete Lace How-to and Dozens of Patterns (KS Review) by Crown Publishing
• Brave New Knits: 26 Projects and Personalities from the Knitting Blogosphere by Julie Turjoman
• Cables Untangled: An Exploration of Cable Knitting [Paperback] by Melissa Leapman
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi by June Gilbank
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Knitting by Becca Smith
• Continuous Cables: An Exploration of Knitted Cabled Knots, Rings, Swirls, and Curlicues [Paperback] (KS review of the hardcover) by Melissa Leapman
• Country Weekend Socks: 25 Classic Patterns to Knit by Madeline Weston
• Cowl Girls: The Neck’s Big Thing to Knit by Cathy Carron
• Crochet Lace Innovations: 20 Dazzling Designs in Broomstick, Hairpin, Tunisian, and Exploded Lace by Doris Chan
• Crochet So Fine: Exquisite Designs with Fine Yarns by Kristin Omdahl
• Design It, Knit It: Babies by Debbie Bliss
• Entree to Entrelac: The Definitive Guide from a Biased Knitter by Gwen Bortner
• Entrelac: The Essential Guide to Interlace Knitting by Rosemary Drysdale
• Fresh Fashion Knits: More than 20 Must-Have Designs from Rowan’s Studio Collection by Kate Buller
• Get Spun: The Step-by-Step Guide to Spinning Art Yarns (KS review) by Symeon North
• Gifted: Lovely Little Things to Knit and Crochet (KS review.) by Mags Kandis
• In the Loop: Knitting Now by Jessica Hemmings
• Jil Eaton’s Knitting School: The Complete Guide to Becoming a Confident Knitter(KS review) by Jil Eaton
• Knit & Purl Pets by Claire Garland
• Knit Kimono Too: Simple Designs to Mix, Match, and Layer by Vicky Square
• Knit. Sock. Love by Cookie A.
• Knit Socks!: 17 Classic Patterns for Cozy Feet by Betsy McCarthy
• The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design by Shannon Okey
• Knitted Wild Animals: 15 Adorable, Easy-to-Knit Toys by Sarah Keen
• The Knitter’s Guide to Hand-Dyed and Variegated Yarn: Techniques and Projects for Handpainted and Multicolored Yarn by Lorna Miser
• The Knitter’s Year: 52 Make-in-a-Week Projects-Quick Gifts and Seasonal Knits by Debbie Bliss
• Knitting 24/7: 30 Projects to Knit, Wear, and Enjoy, On the Go and Around the Clock by Veronik Avery
• Knitting Block by Block: 150 Blocks for Sweaters, Scarves, Bags, Toys, Afghans, and More by Nicky Epstein
• Knitting Board Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to Using a Knitting Board with Over 30 Easy Projects by Pat Novak
• Knitting in the Details: Charming Designs to Knit and Embellish by Louisa Harding
• Knitting it Old School: 43 Vintage-Inspired Patterns by Stitchy McYarnpants
• Knitting Noro: The Magic of Knitting with Hand-Dyed Yarns by Jane Ellison
• Mastering Color Knitting: Simple Instructions for Stranded, Intarsia, and Double Knitting by Melissa Leapman
• Modern Knits, Vintage Style: Classic Designs from the Golden Age of Knitting by Kari Cornell
• More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
• Modern Top-Down Knitting: Sweaters, Dresses, Skirts & Accessories Inspired by the Techniques of Barbara G. Walker by Kristina McGowan
• New England Knits: Timeless Knitwear with a Modern Twist ( KS review ) by Cecily Glowik MacDonald
• The NEW Knitter’s Template: Your Guide to Custom Fit and Style by Laura Militzer Bryant
• Nordic Knits: 25 Stylish Small Projects by Martin Storey
• Norwegian Patterns for Knitting: Classic Sweaters, Hats, Vests, and Mittens by Mette N. Handberg
• Norwegian Sweater Techniques for Today’s Knitter by Therese Chynoweth
• The Ohio Knitting Mills Knitting Book: 26 Patterns Celebrating Four Decades of American Sweater Style by Steven Tatar
• The Perfect Finish: A No-Nonsense Guide to Finishing Techniques for Knitters of Every Level by Kara Gott Warner
• Power Cables: The Ultimate Guide to Knitting Inventive Cables (KS review) by Lily Chin
• Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks! by Judith Durant
• Socks a La Carte 2: Toes Up!: Pick and Choose Patterns to Knit Socks Your Way by Joelle Raffino
• Spinning, Dyeing & Weaving: Self-Sufficiency (The Self-Sufficiency Series) by Penny Walsh
• The Stitch Collection: A Box of Portable Guides to Knit Stitches by Debbie O’Neill
• Stitch ‘N’ Bitch Advanced: Take It To The Next Level by Debbie Stoller
• Successful Lace Knitting: Celebrating the Work of Dorothy Reade by Donna Druchunas
• Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
• Toe-Up Socks in a Box: Essential Sock Techniques and 20 Toe-Up Patterns from Wendy Knits by Wendy D. Johnson
• Vampire Knits: Projects to Keep You Knitting from Twilight to Dawn by Genevieve Miller
• Vintage Fashion: Knitwear: Collecting and Wearing Designer Classics by Marnie Fogg
• Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Five: Lace Knitting by Vogue Knitting
• Warm Knits, Cool Gifts: Celebrate the Love of Knitting and Family with more than 35 Charming Designs by Sally Melville
• Wrapped in Lace: Knitted Heirloom Designs from Around the World by Margaret Stove

