No-Bull Book Review: Bambeanies, by Woolly Wormhead

I've got a big stack of books waiting to be reviewed, and now that the knitting crunch for the book is reaching an end, I'd better get cracking. Today's book review: a charming selection of hats for kids, by the designer Woolly Wormhead.

I first discovered Woolly Wormhead on Ravelry. It seemed as though nearly every time I encountered a wonderful, creative hat pattern, it was by this designer with the whimsical name. This past summer, I had the pleasure of meeting Wooly at TNNA and we got along like a house on fire. So when she emailed me to ask if I'd like to do a blog post about her new book, Bambeanies, I was only too happy to oblige.


Bambeanies can be purchased via this link as a print book or, for instant gratification, a PDF download. (The print book costs $23 while the PDF download is ten pounds, about $15.75 as of the time of this writing.) You can purchase the download on Ravelry, too, and if you fall in love with an individual pattern, they are available for purchase individually, too.

Woolly Wormhead is, as I mentioned before, known for designing fun and funky hats, often using creative structural techniques. Bambeanies contains a selection of 20 hats, shown on some adorable kids, but also sized, in many cases, for adults, too.

Aurora

The book begins with Woolly Wormhead's introduction, in which she explains her fascination with hats:

I love the challenge they can present with a new technique or stitch pattern, and how they can be used to experiment with an unusual construction. I love their 3-dimensional nature, and the way they can be worn to reflect a mood or feeling or favourite outfit. And most of all, I love their quickness and portability.

Woolly's aim in creating this collection was to showcase all of these aspects of hat knitting, providing fun for the knitter and the wearer.

Nupkin

The book next covers some technical information, beginning with sizing (including measuring, which size to pick, gauge and blocking); info about yarn, needles and gauge; a list of abbreviations; and several illustrations showing specific skills like kitchener stitch and different cast-ons.

Next up is the collection of hats -- a mix of unisex caps

Rocketeer

as well as a few which are particularly suited for girls.

Damsel

The hats are knit in a variety of yarns, including Noro self-stripers, handpaints and solids.

Corby (l) and Trullo (r)

The yarns used run the gamut from fingering/sock weight (2 patterns), to sport (1), to DK (6) and chunky (2), with almost half knit in worsted/aran weight yarn (9). All of the hats are presented in multiple sizes, ranging from baby or child sized through larger/adult sizes. Schematics are also provided for the hats, which isn't usual for hat patterns, but is helpful, especially for those hats with unusual construction.

Tipper

As you can see, the photographs are really adorable, showing these moppets looking very cute in all sorts of poses, with all sorts of expressions.

Queenie

(I like that the photos show kids who look like they're having fun, and who are making the cute but goofy faces that little kids often do.)

Tricable

The patterns in Bambeanies are awfully cute -- so cute that they made me want to put down what I was working on and whip out a couple. They would make adorable gifts for a baby shower, and given that breadth of sizing, it would also be fun to make a few for oneself! If you are looking for small, portable projects to showcase some of your stash, or perhaps enjoy knitting for one of the many service-oriented knitting projects (like Afghans for Afghans or Caps for Kids) that are looking for knitted caps, then I have the feeling you will find lots of inspiration in these pages.

So let's hear it for Bambeanies, a wonderful treasury of adorable and creative hats, with a generous size range, adorable photos, and a heckuvalotta bang for the buck (or pound).

No-Bull Book Review: More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

A few years ago, Joelle Hoverson, she of the wonderful NYC yarn shop Purl Soho, brought us the charming Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (STC 2004). This fall, she has written a sequel, called (appropriately enough) More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (Stewart Tabori & Chang 2010; MSRP $27.50; available as of this writing via the link for $18.15). Let's take a No-Bull peek inside...


More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts is, like its predecessor, a hardback book, full of gorgeous color photos by Anna Williams. Like its predecessor, it contains a selection of projects organized by how much time the project takes to knit (approximately, of course). And like its predecessor, you'll find projects that, generally speaking, are approachable rather than complex, the basic made beautiful by being knit in gorgeous natural yarns like Koigu, Spud & Chloe and Jade Sapphire.

