A Little Bit of Everything

Knitting books that take you from sofa to shawls to sweaters and beyond

Knit One Knit All

Knit One Knit All is a love fest you can knit - and a beautifully scrumtious book to boot!  Seeing all of Elizabeth's garter stitch designs in one place, beautifully photographed and with patterns and asides so nicely described is just about as good as it gets for anyone interested in knitting, in clothing construction, or even just in the wearable nature of geometry.

It is also a fantastic tour through the mind of a remarkably creative knitter and the woman I consider to be the Godmother of Modern Knitting.  Although I've read every one of Elizabeth's books and even all her old newsletters from my subscription "way back when," putting her garter stitch designs all in a single volume  shines a light on Elizabeth's creative process as it developed over the course of her life. 

It also offers up an inexhaustable menu of things to knit and love.  You'll find 39 different garments - hats, mittens, gloves, socks, booties, slippers, baby things of all description, vests, sweaters and jackets.  Each is wonderfully different from the rest, with innovative construction at every step. And each will set your fingers a-tingle with the urge to pick up your needles and knit! 

Knit One Knit All is a treasure and on the must-have list for anyone who loves knitting.

Knitting Around DVD

This recently released DVD set brings to life one of my very favorite knitting books - Elizabeth's Knitting Around . In it, you'll see demonstrated all the innovative designs that have made this book so beloved -- the bonus, of course, that in so doing, you'll also be able to spend 6 hours of knitting time with Elizabeth and Meg, and (if you're old enough, like me) relive some of the "good old days" of knitting history. To say that Knitting Around with Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen is a treat is to barely touch the surface of what watching each "garment episode" offers: I found that questions I had carried for years about how, exactly, to do a particular technique were answered, my trepedations put to rest and my creativity was inspired and renewed.

Needless to say, I hope you'll treat yourself to this long visit with Elizabeth and Meg - and that you'll find all I found and more.*

A partial list of its vast contents:

• The Moccasin Sock
• Fair Isle Yoke Sweater
• Knitted Dickies
• Knitted Moebius
• Bog Jacket
• Pie Are Square Shawl
• Norwegian Pullover
• Mittful of Mittens
• Aran Coat
• Elizabeth's "Digressions"

 *Please note that all necessary charts and written instructions are to be found in the accompanying book, Knitting Around .

Knitting Around

What a feast of a book this one is! There are nine of my favorite Elizabeth Zimmermann designs, clearly explained with copious photos showing every bit of technique and construction you might ever have a question about. Here is Elizabeth's final word -- and most detailed and useful explanation -- on her E.P.S. system of sweater design. And each design has multiple possible variations, as well. Why, there's even a Pablo Neruda poem, "Ode to My Socks" to accompany her Wearable Art Socks!

And then there are the Digressions, where Elizabeth talks about her life in what is to us a very different time and place. How she began in England, born 1910, in a home with maids and nannies; her homeschooling by governesses; her art education in Lausanne and Munich (we discovered that she lived about 2 blocks from where Bob lived when he was working there); her meeting with Arnold, the move to America, children and how her life as a knitter's knitter got its start.

And the photographs, paintings and drawings, taken from the full course of her life! My! It's like a tour of Europe through a time machine -- wonderful stuff!

If you don't already have this one on your shelves, keeping your other Zimmermann books company, you'll want it. A gift to both heart and hands.

No Sheep for You

For those of you who don't already know, Amy Singer is the person who had the beautiful idea of giving knitters everywhere a place to share their designs and patterns, talk to each other, and basically keep up with whatever's going on in the world of knitting. I personally don't know anyone who hasn't gone to www.knitty.com at least once, and I don't know anyone who was unhappy with what they found there.

I suppose we shouldn't be surprised to discover that No Sheep for You is just exactly like that - a beautiful resource filled with essential information, tips, and one succulent, inviting, must-knit design after another. Amy Singer has created another gem for knitters - this one bound between two covers!

She first delves into the secrets of non-animal fibers and shares her discoveries freely and completely. You will learn more about all these fibers, how to knit them, treat them, how to handle them (hint: not the same way you do animal fibers), love them and create with them. Then, she has called together some of the most exciting designers, had them select yarns they love and, well, the result is a bounty of good taste and inspiration that is rare indeed. Whether your cup of tea is cotton, linen or silk (or hemp, or bamboo, or, or, or . . .), you'll find something you will truly love to knit here. The instructions are crystal clear, easy to follow and the sizes offered (for those things for which size matters) start at a Small 36" and go to a XXL 56".

Plus, two of the designs, Amy Singer's Tuscany Shawl and Sivia Hardings Rocks in the River Scarf, feature our very own Silken . Do enjoy!

Mason-Dixon Knitting

Receiving a pre-publication review copy of this sparkling new book is one of the happiest things that's happened to me in good long while. The last time I smiled, laughed and revisited a knitting book this much was when Cat Bordhi sent me her first Treasury of Magical Knitting . While being entirely different in it's content and purpose, Mason-Dixon Knitting is just that sort of book.

The authors have poured onto these pages and into these projects their enthusiasm for knitting, for keeping things simple, for colorful, joyful, functional things, for friends and family. To read Mason-Dixon Knitting is to find yourself surrounded by a world of smiles; it is to remember what's really important in this world (hint: it has to do with loved ones, home and joy); and, to discover some amazingly good, exciting knitting!

Here's some of what's inside that I especially love:

• dishcloths. Really. I never thought anyone would ever catch me knitting a dishcloth, but after seeing these bright, spunky models in MDK, and reading Ann and Kay's write-up on all the wonderful reasons they love knitting them and using them, well, I can hardly wait for the cotton yarn to arrive so I can always have one on the needles, too. There's a great connection to the cotton yarn manufacturer who will put as much cotton yarn as you need into your hands for less money than you ever thought possible, too.
• log-cabin knitting. These designs are every bit as addictive, versatile, and useful in knitted form as they are in quilting. And the things you can do with this technique! My. You can make rugs (step upon the courthouse steps), bedspreads (think Mondrian!), baby blankets (bright-eyed rainbows), bath mats (really, really nice ones), all in variations that range from very traditional to uptown modern. I'm also waiting for more yarn to arrive so I can get going on a bedspread -- I mean, I'm really watching and waiting . What I mean to say is that my fingers are practically tingling with impatience at having to wait to get started. That's how good these designs are.
• the bubbly curtain and linen hand towels. I'm an avoider of knitting with linen. Really I am. Now I have some on order - all because of these two projects.
• the peignoir. You may not think that ladies who extol the delights of dishrag knitting would also offer up a peignoir to die for, but they did. Just goes to show what we know about ladies who knit dishcloths, doesn't it? It's in linen, it's lovely, and it would even look good on a post-40 or -50 mom.
• calamari knitting. Discover a great way to recycle tee shirts into things you'll really like to use.
• the out-of-focus photo of Xenobia Bailey. Irresistible.
• the Moses Basket liner with Godmother's Edging. Also Irresistible.
• the back cover. It bears this inscription:

Remember:
No project is too ambitious if you crave the result enough .