(Phew! Okay, now I remember why I haven’t done one of these in a while. All those links are exhausting! Hope you found it useful, helpful, worth-while, enjoyable, and enticing.)

If you know of any books that are coming up that are not on the list, please drop me a comment.

(And, please, if you’re thinking of buying any of these books, please consider using the links here at Knitting Scholar–I’ll get a couple dollars from Amazon.com to go toward the cost of this site. My grateful thanks go with every order!)

Post from: knittingscholar.com

New and Upcoming Books, August 2010

First, the facts:

Title: Jil Eaton’s Knitting School: The Complete Guide to Becoming a Confident Knitter

Author: Jil Eaton

Published by: Crown Publishing, 2010

Pages: 144

Type: How-to, with designs

Chapters:

1. Knitting Basics
2. Beginner’s Delights
3. Intermediate Charmers
4. Graduate School

The In-Depth Look:

Another how-to knitting book? Is that necessary?

The author writes in the introduction, “In times past there was always an older generation of very experienced knitters on hand to help the novices. As that is not always the case in our very busy and technologically-saturated world, this Knitting School collection is designed to teach you to knit or to encourage you to return to knitting and to help you refine your skills.”

Well, I certainly can’t argue with that.

The book starts at the very beginning, with descriptions of different needles and yarn, a list of things you should carry in your knitting bag, through knitting, purling, increasing, decreasing, and all the usual suspects right through cables and color stranding.

Along the way, there are some handy tips, and good, basic information. It’s not the most thorough book I’ve seen. Instructions tend to be a decent illustration and a sentence or so of explanation. They’re good explanations, but I can’t really say how effective they are to explain a brand-new technique to someone who’s never tried it before. (It’s often the hardest part of reviewing basic knitting books, since I already know the basics, it’s hard to mentally go back to when I didn’t.)

In addition to the basic knitting instruction, there are patterns along the way, carefully matched to the skill level along the way. The very first project is a garter stitch puppet, then there are sweaters, hats, wraps, until we end with a lacy tank top.

All in all, Jil Eaton has put her experience from Knit Simple‘s “Ask Jil” column to good use. She already knows the questions people are likely to ask and tries to answer them for you.

This book is available at Amazon.com.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Crown Publishing. Thank you!

Post from: knittingscholar.com

Review: Jil Eaton’s Knitting School

First, the facts:

Title: Gifted: Lovely Little Things to Knit + Crochet

Author: Mags Kandis

Published by: Interweave Press, 2010

Pages: 135

Type: All sorts of things for gifts.

Chapters:

1. Gifts for the Body
2. Gifts for the Soul

The In-Depth Look:

This is one of those charming little books full of charming little projects, meant to be given as gifts.

