No-Bull Book Review: Warm Knits, Cool Gifts by Sally Melville & Caddie Melville Ledbetter

Some of you may know Sally Melville from her best-selling series of books that came out several years ago, a how-to-knit series in three volumes. The first focused only on the knit stitch (and included the pattern for the Einstein Coat, a supremely popular but easy-to-knit garter stitch jacket), the second added the purl stitch, and the third delved into color. This series of books was very popular and gave a lot of knitters terrific technical background, along with accessible but attractive projects to make.


If you're looking for a very technical-oriented book this time around, best to adjust your expectations. Melville's new book, Warm Knits, Cool Gifts: Celebrate the Love of Knitting and Family with more than 35 Charming Designs (PotterCraft 2010), written with her daughter Caddie Ledbetter, is a charming book but it's definitely a project-oriented book rather than a technical guide. That's just an observation, not a value judgment. But it never hurts to be clear about the nature and purpose of a book, just in case you hear "Sally Melville" and assume this book must be a continuation of her earlier series (which it is not).

That's not to say that Warm Knits, Cool Gifts isn't a nifty book -- it is. WKCG contains approximately 36 projects designed with gift-giving in mind; the projects are divided roughly between small projects, many of them holiday-oriented, and large projects, like adult sweaters. Melville very charmingly describes how her idea for the book was born:

I was walking through a farm in winter -- watching families pick out their Christmas trees, take sleigh rides through the woods, wrap their hands around cups of hot chocolate, and throw snow at each other -- when I realized that winter is my favorite season! I love the snow; I love the cold; I love the holidays.

And I love the knitting we do for this time of year: shawls to wrap up in, hats to pull over our ears, heirloom pieces for the holidays, ornaments for the tree, and knitted gifts for those we love. So it didn't seem a far stretch to plan a book around these possibilities.

Thus winter, and more particularly, the notion of creating warm and festive things for winter, is the theme that underlies the varied projects in this book. Let's take a closer look.

The project portion of the book is divided into four sections based on the purpose or recipient of the item. First up is "For the Wee Ones," projects for babies and children. The first project is quite lovely: a baby blanket knit modularly using doubled laceweight yarn.

Blended Baby Blanket (SM)

What I like about this project is the way it's not terribly difficult to knit, but the color choices, the blending of the yarns and the modular construction combine to make it striking. Other projects in this section include a baby cap, a bunting, baby overalls, a stuffed doll, and two sweaters that (for a welcome change) are shown on boys rather than girls:

Vested Hoodie (SM)

As a mom of two boys, kudos to Melville for creating some non-fussy sweaters for young boys -- no trucks or doggies, but clean lines and classic shapes that you might, if you're very lucky, get a boy over the age of three into.

The next section is "For Family and Friends," and contains an unusual assortment of gift items, ranging from the small -- a watchband, book markers, a glasses case -- to an assortment of adult sweaters. There's a very sharp polo-style sweater for men

Andy's Polo (CML)

a simple but stylish cardigan for women (I would have to make this longer so my muffin top doesn't show...),

The Cardigan Caddy Really Wanted (CML)

a women's cabled cardigan, a short dress with petticoat,

Baby Doll Dress (SM)

and another interesting sweater for men, as well as a lace scarf that has a relatively simple-to-learn repeat.

"Keeping Warm" features many of the things you'd expect -- hats, scarves, fingerless gloves for him and her-- but also some sweaters and other layering pieces. The Architectural Shawl has an interesting geometric design, and is knit in a worsted/dk weight yarn.

Architectural Shawl (SM)

I was intrigued by the a-line sweater with the vertical panel

Center-Paneled Sweater (SM)

another simple yet striking sweater with a cowl neck,

Christmas Morning Sweater (CML)

and a long coat with a swirly bottom reminscent of vintage skating coats.

Last section is "Feeling Festive," with some ornaments, a leftover sock yarn stocking (P.S. to Sally Melville: I remember Sally Melville Styles, a woefully underappreciated book, and I've always thought its approach to mixing yarns was brilliant; this stocking reminds me of the way leftover yarns are combined there), teeny stockings and Christmas trees, some gorgeous tour-de-force nordic style stockings, a delightful Log Cabin treeskirt, and to finish it with a bang, the Einstein coat returns: in mini-form, as an ornament.

