Author: Clara Parkes
Publisher: Potter Craft
Rating:
Buy The Knitter’s Book of Yarn on Amazon.com

Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday to my US readers!

Potter Craft was also kind enough to send me a copy of Clara Parkes’s new book, The Knitter’s Book of Yarn. I have a healthy appreciation for all things Clara, having been a member of Knitter’s Review almost since the day I learned to knit. But I think I might have passed this one by if I were just browsing in a bookstore or a local yarn shop.

And that would have been a dreadful, dreadful mistake. I’ve read the entire thing cover to cover and I really think that every serious knitter needs to own a copy of this book.

Of all the projects that I’ve been slightly disappointed with, most of them have been due to Yarn Mistakes. Choosing a loosely-spun wool for a blanket, leading to massive pilling over everything. Choosing yarns with a high percentage of acrylic for projects that require aggressive blocking. This book will help you stop making Yarn Mistakes.

The book is divided into three detail-packed sections about how yarn is made and how this will affect your finished product. Clara manages to present a lot of technical information about fiber and fabric in a colloquial and easy-to-read style.

The first section goes over the major fiber groups: protein, cellulose, cellulosic, and synthetic, with subsections for each fiber type. Each subsection describes where the fiber type comes from, and describes a number of different properties of the fiber that affect the yarn, including different quality grades, how it behaves in blends, and how it behaves on the needles. The pages on alpaca from this section are excerpted in the Winter 2007 Interweave Knits.

Continue reading… »

Author: Kaffe Fassett
Publisher: Potter Craft
Rating:
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 the nebulous entity in the back of my head known 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.

My own approach to color isn’t all that different from say, Franklin’s. I like monochromatic. If I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll go for a complementary color scheme. Or a split-complementary color scheme. Either way, I max out at about three colors—hard to screw up, few color changes. So it seems like Mr. Fassett’s speaking to me with this paragraph from the introduction:

I pour my heart and soul into my designs, so I am disappointed when they are dismissed by even experienced knitters as too difficult to attempt. With this book I am giving all nervous knitters the opportunity to try out color knitting. Using current Rowan yarns, I’ve reinterpreted some of my favorite patterns from years past that deserve a second chance.

And try out color knitting you will! Of the 24 projects in his book, including pullovers, vests, cardigans, cushions, and throws, there isn’t a single one that requires fewer than five colors (Dark Daisy) and at least one project that requires 23 colors (Foolish Virgins Scarf). There is one pullover that uses simple stripes, but everything else requires intarsia or stranded knitting or both. His color selections are bold and high contrast, though a couple of the projects do take a softer approach.

Continue reading… »

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Plymouth Encore, #598, #208, #217, scraps
Needles: Addi Turbos, US 7 (4.5mm)

Yay, cute!

I’m exhausted (not from making the booties) and that’s all I have to say. I plan to make another pair in a slightly larger size and then post the pattern.

Other entries about the Wave of Babies Booties:

• A Bit of Instant Gratification