No-Bull Book Review: Knit Red by Laura Zander

I am working on a post giving you my recap of TNNA, the yarn and needlepoint industry's trade show, but in the meantime, let's take a look at a lovely book that was featured at the show. Knit Red: Stitching for Women's Heart Health (Sixth and Spring 2012; hardcover; 130 pages; MSRP $19.95 but available for $12.49 through the link) is a great knitting book for a great cause.

 Last year, I was wandering around the TNNA show floor when I ran into Laura Zander, proprietress of the amazing Jimmy Bean's Wool. Laura was talking about writing a book that would help raise money and awareness of women's heart health. I thought it was a fantastic idea then and now, just a year later, with the gorgeous book in my hands, I still think it's a fantastic idea. The statistics on women's heart health are astonishing: for example, more women have fatal heart attacks than men. One in four women who die in the U.S. each year die due to heart disease. Yet so many of us envision heart disease as something men are more likely to have.

Knit Red aims to combat those statistics, enticing us with lovely knitting patterns, but also informing us about the dangers of heart disease and suggesting simple, do-able changes we can make to lower our risk. Let's start with the fun stuff, first, and take a look at some of the patterns.

There are so many gorgeous projects in this book, and among my favorites are Iris Schreier's capelet, above. I also am grooving on this delicate lace stole by Kieran Foley, below:

 I love the flirty eyelet socks by MMO:

 Norah Gaughan's cabled cardigan:

 and Deborah Newton's beautifully-designed tunic.

Many other of my favorite designers are featured here, such as my BFF Martin Storey, who designed a great cardigan with seed stitch panels and heart motifs, with a cute cropped fit:

my love Sarah Hatton, who contributed an easy-to-knit twist-front top reminiscent of a ballet wrap:

Maie Landra contributed this amazing modular dress (this is really an exquisite piece of knitwear, with modern lines but a vintage feel -- and I'm not just saying that because I heart Koigu so much):

Another nice thing about the book is that it includes both easier and more advanced designs. Cecily Glowik MacDonald's cardigan is stylish but uses only stockinette and garter stitches, and is knit in one piece to minimize finishing:

and Diane Soucy's hooded cardigan has simple elegance (knit in Universal's Cashmere Fleur de Lys)

 while Andrea Jurgrau's lace shawl is a bit more challenging, with its fantastic beaded edging,

but no matter what you're looking for, there are options.  Like cables? Try Brooklyn Tweed's lovely mittens:

In the mood to use some luxurious yarns? Check out Daniela Johannsenova's Mondrian-like tunic, using several different yarns and multiple shades of red (and purple!).

Want to let some skin peek through? Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton allows you to channel your inner minx with her off-the-shoulder mesh top:

If you want to embellish, look no further than Nicky Epstein's chenille shrug, with roses around the collar:

Feel like a home dec item?  Michelle Rose Orne has designed a lovely linen-stitch blanket:

For my statisticians, the books contains 31 patterns, in the following categories:

• 5 pullover sweaters; 4 cardigans; and 1 button-front vest, all for women
• 1 dress
• 2 cowls
• 1 tote
• 2 hats (one beret, one earflap style)
• 1 shrug
• 4 stoles/shawls
• 1 blanket
• 3 sets of handgear (1 mitten, 2 fingerless gloves)
• a spa set (washcloth and suchlike)
• 2 pair of socks
• 1 cape.

All the items are shown in red yarn, but the manufacturers and gauges vary from laceweight to chunky, from luxury yarns like ArtYarns and Koigu to more affordable choices like Deborah Norville's Soft Worsted and Deb Stoller's Stitch Nation yarns. Sizes are a bit more limited than usual; a few of the sweaters go up to 48 to 53-inch finished circumference but most have their largest size in the 40s and one or two have more limited ranges than that, so check sizing if you have your eye on a particular sweater.  Of course many of the projects, like the lovely stoles and shawls, are one size fits all. You'll find schematics and chart as usual with a Vogue publication. All the patterns are for women with one or two home items -- nothing for men or kids here, since the focus is on women's heart health.

One aspect of the book that I find charming are mini-profiles of the individual designers, in which they tell how heart disease has affected them and their families, and include tips for improving heart health. The pattern section is followed by facts about how common heart issues are (for example, heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States); what the symptoms of a heart attack are; exercise and cooking tips; even heart-healthy recipes. There's also a section of knitting tips and techniques used in the patterns.