What? You want more of a review than that?

Okay, there are projects here for knitters, and projects for crocheters, and even a couple that work for both. Some are felted, some are embroidered. Some are cute or just pretty to look at, while others are practical.

Really, they’re just lovely little patterns, like the title says, and honestly, I don’t have much more to say than that. I like it, I think you’ll like it.

This charming little book is available at Amazon.com.
Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Interweave Press. Thank you!

Post from: knittingscholar.com

Review: Gifted

First, the facts:

Title: Tweed: More than 20 Contemporary Designs to Knit

Author: Nancy J. Thomas

Published by: Potter Craft, 2008

Pages: 144

Type: Patterns.

Chapters:

1. Origins of Tweed Yarns and Fabric
2. It All Starts with the Wool
3. Making it with Tweed
4. Walking on the Moors: Projects for Beginners
5. Hiking the Scottish Uplands: Projects for Advanced Beginners
6. Walking the Irish Cliffs of Moher: Projects for Intermediate Knitters
7. Sailing the North Sea: Projects for Advanced Knitters

The In-Depth Look:

Not a brand new book, but not really old enough to count as a “classic,” this is nevertheless a new one for my collection. I’ve had my eye on it since it was published but kept putting it off and putting it off, always telling myself that there were other books I could or should buy first. …And yet, I kept coming back to this. Finally, when it showed up in Knitpicks’ 40% off book sale with a “last chance” label, I couldn’t afford to put it off anymore.

Because this really is a book I wanted to have. Its focus, not surprisingly, is tweed. It looks into the history of tweed as a fabric and also as a yarn, discussing what makes tweed yarn unique–the heathery blend of unexpected colors in the yarn, that give it a little texture, a little extra bit of color.

These are exactly the things I like about tweed yarn–how it gives a visual texture to whatever is knit with it, without being as busy as color work or cables, though both those things can work with tweed yarns when you know what you’re doing.

And that’s exactly the point of this book. It’s a collection of patterns designed strictly for tweed yarns. Patterns that will highlight its special features without taking away from it. You can, for example, do stranded colorwork with a tweed yarn where it will give a little extra depth to the color design, but it will also largely hide the “tweediness” of the yarn. You can do cables, but if the yarn’s color accents are too strong, they can get lost in the cables. But when you do these things right, you end up with a knitted fabric that has subtle, organic color variations, like the specs of mica in a piece of granite.

The patterns in this book are classic–nothing trendy or too cutting-edge. Classic shapes that won’t go out of style for, well, ever. Vests. Pullovers.Cardigans. Scarves. The kinds of garments you wear to stay warm and look great while doing it. The kind you can pull out of your closet again and again because you won’t get tired of them.

Really, I don’t know what took me so long.

You can get your copy at Amazon.com.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

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Review: Tweed

First, the facts:

Title: Comfort Knitting & Crochet Afghans: More than 50 Beautiful, Affordable Designs Featuring Berroco’s Comfort Yarn

Author: Norah Gaughan, Margery Winter, and the Berroco Design Team

Published by: Stewart, Tabori & Chang 2010

Pages: 160

Type: Afghans.

Chapters:

1. Knit
2. Crochet

Pattern Size Range: Afghans, all sizes

The In-Depth Look:

This was a rare purchase for me. The knitting books I buy are usually for making sweaters, or socks, or lace. Something to wear.

But … have you seen this book? If you want something warm and cozy to keep you warm, this is definitely the place to look.

This book is a collection of over 50 patterns–a mix of crochet and knitting–for afghans. Some are made in one, big piece. Some are made up of squares or triangles or other geometric shapes. Some make great use of color work, some have cables or other texture. In other words, there’s lots of variety.

The patterns all call for the same yarn–Berroco’s Comfort yarn. I’ve never used the yarn myself but have heard good things about it. It’s a soft acrylic/nylon blend, fairly economical, and with lots of colors, but there’s no reason you couldn’t knit any of these afghans in another yarn. I bought this book primarily for the patterns, not because of the yarn, but still … if you’re going to center an afghan book around a specific yarn, that seems like a good one to pick.