Log Cabin Christmas Tree Skirt (SM)

For those of you keeping track, we've got:

• 2 men's sweaters
• 5 baby items (blanket, bunting, hat, overalls, doll)
• 8 accessories (watchband, glasses case, 2 fingerless gloves, one hat, three scarves)
• 2 kid's sweaters
• 5 women's sweaters, plus the long sweater-dress
• 2 women's wraps (shawl & bolero-style short vesty-jackety-thing)
• 2 home dec items (afghan, bookmarks)
• 10 Christmas-themed items (7 ornaments, 2 stocking patterns, and tree skirt).

Nordic Stocking (SM)

For those of you wondering about the yarns used, you'll find a wide variety. One project uses yarn finer than laceweight (the bookmark); 2 use laceweight (one pattern, the baby blanket, knits with it doubled); 4 use fingering weight yarn (but one is designed for leftover sock yarn, and the ornament takes a very small quantity of fingering wt. yarn); 4 use sportweight; 2 use DK; about 9 or so use worsted weight yarn; about 5 use heavy worsted/aran; about 7 use chunky or bulky yarn. Size ranges are generous: the child's sweaters run from 2/4 to 10/12; women's sweaters range from smallest sizes around 31 to 35 inches finished bust to 49 or larger (up to 53-inch, in one case) inches finished bust; men's sweaters run from around 38 inches to 50-some inches finished chest.

Technical specs: the book is paperback, roughly 8.5 by 11 inches, full color, lots of nice photos, charts where necessary, and schematics. I like the way that tips are presented within each pattern in little boxes -- helpful info like discussion of ease for a particular sweater, or notes on pattern design (one tip discusses why the sweater uses shallower armscyes). The Appendix to the book contains an extensive glossary of terms; a list of the yarns used, described and arranged by weight; sizing charts; and general notes on fit.

Although the book is marketed as a resource for knitters wishing to create gifts, I suspect that you may end up finding plenty of choices that you'd like to make for yourself. I was taken with several of the women's sweaters, and the tree skirt and other holiday items are very tempting, too....

The Sweater Sally Made Instead (SM)

So two thumbs up for Warm Knits, Cool Gifts, an early holiday gift to knitters that will keep your needles clacking all winter through..

Contest winner!!

Thanks to everyone for their entries!

There were several of you who got every single one correct, so I had Little Miss (who as of 5:30 p.m. had already put on her nightgown - hey, it's not easy being that beautiful) draw a name out of a bowl.

Lucky winner is Loraine G!!!!! So, Loraine, go to Ravelry to my patterns and pick a sock pattern you'd like, and I'll send you a free PDF of it. I've already emailed you using the address you entered with.

In case you were wondering about the correct answers:

1. Airplane!
2. Driving Miss Daisy
3. Star Wars (the original)
4. Willie Wonka (original)
5. Lady and the Tramp
6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
7. Borat
8. Young Frankenstein
9. Sex & the City Movie
10. Napoleon Dynamite
11. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
12. Austin Powers
13. The Perils of Pauline (this one caught most people up)
14. Clueless
15. Casablanca
16. Animal House

Thanks for entering, everyone. That was fun!

Introducing: the Esmerelda Scarf Kit

Mini-skeins are so hypnotic: it's fun to make them and it's fun to play with them, mixing and matching colors and experimenting to see what happens when you put different combinations together. Inspired by the fun of mini-skeins, I created the Esmerelda Scarf Kit:


Each kit contains four miniskeins of fingering weight yarn (today's upload contained all batches of Superwash Merino Classic yarn).




One skein is about twice the size of the others, and is used for the beginning and end; there are three other miniskeins that go in the middle. I've been having so much fun creating combinations, from very closely related ones, like this purple and gray set:



or this really unique one featuring espresso brown, cobalt and tomato:



to brighter choices with more contrast:





All the kits come with four miniskeins (a total of 500 yds.) and the Esmerelda Pattern. The pattern contains directions for two versions: in the vertical stripe version, show in the brown/yellow/orange colorway, you cast on stitches the long way, creating long stretches of color:

in the colorblock version, you cast on the short edge and make blocks of color.