My family has been decimated by heart-related disease:  my father had pentuple by-pass surgery, my grandfather died of complications from a heart attack, and as amateur genealogist, I've been amazed at the number of relatives who have cardiac issues of some kind listed on their death certificates.  The women in my family have suffered, too: My grandmother had heart problems

My grandmother

and my dear cousin Francie died at a shockingly young age from heart disease, to name just a few. So I am proud to heartily (pun intended) recommend this book, a great selection of stylish patterns along with timely reminders about taking care of our hearts.

No-Bull Book Review Twofer

Recently I was sent two review copies of books that appealed to the child in me (in the best sense of the phrase).  So let's do a No-Bull Book Review Twofer.

First up is a charming children's picture book called Extra Yarn, with text by Mac Barnett and illustrations by Jon Klassen (Harper Collins 2012; MSRP$16.99, available via the link for $10.19 as of the time of this writing).

The simple, sweet story is about a girl who finds a box "filled with yarn of every color." What else can this clever girl do, but use the yarn to make a sweater? After she makes herself and her doggie a sweater, and makes sweaters for all the creatures around her, and makes sweaters for the other people in her life, but the magical box doesn't run out of yarn, she makes sweaters for trees and buildings and pick-up trucks. An evil archduke covets the box, but you probably won't be terribly surprised to hear that there is a happy ending.

If Barnett and Klassen aren't knitters, they must be married or related to knitters, in particular the yarn-bombing kind.  For example, only someone with a knitter's soul would imagine a world in neutral, restrained colors --except for the yarn, which adds a rainbow of color wherever it is used by the girl. Only a knitter can truly understand the desire to cover everyone you know in handknit goodies, like the girl who lovingly knits sweaters for all the people and animals and even inanimate objects in her life.

I particularly loved the way that the illustrator used the shapes of real knitted fabric for all of the knitted items -- a nice touch that packs a lot of punch. It's a lovely book and would charm any knitter or under-8-year-old child.  Not surprisingly, the book has been getting rave reviews from both the knitting community and the publishing world, so I highly recommend it for any kids in your life. And even for the grown-up yarn lovers with a sense of whimsy.

The second book is a more traditional knitting pattern book but one with a somewhat untraditional topic:  knitting dinosaurs.  Knitted Dinosaurs: 15 Prehistoric Pals to Knit from Scratch (STC 2011; MSRP $16.95, available for $11.53 through the link as of the time of this writing), is a delightful book full of detailed patterns for knitting dinosaurs.

When I was in first grade, I remember very distinctly going through a phase where I was fascinated with dinosaurs. I had little plastic ones of all kinds, and I knew all of their names, what they ate, and so on. (Once my kids reached that phase, I was shocked and appalled to learn that some of the dinosaur names I learned don't exist any more.....good-bye, Brontosaurus!)

Barrett notes that when she began working on the book, her daughter was in a prehistoric phase:

We were surrounded by dino books, a roaring plastic Spinosaurus and even a "hungry dinosaur" game. Therefore, I felt well qualified (one step away from being an expert paleontologist in fact) to tackle the challenge of creating some woolly dinosaurs with my own needles and yarn.

As noted in the title, there are 15 prehistoric creatures contained in the book. After the introduction, there's a gallery in which each creature is shown in a full-page color photo. Since these patterns do have a lot of

thoughtful details (in the allosaurus above, for example, note the way that garter stitch is used for stomach and paw pads, and clever shaping makes the face modeled and more expressive rather than a simple oval or rectangle), the big photos are helpful for the maker to use as reference.

The patterns are then presented, with a description of what the real dinosaur looked like, more close-up photos, list of supplies, templates for felt embellishment, and often including additional interesting factoids about the dino (e.g. "Stegosaurus had a tiny brain, about the size of a walnut, but he had very BIG spikes on his tail.").

I was really impressed with the cleverness of the designs. For example, the ankylosaurus was a dinosaur with thick bony spiked plates on its back. Barrett uses bobbles and a textured pattern to mimic the plating and spikes:

It's fun to see someone who takes both her knitting and dinosaurs seriously enough to get all the details right!

The vast majority of the patterns are done in DK weight yarn (various fibers are used, including wool, cotton and bamboo), with a few done in superchunky yarns. While many of the brand names used might be relatively unfamiliar to American knitters (e.g. Stylecraft), the back gives distributor information and in any event, the gauges are certainly common enough that substituting would be very easy.

