A Look At The Library - July 2009

If you have any special requests, please do not hesitate to contact Karen Joelson at, liknitcrochetguild@gmail.com.

Teddy Bear Knits, by Mo Smith, c. 1987, is unusual in that it is both a story book that will appeal to young children, as well as a knitter’s instruction book. It features 16 sweater designs each of which represents one adventure in the plight of the plot’s protagonist, Jed, who is in search of the rainbow. The text is sweet and the illustrations are beautifully graphed intarsia and fair isles patterns! Imagine sitting down with your child or grandchild to read as well as choose a favorite design to craft into an heirloom memory!

Knits from a Painter’s Palette, by Maie Landra c.2006, features gloriously colorful vests, jackets, tunics, ponchos, scarves, and shawls of modular construction using Koigu brand yarns. If you have ever caught yourself looking longingly at the Koigu display in your LYS, you will enjoy reading about the birth, history and people behind the brand. The instructions for modular knitting techniques are well explained and illustrated. Your fingers will begin to itch with the prospect of picking a project that has been designed specifically to suit the character of these intriguing, handpainted yarns.

Exquisite Little Knits, by Iris Schreier and Laurie Kimmelstiel, c. 2004, contains a very interesting and wide variety of projects which are cleverly and uniquely arranged by the type of yarn required. Hence, the chapters include: Cashmere and Qivut, Eyelash and Fur, Silk, Lattice, Mohair and Angora, Ribbon, and Sequins. I found this book to be particularly interesting and useful when used as a learning tool to help develop that elusive ability to match, for example, that quirky ladder ribbon yarn in your stash to the type of design/project that best suits it. Better yet, you may even be able to partner some very unlikely fabrics, such as fun fur, sequins and metallics to make quite elegant apparel.

Ponchos and Wraps a Knitter’s Dozen, XRX books, c. 2005, contains many very lovely, fluid cover-ups that use a variety of yarn types, construction techniques and stitches. Worthy of special mention is the Sugarplum and Toffee shawl, touted as a “good choice for mindless knitting”, that utilizes novelty yarns that are woven into the finished garment. The result looks strikingly similar to the hand woven fabric you wish you could learn to make if you only had 48 hour days and an Ashford loom stowed away in your crafts loft.

Knitting New Scarves, by Lynne Barr, c. 2007 was so kindly donated to our library by guild member, Marge Geary. This is a wild book that takes scarf design to a whole new level. No more two dimensional knitting as in length versus width. Ms. Barr adds the third dimension to the equation as she instructs the bold to add depth by knitting up, out, around and through!! The results are awesome! Food for thought: we need to come up with a new formula to determine gauge now that we are entering the world of volume knitting!!!

Submitted by Karen Joelson, LIKCG Librarian