CRAFTNICITY

Review of Cardigans by Louisa Harding

Romance – European capitals – lace….what more could you want in a romance novel…um Knitting book!?! “Cardigans” by Louisa Harding is a beautiful escape into knitted cardigans – but it is so gorgeously photographed and written that the knitting patterns are almost an afterthought.  But this is no afterthought – written by famed knitwear designer, Louisa Harding, (“Knitting Little Luxuries”  and the Miss Bea series) her designs are always romantic yet classic and above all – wearable.

My travel fever rises as I flip through the pages of this book.  London, Venice, the beaches of Portugal and the south of France call to me.  The colors of the yarn and of the backgrounds are lush and regal.

The book is separated into four chapters – “Classic”, “Edgings”, “Lace, Cables, Fair Isle” and Dressing Up”.  What is most compelling about the designs are the details.  Edgings in different colours, ribbon accents, unusual fastenings, and embroidery make all of her designs unique and elegant.  Their unusual names – Fritillary, Orchis, Otello, Bundi – lend another air of mystery, intrigue and something you might find on the Orient Express.

Sizes up to US Dress 18 are listed for each pattern.  However, none of the designs are shown on “real women” so I am not sure how some of these designs would translate on a larger form.  Knit in Miss Harding’s own line of yarn,   she also has an interchangeable yarn table in the back of the book to detail generic weight vs. Louisa Harding yarn and substitutions.  One nice touch is that some of the designs are photographed in a completely different yarn to show how just changing up the fiber can give you a whole new look. 

I think next OTN (on the needles) will be Alwar (shown, right) – “The design comes from my Rajasthan collection.  I love the elegance of this allover lace cardigan and the unusual addition of clasps as front fastenings.  The lace stitch is enhanced by the choice of a silk yarn, and the drape of the fabric is understated and sophisticated.” LH

Reviewed By Liz 

Review of Knitting 24/7

If you want to knit a beautifully-constructed piece using a beautifully-written pattern as your guide, knit something from Veronik Avery. She's a brilliant designer.

So I was excited to read her book, Knitting 24/7: 30 projects to Knit, Wear, and Enjoy, On the Go and Around the Clock. Just as I expected, the projects are gorgeous and the patterns are well-written. But what excites me the most is the concept.

Most of us work on several projects at one time. Avery understands this trend and focuses on projects of different styles and sizes for those of us who are on the go. She reassures us that we can knit -- whether it's 3:00pm and we're waiting in the car line to pick our kids up from school or it's early in the morning and we're sitting down with a cup of coffee.

The book is sectioned into projects that fit into our lives in the a.m., p.m. and on weekends. Patterned mittens or lounge socks are perfect projects to work on before breakfast or on the subway. You can take advantage of the time spent waiting for a pizza to arrive in the evening by knitting a clutch or shrug. And on weekends while everyone else sleeps in, knitting a fair isle hat or tea cozy is a way to relax.

There is enough variety in styles and difficulty levels in order to satisfy beginner and more advanced knitters, knitters who are busy but also passionate.

I always have lots of projects going at the same time -- also known as WIPs (works-in-progress). But they're all over the place and it's not something I'm always proud of. But after looking through the book, I decided to change the way I think about my WIPs. I'll make a list of my activities during the day, pick projects or sort the ones I'm already working on according to what I do in the morning, evening and on weekends. It's a great way to feel a little more organized and a lot less guilty.

Review of the Kneedle Pet

Kneedling Around, Inc. has designed this catch-all needle organizer for knitters and crocheters. It's called the Kneedle Pet. 

It is made of lightweight foam that holds your needles, hooks, and really anything with a pointed end.

You can get the Kneedle Pet plain (foam only) or you can buy it with the "Kozy," a crocheted cover with googly eyes. One other option is to get the Kneedle Pet Kit, which includes the Kneedle Pet and a written knit or crochet pattern.

At about 7L x 5H x 5W, the Kneedle Pet is actually bigger than I expected. In fact, it's pretty chunky. Because of its size, it is definitely an organizer that is best suited to stay at home. In other words, it won't fit in your knitting bag comfortably if at all. Since most "hard core" knitters and crocheters travel with their projects and extra needles, I'm not sure how practical it is to organize needles at home and on the go.

But it is cute and would probably make a good gift for that crafter who you think has everything. It could be considered a little kitschy. So before you gift this little guy out, I'd check the person's kitchen and bathroom first. If the person has a knit tea cozy or crocheted toilet paper cover, they'll probably like this.

Overall, I think the best selling point for the Kneedle Pet is its other uses: baby pins and other baby supplies, sewing pins, scissors, embroidery needles.