The instructions look pretty detailed, walking you through each body part, then explaining how to put the pieces together and embellish. After the pattern section is a separate "Techniques"section, including instructions for gauge swatching, basic stitches, and tips on stuffing, using thread to make joints for the creature, attaching eyes and embroidery stitches. There's even a two-page layout on dinosaur names, with miniphotos of each dinosaur along with pronunciation and the name's meaning.

This book was released a few months ago, and I don't know how it slipped under my radar. All in all, an excellent and surprisingly detailed set of prehistoric creatures to knit for the kid or adult in your life who is fascinated with them.  Yabba-dabba-doo!

Raffle for Summer Search:  Progress Report

Wow.  My readers are amazing. In just a few days, we've already raised over $600 for Summer Search Philadelphia.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you haven't made a contribution yet, there's still plenty of time. Here's a link to my original post with all the details. (Also, Summer Search's United Way Donor Option Number is 46628.)

No-Bull Book Review: Knitting with the Color Guys, by Kaffe Fassett & Brandon Mably

While I was at VK Live, I picked up a couple of books simply because I couldn't help myself.  One of them was the brand-new knitting book by Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably.  Knitting with The Color Guys: Inspiration, Ideas, and Projects from the Kaffe Fassett Studio (Sixth and Spring 2012; MSRP $24.95, available for $15.80 through the link above as of the time of this writing), is a lush, gorgeous book full of, well, color.  From the endpapers featuring a knitted motif to the gorgeous photographs throughout to the projects inside, Fassett and Mably live up to their billing as "the color guys" (although shouldn't it be the "colour guys"?).  Let's take a closer look.

KWTCG is a hardback book, about 9 x 10.5 inches, with about 176 pages. From the very beginning, you know what this book is about: indeed, in his introduction, Kaffe Fassett characterizes his style as "full-on color."  The approach is intuitive, focusing on experimenting and playing with color, rather than giving the knitters a set of hard-and-fast rules. For example, Fassett urges knitters to be bold and try things, reminding them "don't judge too harshly till you have at least ten inches of knitting on those needles." To make it easier to customize projects and color combinations, Fassett notes that many of the book's motifs are done in different colorways, making it easier for a knitter to pick one that suits her taste or home decor. (A special note of commendation must be given to photographer Debbie Patterson both for the lovely photography and for including a nice shot of Mr. Fassett's well-turned leg in her portrait of him.)

Mably's introduction tells a bit more about the duo's design process.  "I was intrigued to see Kaffe using a bright palette in bold contrasts, as oposed to his more usual tone on tone palettes -- usually I am the one to reach for bolder colors and be more graphic with my design work."  Mably notes that he and Fassett design "directly on the needles from simple charts" but echoes Fassett's direction to put the work up and stand back to view it before deciding whether one likes it.  Interestingly, he reveals that the collection grew without "an ordered plan," as the pair would begin by casting on, then pin up a piece of work before deciding, based on factors like the weight of the yarn or the nature of the pattern, whether a given piece of knitting wanted to be a pillow or a scarf or a throw.

Multistripe Stole (KF)

One aspect of this book (and something that I've noticed in other Fassett books) is the inclusion of photographs showing various sources of design inspiration. Before we even get to a single pattern, we see a close-up of paintings, cushions, pottery, sources of the shape and color and texture that end up in the knitting.  It's fun to page through the book, paying special attention to things other than the knitting -- the circular weaving of a chain seat, the geometric wooden inlays of a desk, brightly colored pieces of tile in a mosaic.

Half-Circle Throw (KF)

Ah yes, there I go, getting lost in the color and pattern and texture.

Dark Dot Scarf (KF)

Let's get back to the nuts and bolts:  The heart of the book is divided into four sections:  "Soft Tones," "Singing Color," "Moody Hues" and "Rich Shades." As you can tell from the headings, each section revolves around a general color scheme.

Trapezoid Throw (KF)

"Soft Tones" is inspired by "the delicate, restrained end of the color palette," items like spring flowers, beach pebbles, all-white or all-gray outfits, weathered wood.  There are six patterns:  a striped stole, a baby blanket featuring a triangular motif, fingerless gloves with a zigzag pattern, a second stole knit in Rowan Kidsilk Haze for a "mossy" texture, a scarf with a very easy but effective dot fair isle pattern, and a checkerboard hat, fingerless gloves and legwarmer ensemble.

