, by Jane Gottelier, photographs by Patrick Gottelier, (PotterCraft 2007), will definitely get you in the mood for rocky beaches and lightweight cottons, and may convince you to play around with some denim-dyed yarn.
One nugget of conventional wisdom in book publishing is that publishers (as distinguished from yarn companies producing their own booklets for pattern support) can't publish a book that uses only one or two specific brands of yarn, especially ones that are hard to find. Many knitters stubbornly insist on buying only the yarn shown in the original pattern; plus, publishers try to accommodate as many yarn companies (i.e., advertisers) by using as many different brands as possible. Indigo Knits breaks with that convention by presenting projects that are all knit in the same kind and weight of yarn: worsted/DK weight, indigo-dyed yarn. There are only about three companies that make this exact kind of yarn; Rowan Denim is the most widely available of the three. Elann has Den-M-Nit, but it often sells out, and there is a third brand, Elle, which produces True Blue yarn, but I have never seen this brand of yarn in any of the umpteen yarn shops I've visited in my knitting life.
Why publish a book with such a narrow selection of yarns? Well, indigo yarns are different from other handknitting yarns for several reasons. The dye takes to the fabric inconsistently, it fades, it can rub off on whatever's next to it, it wears off excessively -- sometimes irregularly -- at seams and other friction points. And if you’ve ever put on a pair of jeans that spent a long time in the clothes dryer, you know the critical thing about indigo yarn or fabric: it shrinks. Often quite a lot.
Indigo Knits acknowledges all the idiosyncrasies of indigo-dyed yarn and embraces them. After a brief introduction (describing the authors’ beginnings in the boutique knitwear business), the book contains ten pages of technical material discussing indigo yarn: a brief history, discussion of the characteristics of indigo yarn, how to distress and bleach indigo garments, and how to decorate indigo knitwear. I liked that this section included several clear photos of the distressing and bleaching processes used later in the book.
One aspects of the book that I found particularly charming was the focus on the Cornwall area of the UK, home of the authors. Each chapter is named after a place in Cornwall; includes photos and descriptions of that area; and even recommends methods of transportation, restaurants, and gardens to visit. You get a great sense of the beauty and unique attractions of Cornwall -- a real treat for us Anglophiles.
The remainder of the book is devoted to patterns, so let’s look at the seven chapters containing the patterns:
- Chapter 1 (“Newlyn Blue”) is named after Newlyn, a fishing town and appropriately features traditional ganseys: two pullovers for men (but if you don’t mind the boxy shoulders, they could easily be unisex); a women’s jacket; and a child’s pullover. All are lovely examples of the traditional cabled and textured fishermen’s sweaters, like this men's sweater:
If you made this sweater and washed it, you'd be able to see the indigo dye fade and wear in an interesting way around all the textured stitching and cables. - Chapter 2 (“Gwithian Blue”) is named after a beach (home to the lighthouse which is the setting for the Woolf novel To the Lighthouse) and all of the projects have a beach theme: a unisex striped hoodie, a fringed off-the-shoulder top; a slouchy beach bag; a beach blanket; and a beaded I-pod carrier.
- Chapter 3 (“Lamorna Blue”) is named for a village that is the site of an artist’s colony, and you can see where this is going, I bet: all the projects loosely relate to the artist theme. There’s a buttoned vest for women (called the Artist’s Waistcoat); a cute women’s sweater with pockets called the Artist’s Smock; and a “satchel” or what Americans might call a messenger bag.
- Chapter 4 (“Frenchman’s White”) is named after Frenchman's Creek
– an actual creek as well as the title of a Daphne DuMaurier novel, for those who like their Gothics – and contains designs which relate to the creek: a crocheted skirt, an adorable ruffle-neck top, and crocheted slippers made of granny squares. (Okay, this chapter is reaching a bit for its theme, but I’m not gonna quibble.)
- Chapter 5 is “St. Ives Blue” and refers to the village and bay noted for ties to the Abstract Art movement of the 1950s & 1960s. So we’ve got the Abstract Art Sweater (shown for women; possibly unisex); the Abstract Art cushion; and the men’s Painterly Stripe Sweater.
- Chapter 6 – “Tresco Blue” – is named for one of the islands southwest of Cornwall, renowned for its gardens and beaches. All of these projects are, again, beach-themed: a key-hole front top with thin straps and a flared bottom; a fringed and beaded crochet skirt; a crocheted bikini (the author notes it is “strictly for sunbathing” and designed to “dispel[] notions of crochet’s sometimes frumpy image”); sequined throw and cushion cover; and embellishment for flip-flops.