The Kneedle Pet starts at $9.99 and can be purchased directly from the Kneedling Around, Inc. website.

Review of The Very Easy Guide to Cable Knitting and Giveaway

The Very Easy Guide to Cable Knitting by Lynne Watterson starts off with the basics: 21 lessons that include information on cable needles, yarn, knit and purl stitch combinations, and chart reading.

Once you've got the basics established, the fun begins with mock cables, cable panels and cable patterns.

Thirteen projects give you lots of cable knitting practice. Projects are beautiful and include accessories for the home, bags, a scarf and a baby blanket.

My favorite must-knit project is the beaded placemat and napkin ring set. This is one of the few books where I see myself actually making many of the projects.

The photography is beautiful and shows clear, actual size swatches. The details in the photos are the closest thing to actually knitting your own swatches. It almost makes you feel as if you can reach out and touch the yarn on the page.

I appreciate the clear instructions. And variations for each cable pattern are an added bonus.

I have always loved the look of cables with their textured elegance. I'm just not crazy about knitting cables. Lesson 10 on mock cables shows techniques that give the cable effect, but without using a separate cable needle (for us "haters").

This book did teach me a to respect the versatility and character of cables. Cables are workhorses and have the ability to make a simple pattern chic. I realize that even if it involves another needle, cables are worth the effort.

Are cables your friend or foe?

Giveaway: I have one copy of The Very Easy Guide to Cable Knitting to give away. Please share a cable-related comment no later than midnight (Eastern) on Sunday, April 11. I'll randomly choose a winner on Monday, April 12.

Paper Crafts: 10 Stylish Cards to Make and Write On

Last week, I got a handwritten notecard from my younger son's teacher in the mail. In the age of emails and texting, it was a welcomed surprise. I was actually pretty tickled by it.

January 23rd is National Handwriting Day, a day observed on John Hancock's birthday to encourage handwriting. In its honor, I decided to act on my new respect for paper crafts and make a vintage collage notecard.

Tomorrow, I'll write the teacher a note and put it in the mailbox. I even plan to hand-address it (instead of using Stamps.com) and put a stamp on it -- gasp!

In case you're feeling a little vintage and crafty, I thought I would share the links to 10 simple, stylish cards you can create. There's nothing nicer than to hand-write on something hand-made.

From Craft Stylish:

1. Twirly butterfly cards
2. Fabric postcard party invitation
3. Button-embellished cards
4. Reuse and recycle note cards
5. Quilled note cards
6. How to embroider a greeting card
7. Super easy card
8. How to make collage cards
9. Extraordinary thank you notes
10. Add fabric to paper or cards

Review of Collage: Vintage Notecard Kit

Fiber or paper?

I've always thought I had to choose. And if I had to choose, fiber and fabrics would always win out. Thank goodness there is no winning in mixed media and collage.

Collage: Vintage Notecard Kit by Maryjo Koch includes all the tools you need to create unique notecards -- over 90 decorative papers, notecards and envelopes, an instruction booklet, and even a glue stick.

What really makes this kit unique is the proportion wheel.

The proportion wheel is a resizing calculator. So if you want to create a collage project that is larger (e.g., a placemat) or smaller (e.g., a gift tag), the proportion wheel calculates a percentage. Entering in that percentage into a copier or scanner tells it how much to increase or decrease the size of your original collage.

I love that Koch thought of that little detail, a detail that could have scared away inexperienced crafters (or me -- I can do without copy machine drama).

The instruction booklet gives instructions for 12 additional collage projects and decorative technique tips to try.

What I appreciate most about this little kit is the way it has stimulated my imagination. I now look at paper, wallpaper, buttons, stamps, ephemera, fiber, and other household flotsam in a much more creative way.

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Available from Amazon.com

Review of French Girl Knits

When I first sat down to read French Girl Knits: Innovative Techniques, Romantic Details and Feminine Designs by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes for the review, I immediately panicked.

The photos and projects were so beautiful, so delicate, so “not my knitting skills.”  But I was immediately drawn to the colors and designs – typically French.  The author details her love for la belle France and her passion for clothing and design while talking about her teenage years learning to sew and knit.

The chapters begin with lovely stories and definitely get you believing that you are tucked away in a small chamber in Monmartre on a cool fall day knitting and waiting for your beloved to return home.

Love the detail in the patterns.  Ms. Griffin-Grimes arranges each project with information on the item she made, with details on the finished size, yarn, needles, notions and gauge, notes and stitch guide for each pattern.  She also gives yarn substitutions which is a godsend.  Included also are several detailed photos and drawings with dimensions - very helpful for inexperienced knitters.

