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Book Review: Kaffe Knits Again

November 19th, 2007 | Comments Off

Cover of Kaffe Knits Again

Author: Kaffe Fassett
Publisher: Potter Craft
Rating: 3.5 Skeins
Buy Kaffe Knits Again on Amazon.com

For all my book reviews prior to this, I have either bought the books myself or they were given to me as gifts. This review is different, as Potter Craft was kind enough to send me a review copy of Kaffe Knits Again. I don’t think this has biased my view of the book in any way, but I thought I would share this information in the interest of full disclosure.

This book is my introduction to Kaffe Fassett. I had heard of him, read a few interviews, and even glimpsed a few patterns of his here and there, but he was sort a nebulous entity in the back of my head as The Color Guy. And now that this book has introduced me to Kaffe Fassett, I have to say, he’s definitely The Color Guy.

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Book Review: Inspired Cable Knits

July 25th, 2006 | 2 Comments

Cover of Inspired Cable Knits

Author: Fiona Ellis
Publisher: Potter Craft
Rating: 5 Skeins
Buy Inspired Cable Knits on Amazon.com

When I first got Inspired Cable Knits, I couldn’t stop leafing through it. This book sat on my nightstand for days, and every night before going to bed, I would page through it, stopping to admire the unique cablework and the elegant design in virtually every project in this book.

The only thing that stopped me was that a friend borrowed the book right off the bat so she could knit the yoga mat bag.

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Book Review: A Gathering of Lace

June 30th, 2006 | 2 Comments

Cover of A Gathering of Lace

Author: Meg Swansen
Publisher: XRX, Inc.
Rating: 4 Skeins
Buy A Gathering of Lace on Amazon.com

I never fancied myself a shawl-wearer, but this book may have made a convert out of me. A Gathering of Lace includes a huge variety of gorgeous shawls. My favorites are the Feather & Fan Shawl (p. 56) and the Frost Flowers & Leaves Shawl (p. 59).

This book is a true gathering of lace; the projects are diverse, both in type and in construction. Projects range from stoles, shawls, and shrugs to socks, hats–the Picture Hat (p. 142) is truly amazing, gloves, and pillows. The construction of all the projects is highly varied, as are the required yarns. Needles sizes for projects range from 000 for the Magickal Earth Shawl (p. 74) to 10 for the large Faroese Shawl (p. 32), Spiral Shawl (p. 79), and Super-Spiral Shawl (p. 82).

I think it’s safe to say that you could knit all the projects in this book without ever feeling like you’re just doing a variation on a theme.

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