Either way, there's enough yarn for a very long scarf that you can wrap and wrap and wrap and wrap....



I'm working on more color combinations in 100% blue-faced leicester next.... look for them soon. Pattern is also up on Ravelry and any moment now, Patternfish....

What a weekend! (and contest)

Whew. It's taken me a few days to decompress after the frenzied and wonderful week end we had here at Chez Go-Knit-In-Your-Hat and Loop in Philadelphia. I don't even know where to begin to summarize how much fun it is to hang out with fiber friends, to be surrounded by creativity and yarns and finished projects to ogle, and to have a chance to spend time with dear ones who live far away... so I guess I'll start with a recap of the weekend.

It all began Friday midday, when I picked Franklin up at the airport. Miraculously, his plane was not delayed


and being the savvy traveler that he is, we didn't even have to wait for baggage claim. So I hit him on the head and threw him in the trunk of my car put his bags in the back, and we were off.


After lunch at our local diner,

we headed back to my place to knit, catch up and (in my case) wind yarn. It's always such a pleasure to spend time with Franklin; he always has so many funny and interesting stories to tell, and there is nothing more wonderful than seeing a friend you haven't for a while, and finding that it's all as natural and full of laughter as it ever was.

The afternoon sped by, and soon it was time to haul boxes of yarn into the city

for display at Loop. Craig was waiting for us, and had an entire table cleared off for the Black Bunny Fibers goodies. It was nice to have a chance to take everything out of the boxes and bins, plump it up, and arrange it in baskets on the table.

We also had the chance to display some samples, including my two newest sock designs, Josephine and Lucy, as well as my brand-new scarf pattern and yarn pack (more yarn packs coming later this week on-line). Then it was off to a great dinner with Craig and Laura (of Spool).



The next day, we were ready to go. Franklin taught his Introduction to Lace class,



which by all accounts was a great success. (I heard the knitters who took the class showering Franklin with praise after the class was finished, so I know for a fact it was good.)

From two to five that afternoon is kind of a blur. We were set up with copies of Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn, and the wonderful It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons and I immediately snatched up my copy of Franklin's new calendar. Then the real fun began, as we had time to meet new friends and spend time (at least a little) with old friends. We got to sign books (special thanks to all those who brought their copies of my book(s) and/or purchased ones!! I truly appreciate it)



and take lots of photos and get hugs, and it was unbelievably gratifying and fun. I think because I do spend a lot of time on my own, while the kids are at school, working in a hermit-like fashion,


it especially meant a lot for me to get to see my customers in person, and to enjoy their reaction to my yarns, and to have real-world conversations rather than on-line ones.

After the shop closed, it was time for another wonderful dinner with my special pal, Laura Grutzeck. We had great Thai food, gossiped and caught up.


After returning to my place, we retired for the evening, my head still spinning from all the excitement. When the alarm rang the next morning, I couldn't believe it -- I felt like I could have slept ten more hours, but it was time for us to get back into the city and get ready for another exciting day. I taught a class with some wonderful students


eager to master the mysteries of yarn substitution, while Franklin explained lace edging to his class. After lunch was a special treat for me: I got to take Franklin's class on Photographing your Fiber.


If you have any interest in taking photos of your own stash, knitted projects, handspun or whatever, I urge you to take this class. It's incredibly helpful, packed with information, and designed for people like me, who are self-taught with their camera. Franklin explained so much about the way cameras work, why we have different functions on our cameras, how to use light and styling tips, that I felt like so much that confused me before now made sense. Now I can't wait to get practicing with my camera...


We had another chance to see some great folks on Sunday, and then -- as if we hadn't had enough excitement -- it was off to see Liza Lucy, fabric goddess and quilter extraordinaire, for dinner.


We had an amazing time looking at all of Liza's beautiful fabrics, quilts, and other things, and we got a chance to play with her adorable doggies, and spend some time with her awesome husband, and of course we left with fabric....