I was particularly surprised to look at the photos of lovely, delicate and lacey garments only to read that they were knit with size US 11, 13, 15 or even size 17 needles!  At that point I decided to try out one of the patterns.

I am not an expert knitter and tend to shy away from projects that look too challenging or complex.  However, I did knit “Wrenna” a leather-laced cardigan using US 17 needles and chunky weight yarn.  The instructions were good and fairly easy to understand.  I can’t say that the finished garment looked exactly like the model, but it was okay.  Not great, but okay.

I would recommend this book for anyone who has ever been to, or dreamt about going to France and has a love for French design.  There are some beautiful garments in this book and I am definitely going to come back for another journey through “la boutique Parisienne”.

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Available from Interweave Press
160 pages

(Reviewed by Liz Fox)

Review of Japanese Inspired Knits

Though the designs in Japanese Inspired Knits by Marianne Isager aren't Japanese, they are inspired by the Japanese culture. The patterns are definitely Isager-style, that is, they are travel-inspired, use bold geometric patterns, use a variety of knitting techniques (entrelac, double knitting, intarsia, stranded colorwork), and many have unique construction.

Each chapter, which is divided by the months of the year, gives a description of the culture that characterizes life in Japan during that particular month. Like the flower buds sweater that follows the description of the blossoming of the cherry trees in April, the inspiration is clear. Each pattern follows along that month's line of inspiration and is a representation of that description.

Isager even gives some extras. Since the yarn requirements included in the book are based on 100-gram skeins, the yarn conversion sheet lists suggestions based on 50-gram skeins, which are distributed in the U.S.

What you don't get are patterns for larger women. Isager stays in the mid-range (38-44 inch bust), though one pattern extends to a 54-inch bust.

Overall, the book doesn't disappoint, especially if you've come to love Isager as much as I do. Once again, she is able to fuse culture and customs and create beautiful, innovative knitwear for women.

 

Book Issues: From My Hands to Yours

I've got issues. Book issues.

I've effectively dealt with my fiction addiction by using this novel idea of borrowing from our neighborhood library and I joined a book swap club. But when it comes to craft books, well that's a different story. I covet and hoard and step over them.

They're books on making books and writing books, knitting, photography, crochet, books in other languages, and jewelry. You get the idea.

And to make matters worse, I regularly receive craft books to review -- in the mail, for free.

I know I won't have the opportunity to read and review all the books I've received. So I'm conflicted because the deal is simple. I get the books. I read the books. I'm supposed to review the books. Although I do send some books to be reviewed (thanks June), I hold onto most of them.

Yeah, I could have worse problems. But let's dig deeper.

I tend to be an information junkie. But sometimes gathering gets in the way of doing. Holding on gets in the way of letting go. Reading about creativity isn't the same as allowing creativity to flow through my own veins. In fact, it can block creativity. It can mask insecurities of not feeling intelligent enough or creative enough or just enough. It all ends up feeling a bit parasitic.

In Pema Chodron's book, Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion, she describes the practice of generosity in the traditional sense as "offering an object that we cherish from one hand to another." She goes on to say that the main point of giving isn't so much "what we give, but that we unlock our habit of clinging."

Pema, I heard you.

If you're willing to honor the agreement of receiving and reviewing a book, I'll pass the books I have from my hands to yours. If you're interested, email me and I'll send you a list of what I have been clinging onto.

Deep, cleansing breath.

 

(Photo courtesy of graphia)

Review of It itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons

Sometimes we knitters get a bit serious and persnickety. If you're one of those knitters who needs to lighten up some, I've got the perfect cure: It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons by knitter and cartoonist, Franklin Habit. 

The cartoons are spot-on, funny, and clever.  Wherever Franklin Habit gets his sense of humor about the love of knitting is anyone's guess, but it's wonderful.  His cartoons convey our fascination and love of yarn so accurately, from unfinished projects, overindulging in yarn purchases to sheeps and cats and other creatures whose lives have some relationship to our balls of yarn.

While the book has many wonderful cartoons--75 in all--, it also has 10 essays that are also clever.  Since I'm beginning to sketch, I also appreciate Franklin Habit's cartoon "style"--his figures are cute, but not cutesy. 

The book is the perfect size to fit into your purse to read in between those times when you're frustrated because you have to "frog" once more.  It will do the trick.  You'll laugh, relax and unwind (no pun intended), and very soon get back to task finishing your project with an even bigger smile than when you started.

(Reviewed by June Wiley, Ph.D.)