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Book Reviews
Beautiful Sheep is a beautiful art book, and it happens to be about sheep. The sheep are British champions photographed by a fashion photographer on a studio art cloth backdrop. It sounds strange and artificial, (we usually think of a more granola type image of sheep in a field or barn, right?) but this book is gorgeous. It’s meticulously photographed and each sheep is beautifully groomed to show the highlights of the particular breed. My favorite photograph shows a ram half shorn standing next to his half-fleece. The visual is beautiful and satisfying as if we are seeing into the secret interior of his sheepy-ness, the dignified physique and the sweet crimp of his fleece. The breeds are mostly British Isles with some notable rare breeds like the Soay, Galway, Boreray and Manx Loghtan. The technical fleece information in this book is fairly skimpy, with no mention of micron or s-count, and I wish there were close ups of the shorn fleece to ogle as well. Overall, though, you won’t be disappointed to have this book of beautiful sheep on your shelf.
First time author Margaret Fisher is no newcomer to the knitting world. She has been teaching her popular class on Seven Things that can "Make or Break" a sweater for several years now at nationally attended shows and she has refined her knowledge down to the essential elements that can turn your "home made" into the elegant "hand made." This book covers each of these elements, like cast ons, increases, finishing techniques and others, each in their own beautifully detailed chapter full of tips and tricks to get your knitting to look its best. The book also features clear, precise patterns to practice the seven "make or break" elements. It's hard to believe that this is a self-published book, it's beautifully designed and each illustration is chosen to best highlight the technique unambiguously and in close-up detail. The writing is clear and precise and the layout of the book is sleek and professional. This book is a valuable resource for any knitting library, beginner to advanced.
Knit with Courage, Live with Hope is the story of a difficult year in the life of knitwear designer Annie Modesitt. Told with frank honesty, it looks at a year of powerful changes, including a move to a new city, and the subsequent discovery of her husband's diagnosis with Multiple Myeloma. Annie faces the certain and uncertain future with grace and strength. This is the story of a family willing to meet their challenges head on with the courage to enjoy the sweet in the midst of the bitter. You will find yourself crying and laughing along with Annie.
I would like to live inside Cat Bordhi's head for just one day! Cat's unique outlook on knitting makes us all the richer for it. In this book Cat takes the familiar shape of a sock and turns it upside down, inside out and sideways dissecting the very "sockness" of it. Her patterns show you the essentials of the sock and introduce the reader to new and unique methods for constructing these foot shaped garments. Each concept in the book is first broached in the terms of a baby sized sock to introduce the reader gently to the many ways of thinking outside the box. Then the book helps you tackle your own full-sized sock in 8 gorgeous and mind expanding sock architectures, with multiple examples of each. This is a great book for sock knitters everywhere. The first big, new concept in socks in decades, if not centuries.
Normally I don't care for monochrome (black and white) books. I'm a color gal through and through and I love eye candy. However, Ethnic Knitting Discovery is published by Deb Robson's Nomad Press and they are committed to the green press initiative which makes color printing in an earth-friendly way cost prohibitive. Despite the lack of color photos, Donna Druchunus's book pleases me on all levels because of its clear schematics, copious charts, charmingly fun drawings and judicious use of spot color (green of course!). Ethnic Knitting Discovery is the first in Donna's series on knitting traditions from many lands, and this book covers The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and The Andes. The patterns, mostly for sweaters, are really more like un-patterns where the schematics and motif are given, with spaces for the knitter to fill in their own dimensions and numbers. This is a great way to teach pattern design and very freeing for those who have previously only followed rigid patterns. Ethnic Knitting Discovery is a timeless book that will last beyond the fleeting trends and quirks of the fashion world.
The book “More Big Girl Knits is a hit. Many times I get books because I would like to make only two or three of the included patterns. When I started to page through the book I wanted to make the first six projects I saw! Fantastic!
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