The designers are top-notch, too. I mean … Norah Gaughan, for one, and Marjorie Winter, for another, are responsible for most of the designs. The others are credited to Cirilia Rose, Donna Yacino, and Brenda York. The list is in the back-matter, though, and not listed with the designs. I go back and forth between thinking that’s strange–shouldn’t the designers’ names be with their afghans so you can give them proper credit as you flip through the book–to thinking that it’s a good decision because you can focus on the actual afghan rather than the name of the person who created it.

Seriously, this is a great collection of afghans–lots of variety, lots of skill levels, lots of different techniques. There are at least a dozen I’d be happy to have myself, and the book is a delight to browse through. The photos are gorgeous and atmospheric and really make the afghans’ beauty stand out.

Yep, there’s a reason that this is the first afghan book I’ve bought in about 15-20 years.

I highly recommend going to check it out at Amazon. You won’t be sorry!

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

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Review: Comfort Knitting and Crochet Afghans

Post from: knittingscholar.com

Contest!

First, the facts:

Title: New England Knits: Timeless Knitwear with a Modern Twist

Author: Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa LaBarre

Published by: Interweave Press, 2010

Pages: 159

Type: Patterns.

Chapters:

1. Around the Town
2. Fall on the Farm
3. Along the Coast

Pattern Size Range: 31″ – 52″, depending

The In-Depth Look:

It’s no secret that I love New England. My grandmother was born in Maine and grew up on Martha’s Vineyard. My dog is named for Chappaquiddick, and whenever I think “vacation,” I immediately start thinking about travelling northeast along the coast. When I was in elementary school, I was actually disappointed to learn that New Jersey counted as a “Middle State” rather than a part of New England–the southern tip of Connecticut is barely 50 miles from here, it seemed almost criminal that we missed counting as New England by such a small amount.

So, it shouldn’t surprise you that I love this book.

Honestly, though, it’s not just because of the title (though I admit it immediately put me in a receptive state of mind).

There are at least eight designs in here that I want to make, and it’s been a while since a new book had that many “hits” for me. There are cardigans and pullovers–some heavier for winter days, but some that are for summer nights when the breeze starts picking up. There are wraps to wear with or without a heavier coat, mittens to keep your hands warm, and a cute little beret covered with whales for whale-watching. None of the designs are too fussy, none are too boring. They’re just cozy, appealing, and attractive.

The photographs are appealing, too. I kept getting distracted by the New England backgrounds, but that’s entirely my own fault. Less-obsessed people will most likely be able to focus better. (It’s a family trait–my mother watches Jaws whenever she gets a chance, solely because it was filmed on Martha’s Vineyard and she wants to enjoy the scenery.) The pictures give a good representation of the designs, without any obvious attempts to hide flaws or camoflauge bad construction. There was exactly one photo that I thought was, um, less than ideal because I thought it made the slim model look more frumpy than chic, which wouldn’t exactly tempt me to make that design, but that could just be me, and anyway, it was the only photo I had issues with. And even that stood out exactly because it WAS the only one.

Really, I love this book. Maybe part of it is because I’m imagining the sea-kissed air, dappled sunshine, and the scent of clam chowder and lobster rolls, but that can’t be the only reason. Even the thought of walking on my favorite beach with Chappy romping at my side wouldn’t make me yearn to make an ugly sweater … but there are several here that I would love to have in my closet. It just seems right.

Have I piqued your interest? Then click here to get this wonderful book at Amazon.com.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Interweave Press. Thank you!

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Review: New England Knits

First, the facts:

Title: The Art of Knitted Lace: With Complete Lace How-To and Dozens of Patterns

Author: Kristin Omdahl

Published by: Potter Craft, 2010

Pages: 176

Type: Patterns.

Chapters:

1. Lace Basics
2. Romantic Lace
3. Runway Lace
4. Casual Lace

The In-Depth Look:

This book is filled with some really lovely lace designs by some very talented designers like Annie Modesitt, Lisa Lloyd, Berta Karapetyan, Melissa Matthay, Phoenix Bess and more.