All too soon, Monday morning was here, and it was time to take dear Franklin to the airport. We were very sad to say good-bye,


but we are hoping to see each other soon, and to do another whirlwind teaching weekend, perhaps in the spring.

P.S. Neither one of us really knows what Dolores was up to all weekend


but I guess what happens in Philly stays in Philly, eh?


P.P.S. Tell you what: Let's do a quickie contest. Send me an email (goknitinyourhat AT att DAHT net) identifying the movies from which these photos came, and I'll draw a winner from the ones with the most correct answers. Winner gets a free BBF sock pattern of his/her choice in PDF form. Entries due by midnight Friday, Nov. 19th EST. I'll announce the winner Friday.

Note to commenters: If you left a contest guess in the comments, I won't publish it (otherwise it'll give away the answers!). But I'll hold on to it for the contest.

10 Reasons why you should stop by Loop this weekend

10. Lots and lots of Black Bunny Fibers yarn to fondle and purchase: my whole inventory, in fact!


9. "Yarn Substitution Made Easy" -- take a class with me (there are still spots left).

8. Loop's fabulous selection of yarns, including Koigu, Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter and so much more.

7. Meet Franklin Habit from 2 to 5 today!

6. Take a class with Franklin -- lace and photographing your fiber.

5. See the new BBF scarf kit and buy one in time to knit a holiday gift!


4. Pick up a copy of Franklin's new 2011 calendar with some of his incredible cartoons.



3. Get your copies of "It Itches," "Knit So Fine" or "Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn" signed (or buy copies if you live under a rock and haven't seen them yet, then get them signed).

2. See the 2 new base yarns I've dyed up: one laceweight and one sockweight. Or check out some of my introductory worsted weight offerings.

1. DOLORES!

5th anniversary = wood (know of any good yarns made of wood?)

Over the weekend I celebrated my five-year blogiversary.

Yes, believe it or not, five years ago this past Saturday, I entered the blogosphere with a post that said simply "Just what the world needs: another knitting blog."

A lot has changed in the five years since I first started writing here. I've tweaked the look of the blog a little, I've started an on-line yarn & fiber business, I've started selling my own patterns, I've written two knitting books, and yet when I look back on all that has happened, the thing I'm most grateful for are the people I've met through the on-line knitting world.

I often say that the ability of the internet to create connections is a magical thing. It helps to erase the constraints of time (I can read this at 6 am when I get up; you can read it at 11 pm after the kids have gone to bed; someone else can read it on their lunch hour or on their Ipad while waiting in line at the DMV). It helps to erase the constraints of space: I've found, much to my delight, that I have readers all over the US and in a bunch of other countries, too. The internet also can help to erase boundaries that we create ourselves: by distilling communication to what's on the page, we don't get bogged down in differences of age or race or religion, and we don't judge each other based on what we look like or how we dress or where we encounter each other.

Over the past five years, I've mellowed a little bit. Once I began really working in the knitting industry, I came to realize how little is accomplished by pointless snark but how much can be done by voicing criticism more kindly. I've come to experience a renewed recognition that there is room in the knitting world for lots of different people, with different goals for their knitting and with different tastes. And I've come to count so many of you out there as friends and colleagues. I've become something of an insider instead of an outsider, which necessarily changes one's take on things.

So let me take this opportunity to, once again, thank you all for reading. Thank you for commenting (because a lot of times, blogging feels like spitting in the wind). Thank you for recommending books for me to read. Thank you for buying my books and yarns and fibers and patterns, which I hope bring you as much joy in using them as I've had in creating them.

And I thank you all for being my friends.

How time does fly

Today Mr. Go-Knit-In-Your-Hat and I celebrate 15 years of marriage.



My first reaction is disbelief that fifteen years have gone by since that cool, sunny, glorious autumn day in 1995.



My second reaction is amazement at how hard it is to remember life without our three beautiful children or the home we've built together.



And my third reaction is gratitude that in a crazy world, with all that we've been through together and individually, we've managed to get here still enjoying each other's company and still feeling like we'd do it all over again.