Entrelac Baby Blanket

Hoverson begins with a few introductory notes. She sets out what is essentially the mission statement of the book: "[T]here is nothing more satisfying than creating something beautiful and thoughtful without having to labor over it for an extended period of time." She suggests that knitters use yarn choice as a means to personalize the gift for its recipient, briefly discussing color, fiber, texture and embellishment as ways to do so. The last chapter of the book covers ways to wrap your handknit (and other!) gifts -- using a simple premade pouch, opting for a simple box then using strand after strand of leftover yarn, using buttons on gift tags and as part of the wrapping.


In between these sections are the patterns, a total of 30 (not counting variations). First up are "Less-than-two-hour gifts," six projects that are quick to knit and are certainly good choices for less experienced knitters. You'll find a coffee-cup sleeve; a holiday ornament; a pointy elf hat (conveniently sized for the whole family, so that Mom and Dad can wear an elf cap, too); a pyramid-shaped sachet holder; a seed-stich bracelet with button closure; and a linen-stitch bookmark.

Reusable Coffee-Cup Sleeve

Next are the "Two-to-four-hour gifts," again six of them. These items are a teeny bit more complex than those in the prior chapter, but still fall on the basic side: knitted baskets, a small scarf with an opening for one end to pull through, itty-bitty baby socks; a baby bonnet; a chunky lace scarf; ribbed hats sized for every member of the family.

Big Lace Scarf

The "Four-to-six-hour gifts" -- once again, six projects -- may take a bit longer than previous chapters, but are still pretty basic in skill level: fingerless gloves knit sideways, a set of simple coasters, a stuffed toy house with embellishment; mittens with a brioche-stitch cuff; a seat cushion made of I-cord in bulky yarn; a charming baby cardigan.

Easy Baby Cardigan

"Six-to-eight-hour gifts" features a simple beret; a child's vest with duplicate-stitch initial on the front; fingerless gloves shown in a plain and cabled version; a floaty scarf, knit in the round with mohair yarn; a baby blanket knit from the center out, with colorful nesting squares; and a simple roll-neck pullover sized for the whole family and knit in the round.

Very Pretty Lace Scarf

My favorite projects are definitely found in the "More-than-eight-hour gifts" chapter (you guessed it -- six projects total). The yoke-neck cardigan knit in a delicate shade of Koigu is one of those simple-yet-elegant patterns that beautifully matches the subtle color variations of semi-solid Koigu with clean lines and just enough detailing in the yoke without overwhelming the yarn.

Leah's Lovely Cardigan (designed by Leah Mitchell)

(If I ever have time to knit myself something again, this is at the top of the list.) The trio of cowl patterns combine ribbed patterns with elegant cashmere yarn and the men's zip-up vest is classic enough for a man's taste (although it would look great on women, too). The first pattern in the chapter, an entrelac baby blanket featuring bright colors of Lobster Pot bulky yarn, cheerfully reminds me of geometric quilt motifs. The chapter is rounded out by ribbed toe-up socks and another colorful blanket (this one much larger than baby-sized), knit with vivid stripes in the middle.

Bright Stripes Blanket

For those of you who like statistics, of the 30 patterns, I counted approximately 8 home items; three kid's items; five baby items; one men's garment; three items sized for the whole family; and the remainder (approximately ten items) for women. Of the women's items, the breakdown looks like this:

• one sweater (the Koigu cardigan)
• three scarf patterns and the cowl (three variations of it)
• two fingerless gloves (one with 2 variations) & one pair of mittens
• one bracelet
• one beret.

Leah's Lovely Cardigan

The family items include roll-neck sweater, ribbed caps and socks, and possibly the men's zipped vest if you want to wear it as a unisex piece. Kids will make do with the elf hat and pullover vest, while babies can be clad in a bonnet, socks, cardigan or tucked under one of the two blankets.

Sideways Fingerless Gloves

As usual, the book is beautifully produced, with clear and elegant photography by Anna Williams and all the amenities we usually find in a STC book: schematics where necessary, charts where necessary, close-up photos of some of the embellishments & design details; photos that show off stitch patterns as well as give the overall look of an item; a section with how-tos for skills like duplicate stitch.