It’s a nice collection, too. Sweaters, wraps, hats, scarves, vests, stockings, skirts … a little of everything, though pretty much all designs for women–but then, most men prefer not to dress in lace.

However, there is one thing you need to know.

Not all the designs are new. I started paging through my copy thinking, “That looks familiar.” “How strange, I could swear I’d seen that before.” It was like one of those eerie deja-vu experiences–I’d turn the page and be immediately struck by how familiar the design was. And not just the design, but the photograph, the model, the pose, the lighting …

It turns out that many (if not all) the designs in this book are reprints from other books … they just don’t bother to tell you in advance.

Now, of the six books that contributed designs to this one, I’ve only seen two of them, so many designs here were entirely new to me. Of the two, one of them didn’t survive our house-moving last November, so it was actually kind of pleasant to see some of those designs again. But I want you to be warned that, if you own more than one of the contributing books, you should expect to see duplicates in here.

Having said that, do I think that this is a good collection? I do. The designs are generally beautiful and well worth having a second chance at being seen by people who may have missed their debuts. I wonder a bit that the original photos were re-used (since I had issues with the photos in A Fine Fleece despite their loveliness), but it would probably have been prohibitively costly to reshoot them all … it’s just that each photo was specifically styled to fit its original book, and the look and lighting don’t always mesh in this new book.

I don’t want you to think that I didn’t like the book, because I did. It’s got some beautiful designs. If I had bought the book, though, expecting all new designs only to stumble across a dozen of them that I already have in other books, I would have been upset. This is like snatching up a brand-new book by a favorite author only to find it’s a reprint of one of her old books, just with a new title and cover art. That’s reasonable enough from the publisher’s point of view, but something they should really tell you up-front, instead of hiding it in the back matter. “Some of these designs are reprints from…”.

Which books? “A Fine Fleece,” “Runway Knits,” “It Girl Knits,” “Knits Three Ways,” “The Knitter’s Book of Yarn,” and “Romantic Hand Knits.”

This collection can be found at Amazon.com.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Potter Craft. Thank you!

Related posts:

• A Fine Fleece
• Romantic Hand Knits
• Knitter’s Book of Yarn

Post from: knittingscholar.com

Review: The Art of Knitted Lace

First, the facts:

Title: Knitting MochiMochi: 20 Super-Cute Strange Designs for Knitted Amigurumi

Author: Anna Hrachovec

Published by: Watson-Guptill, 2010

Pages: 144

Type: Miscellaneous.

Chapters:

1. Let’s Get Started
2. Fierce Creatures
3. Random Objects
4. Impractical Wearables
5. Nano Knits

Pattern Size Range: Text

The In-Depth Look:

This isn’t normally my kind of book. Amigurumi isn’t my something I usually get excited about. I mean, I love cute things as much as the next person, but the idea of cute little knitted creatures isn’t something I am usually drawn to.

This book, though? I have to be honest. It made me smile. Chuckle. Giggle, even.

It’s just fun.

These aren’t practical patterns, as a rule, but they’re not meant to be. Sure, there’s a muff that could keep your hands warm, and “feet-eater” slippers, but for the most part? These are just cute things to look at, fun little things to play with. And there’s not a darn thing wrong with that.

Can I think of a reason to put wigs on pigs? Or a reason a moose would think it was a bird (and have lots of little, round bird friends)? Well, no, but that’s not really the point. They’re adorable and diverting and just darn cute.

Squirrels on wheels. A grouchy couch. Human beans. All entertainingly photographed. Because, yes, the photographs are just as adorable as the designs. Like the hamsters on their wheel, or the TV Guy eating a tv dinner. Creative.

All designs are presented with suggestions on who might be interested in each design. “Make me for late sleepers who love surprises.” “Make us for fungis … fun girls?” “Make us for urban aspriants or refugees.”

Yes, it’s definitely safe to say I liked this book. It’s really not practical in the least, and it’s not even a style of knitting that usually appeals to me, but it won me over at the first flip-through.

If you’re feeling silly and a little frivolous, you should definitely check out this book, available at Amazon.com. After all, who wants to be serious all the time?

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Watson-Guptill. Thank you!

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Review: Knitting MochiMochi