Checkerboard Ensemble (BM)

"Singing Color" features the vivid hues of crayons, party balloons, carnivals, fresh fruit and vegetables. Nine patterns use bold, bright color: from a zigzag throw to a shadowbox cushion and throw, a pineapple blanket, a zigzag cushion, a triangular cushion, a throw featuring a half-circle motif, a wide scarf with broken stripes and a cushion with all sorts of striped patterns and an hourglass shape in the middle.

Multistripe Cushion (KF)

"Moody Hues" emphasizes faded, stonewashed textures, "the colors of old tapestries or ethnic wraps that have seen a lot of wear." A cleverly-designed blanket featuring diagonal stripes that form blocks, dotted cushions, a blanket knit in striped blocks, a softly striping scarf, variations on the triangle cushion and zigzag cushion, a throw and cushion with trapezoidal pattern, a diagonal garter stitch scarf typify the moody, chalky hues of this section.

X-Factor Blanket (KF)

Last is "Rich Shades," obviously using deeper, darker, more dramatic shades. The red circle stole is a good example; the relatively simple shapes gain drama and depth when knit in ruby red and navy blue. A variation of the dot scarf, diagonal scarves knit in the rich hues of a color-changing yarn, a stole with accordion-style pattern, a ridged scarf, a scarf featuring the half-circle design, and scarf and legwarmers with a "wiggle" pattern use these rich shades to perfection.

Red Circle Stole (KF)

The "Useful Information" section gives some directions on color knitting techniques (like one- and two-handed stranded knitting, how to weave and twist strands, intarsia, duplicate stitch, and information on yarn categories and substitution.

The numbers are as follows:  a total of 31 patterns (although some are variations on each other, I counted each separate pattern entry in the table of contents), of which 4 are stoles; 8 are blankets or throws; 2 pair of fingerless gloves; one hat; 9 are scarves; 8 are cushion covers; plus two pairs of legwarmers.

Accordion Stole (BM)

I know that some knitters will take a quick look at the patterns in this book and say something like "The patterns are all so simple; why should I buy the book?"  But really, this book isn't about patterns per se. The patterns are on the basic side because the focus is on the color -- combinations of color, unexpected pairings, bursts of hue that can rev you up or relax you.  And an equally important part of the book is encouraging knitters to play with color; not to simply copy the combinations that Fassett and Mably have created, as fabulous as they are, but to find something that inspires you, colors that make you happy, to play with shape, to go out on a limb a little and add colors spontaneously and see what you get.

Opal Dot Scarf (KF)

Likewise, I am sure that some knitters will look at the patterns, see that they call for numerous skeins of yarn and freak out.  But I don't think that the point is necessarily to have you run out and buy every single color of every yarn used in a given pattern. Yes, if you have the money you could, and more power to you, but you could just as easily pull together a bunch of leftover balls, single skeins and other odds and ends in about the same weight or category, and use them to craft your own color combinations. Each pattern includes several paragraphs discussing how the colors interact, with suggestions for additional palettes.  Knowing, say, that a pillow requires a lighter and darker shade of the same color, plus a border color, makes it easier to play around with one's own favorites, with some assurance of getting a pleasing result.

Zigzag Fingerless Gloves (KF)

The yarns used in the book all come from Rowan, and range from Kidsilk Haze (airy baby mohair with silk), fingering weight sock yarn, dk-weight cotton, heavy worsted Summer Tweed, chunky color-shading wool, bulky-weight Big Wool and more -- just about every category of yarn is used somewhere. The patterns are for items other than sweaters -- stoles, throws, pillows, scarves, and a few pairs of fingerless gloves and a hat -- and are one size.  You'll find thorough directions if you want to duplicate the colors shown in the sample patterns, and the patterns feature charts (mostly in color) and diagrams to help with color layouts.

Trapezoid Cushion (KF)

There are all different kinds of knitting books, and I value them all. This is a book that I will turn to over and over again when I need a jolt of color, when I'm looking for inspiration, or when I need my spirits lifted by gorgeous photos of pretty things. Of course, the lovely projects packed with color will also provide many hours of knitting enjoyment, especially if one follows the Color Guys' advice to "play with these ideas in any way that occurs to you as you sit down with your own yarn stash."