If I had any quibble with the book, it might be that the projects seem a little too basic but it's hard to tell if that is predominantly a function of me being obsessed by immersed in the knitting world rather than a more casual stitcher. It sounds like Hoverson's target audience for the book includes newer knitters, as well as knitters looking for less-stressful projects that can be completely quickly and with a minimum of agita. In that regard, the projects succeed admirably, and are no more difficult than they have to be.

Huggable House

In sum, then, we've got another good-looking book from our friends at STC, filled with gorgeously-photographed, do-able patterns just in time for you to whip out a few for holiday gifts. These patterns beg to be knit in some of the gorgeous yarns in your stash, so bring on the cashmeres, the handpaints, the uber-soft cottons and the exotic alpacas. After all, there are only 70-some days until Christmas!

No-Bull Book Review: One More Skein, by Leigh Radford

I am horrendously overdue on book reviews, and now that the fall season is really underway, new books are being released at a furious pace. I'm going to try to catch up a bit, so let's get started with one of the new releases from Stewart Tabori & Chang: One More Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit by Leigh Radford (MSRP $19.95; available for $13.57 by clicking on the link).


Leigh Radford has already written some must-have books for knitters. I really enjoyed Alterknits (STC 2005) and the sequel, AlterKnits Felt (STC 2008); both were stylish, creative and beautifully presented. Radford's previous small-project book, One Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit or Crochet (STC 2006) was extremely popular for its quick-knitting yet fashionable projects that, as the title suggests, only require a single skein of yarn to complete. So it's not a big surprise that Radford chose to write a sequel.

Nash's Garter-Stitch Baby Sweater

One More Skein has a lot in common with its predecessor: thirty projects, all knitting, nearly all for small (meaning no adult sweaters) projects.* But Radford discusses in the introduction how enrollment at art school has changed her design sensibility somewhat:

Early on in my classes I began exploring how I might incorporate knitting into my paintings, for example, by knitting my own canvas out of laceweight linen. And now when I review the collection of projects that I've put together for this book, I clearly see that what I am learning in art class is seeping into and re-energizing my knitting.

Radford notes that while her first book included only projects that could be completed with one skein of yarn, One More Skein takes a less restrictive approach, allowing projects knit with one or two skeins of yarn (again, the single exception is the afghan, which is made from multiple leftover balls of yarn in many colors).

Radford divides the projects into four chapters; let's take a closer look at them.

"Put It On," as the name implies, contains an assortment of adult wearables: the ubiquitous fingerless gloves, an earflap cap, a lightweight linen cap with ribbon embellishment, a felted wool/alpaca cuff or bracelet, a bulky cowl, a smart-looking men's scarf knit in other-way-around rib;

Horizontal Rib Scarf

two versions of a striking "circle and stripe" scarf (a regular scarf and a shorter "cravat" version), and a jewelry set of necklace, braclet and earrings.

"Dress Up Baby" contains six quick-knitting items for babies: knit pants (thank you from the bottom of my heart for not calling them "soakers"; nothing puts me off my breakfast like the image of urine-soaked wool), a charming garter-stitch baby sweater with a tab closure, a cute (if impractical) "capelet", which is a kind of wrap designed to slip over baby's head, without sleeves or other closures,

Sadie's Capelet

another pair of baby pants, a mohair baby kimono, and a pair of "baby legwarmers."

"Take It With You" contains patterns for simple bags: drawstring gift bags, a sling tote or purse,

Summer Satchel

a small accessory bag with a zipper and lining, a felted bag/purse, a silk ribbon clutch, and a felted handbag (my favorite in this chapter).

Connected Squares Felted Handbag

The last chapter, "Make Your House A Home," contains home dec items: a cute nubby felted cat toy (gorgeous cat in the photo, by the way), a hot water bottle cover, a button-cover pillow designed for filling with dried lavender and rice (Radford microwaves hers for an alternative to a heating pad), a patchwork blanket made from leftover balls and odds and ends of worsted weight yarn, pillow covers, a pleated "vase sleeve" (Radford instructs you to slip it over a plain vase for a new look),

Pleated Vase Sleeve

small felted bowls, linen placemats, and a linen serving tray (fabric stiffener is used to make the tray sturdy enough to hold items).