Happy anniversary, Tom.

October Book Report

Another month rushes by; here's what I read.

The Countess by Rebecca Johns. This was a free review copy from the Amazon Vine program, and I probably wouldn't have read the book if I hadn't come across it that way. The book is a fictionalized biography of an actual historical figure, a 16th century Hungarian countess named Erzebet Bathory. Bathory was the daughter of a prominent and wealthy family who married another Hungarian royal. After she was widowed, she continued to control her husband's property but over time rumors began to swirl that she was systematically abusing and killing young girls -- maids, housekeepers, cooks -- in her employ. There is some question whether she actually did all the horrible things she was accused of, or whether she was the victim of a kind of conspiracy on the part of other nobles to steal her property and wealth. I had mixed feelings about the book. It definitely fell into the historical fiction category rather than the biography category, and because it was written from the perspective of Bathory herself, it didn't do a great job of giving any objective sense of the backstory, so that at the end, I didn't have any feel for whether Bathory really was a kind of serial killer or whether she was the victim of men greedy for her riches.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I had never read this, considered one of the classics of post-war literature, but I'm really glad I finally got to it. I don't gravitate toward dystopian books, maybe because I feel they have the potential for looking like a rejected script of a Twilight Zone episode, and not many authors have the ability to transcend that. But Bradbury does, and his vision of a post-USA North America is chilling -- for me, especially chilling because there are so many parallels with today's mass culture. Bradbury imagines a world where people watch reality shows on huge tee-vee screens, where literature and ideas are outmoded because they are just too hard to think about. (Sound familiar?) His protagonist, Guy Montag, is a bookburner: his job is to respond to reports of books, report to the scene and use a flamethrower to burn up all the books. But one day, Montag has the urge to read what's inside one of the books he's burning. His actions lead to a series of consequences that will change his life forever.

Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn, was the latest entry in the lightweight but enjoyable Lady Julia Grey mystery series. This installment sees Lady Julia at the end of her honeymoon, traveling to India to take a closer look at the death of an old friend's husband: was it murder? I enjoyed this one, especially after the previous two books I read this month, which were a bit on the grim side.

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. Another free advance reader's copy from Amazon, this is a biography of the famed Egyptian monarch. Although there were times when the reading got a bit bogged down in detail, Cleopatra's story is fascinating reading. Schiff does a good job mythbusting, too.

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. I guess I'm in a noir mood, because this is a mystery from the master of noir detective fiction. I'd never read Hammett before, but I can see why his spare, staccato style is considered groundbreaking. A good mystery, and the slang and culture is so dated (i.e., the detective gets "slugged in the noodle") that it ends up being amusing. I will look for more Hammett.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. It's interesting; of all the "classics" or "great books" I've read this past year, I would guess that I really liked about 80 or 90 percent of them. This, however, was one I wasn't crazy about. The book is, loosely, focused on the life of Billy Pilgrim, travelling back and forth through time as he lives or relives various episodes of his life. The book includes both realistic, gritty memories of Billy's time in Dresden in WW2, but also fantastic ones, like his kidnapping by space aliens who take Billy to their planet and put him in a zoo. I definitely see why this is considered a classic of absurdist fiction, a powerful anti-war book and a satire on American (human?) culture, and it went fast. But it just didn't capture me and draw me in. Which is fine; I'm glad I read it, although I suspect I will not pick up another Vonnegut for quite a while.

Tug of War by Barbara Cleverly. After Vonnegut, I wanted a book I knew I'd probably like, that was easy to read. "Tug of War" is another installment in the Joe Sandilands mystery series that I've been reading. Sandilands is a Scotland Yard commander who, in this episode, is sent to French wine country to help with a curious case of amnesia. A WW1 solder has been repatriated, but has no memory of who is he and is in a kind of catatonic state. Because under French law, the soldier (or more accurately here, his next-of-kin) is entitled to a handsome pension, several different families lay claim to him. Sandilands is sent to assist the French police in determining the soldier's true identity, and uncovers an old murder in the process. It was a good read and hit the spot.

What are you reading? Anything good lately? Chime in on the comments.