Basic Pillows

As usual, all the technical aspects of the book are top-notch, including lots of lovely yarnie photos by photographer John Mulligan. The book just teems with color and beautiful images of yarn; even the inside covers include full-color yarn pr0n shots. Most projects are shown in more than one photo, and some are shown in different colors and variations (e.g. long and short versions of the fingerless gloves), which isn't always feasible when a book contains highly complex or labor-intensive projects, but is a terrific bonus when the book contains smaller projects. The layout (by Anna Christian) is elegant and coordinates beautifully with the projects. There are a few schematics and charts where appropriate, but most of the projects are small and simple enough not to need them. The back of the book contains a few special techniques, like how to knit I-cord, and instructions for felting.

Circle & Stripe Scarf

Looking at the tallies, you'll find 30 projects, broken down into 6 baby items; 14 items for adults (mostly women); and 10 home dec items. Baby items are mainly sized for tots one year and under. The adult items (no, not THOSE kind of adult items, you perves) vary; the earflap hat is thoughtfully written in a wide range of sizes from XXX-Small to Large (a size for everyone in the family!), the fingerless gloves come in S/M/L, and so on, with many, like scarves, not requiring sizing. The yarns used in the book tend to worsted weight and thicker, and range from workhorse wools like Cascade 220 to luxury ones like Alchemy Bamboo.

So should you buy this book? If your book budget is limited, I'd suggest considering two things. First is the simple question of whether the patterns, lovely as they are, are to your taste. Second, think about the kind of knitter you are. If you want sweater patterns, well, there aren't any in here. If your stash consists of lots of skinny yarns, these patterns won't work unless you alter size or knit your stash double-, even triple-, stranded. If you like really complex or technically challenging knitting, again, that's not what these projects are designed to provide. On the other hand, if you are looking for some simple but elegant ways to knit up your stash, want some inspiration for holiday gift-knitting, and/or like easy and quick-knitting projects, you'll probably be very pleased with One More Skein.


*There is one large project, an afghan designed to use up leftover balls of worsted-weight yarn.

Cross-cultural bonding

It's funny how even a casual relationship with someone can touch your heart. Last fall, a new family moved into the neighborhood. Their daughter, Antarra, was in one of the twins' first-grade classes. Antarra's grandmother came from India to stay with Antarra's family to help care for Antarra while her parents were at work. Each morning she would bring Antarra to the bus stop and each afternoon would be there to pick her up.

Over the course of the year, Antarra's grandmother became one of us. She didn't speak tons of English, but she could understand more than she could speak. We admired her spunk: just imagine being a 74-year-old woman who picked up and moved halfway across the world for six months, without speaking the language, or knowing anyone except your son's family, in a culture that was very different from your own. She got a kick out of us and our kids. I looked up some Hindi on teh Google and learned how to say "good morning" and "namaste."

Tonight, Antarra's grandmother flies back to New Delhi. We all were very sad at the bus stop, and Antarra's grandmother shed more than a few tears as she watched her granddaughter get on the bus. In the tradition of overzealous knitters everywhere, I knit her a little going away gift:



Cover pattern from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, by Joelle Hoverson, knit in Hand Maiden Silk Maiden.




She seemed to like it and she definitely understood that I had knit it, as she made knitting motions with her hands and said "Very good." (I had consulted with some Indian-American knitters on Ravelry as to what she might like, and they voted for bags and deep colors.)

Safe journey, Antarra's grandmother; we will miss you.



Another word of Hindi that I learned: "dost" = friend.

Fiber-y update

Today I'm doing a Black Bunny Fibers update, including several lovely skeins of merino/silk fingering weight:



some of the Canadian 10% silk, 50% alpaca, 30% mohair and 10% merino sock yarn





and a couple of batches of roving (2 Finn, 1 Wensleydale and something else I can't remember right now). Update is at 1 p.m. here.

I am nearly finished with a special gift for the dad of a dear friend of mine, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.



(The little white part by the logo is the backing of the emblem; I haven't sewn it on yet.)

As you might have guessed, he's a huge Notre Dame fan.

Now I'm back to the dyepots. I'm hoping to get some merino/tencel done today, and some merino/bamboo sock yarn later in the week, for the next update.