- “Penzance Blue,” Chapter 7, refers to a harbor town most famous for the Gilbert & Sullivan opera. The pirate theme is played out in a women’s striped top with Henley-style button front; a large beaded bag; a cropped woman’s jacket with a patchwork motif inspired by ship’s sails; the women’s “Grandad” cardigan, with long slim lines and front pockets; and the women’s Prussian Naval Jacket, with large bead embellishment.
The design is created by application of bleach to the sweater in the pattern shown. (If you think cutting a steek is stressful, try applying bleach to your hand-knit sweater!)
To sum up, you’ll find 3 patterns for men (which could be unisex depending on taste); 1 unisex pattern; 15 designs for women; 1 child’s sweater; 3 bags; and 5 miscellaneous items. The knitting/crochet breakdown falls heavily on the side of knitting, with 22 knitted items, 5 crocheted, and 2 bags that use both knitting and crochet.
If you are interested in the specifics of construction, the book contains a variety: Of the sweaters, the 3 men’s designs are pullover style; the unisex sweater is a hoodie with an open-placket front and ties; 4 women’s button-front sweaters (variously called cardigans or jackets); 2 women’s sweaters with Henley-style button plackets; 2 women’s pullovers with round necks; 3 unconventionally-styled sweaters, for lack of a better word (the flared strap top; the ruffled scoopneck sweater; and the off-the-shoulder top);
one women’s button-front vest; and the child’s pullover gansey.
The No-Bull technical checklist:
- Color photographs – yes, all over the place, with lots of inviting seaside shots.
- Charts – yes, some in black-and-white, some in color.
- Schematics for every sweater – no, only a few have schematics, and they tend to be ones that have some sort of color patterning which is charted; most do not, although most have sketches to give a better sense of the lines
- Size ranges – generally extensive. While some of the sweaters, like the strappy flared top, go from around 35 to just under 38 inches finished bust, many of the more forgiving styles range from 37.75 to 57.5 inch finished chest. Even the bikini is designed for a range from 32 inch finished bust to 51 inch finished bust.
- Yarns used – all are indigo/denim yarns that knit up at around DK or light worsted weight and – this is really important – all feature approximately 20 percent shrinkage in length after washing. The patterns are designed to take this shrinkage into account. For substitution, you’ll have to swatch carefully if you don’t use one of the 3 indigo yarns specified, including knitting a swatch, measuring shrinkage carefully to ensure that it’s comparable, or adapting the vertical lengths of the pattern to compensate for the lack of shrinkage if you use a non-shrinking yarn.
- Book construction – Hardcover with paper dust jacket; high quality, full-color pages; relatively large size; regular index and Project Index featuring photographs of each finished project; list of sources for indigo yarn and notes on substitution; sturdy binding; color photographs in the technical section illustrating some of the distressing techniques.
MSRP is a whopping thirty bucks, but you can score it for under twenty dollars (at the time of this writing) by using the above link.
Overall, this is a nice and creatively-produced book that will entice you both to knit with indigo yarn AND to visit the seaside of Cornwall. The designs are a mix of the traditional-styled gansey – including the boxy fit – and the more trendy (i.e. crocheted skirt and bikini, I-pod cozy), some sexier tops with scoop necks or straps, as well as some simple home dec items. You’ll have to examine the patterns closely to see if the sweaters you like are knit in the style you like; some have set-in sleeves, others don’t; most do not feature any nipping in at the waist and are shown on the models with a generous rather than close fit. Indeed, the variety of styles shown is almost mind-boggling: you can knit a very traditional gansey OR crochet a bikini from the same book? I suppose time will tell whether there are crafters who are interested in knitting both very classically styled garments and very trendy ones.
It bears mentioning that there is at least one other book devoted to denim yarns: Kim Hargreaves' Denim People
Indigo Knits helps you appreciate the unique qualities of this kind of yarn: yes, it shrinks the first time you wash it, but how many knitted items can you throw with abandon into machine washer and dryer, knowing the garment won’t be ruined? And if you’ve ever seen the unique way that indigo yarn fades and weathers, especially if you use textured stitching, you will come to appreciate why some knitters, including the authors of Indigo Knits, are fascinated with this kind of yarn.
Mindy
by Philippa Gregoy. Now I recall seeing this book at Borders but passed it by, thinking it was a mindless throbbing-member/bodice-ripper. But when more than two people said it was pretty good, I decided to check it out.
which picks up just after Jane Seymour dies in childbirth. This book follows Henry's brief marriage to wife No. 4, Anne of Cleves; his annulment of their marriage; and his marriage to No. 5 Katherine Howard (yet another nubile lady-in-waiting). Poor Katherine, who was quite young, ended up on the chopping block, which is where the book ends. Again, although not necessarily true to history, or what we can glean of it, the book was fascinating and entertaining and if nothing else, I now know more about the Tudors then I ever imagined I would.
by Carrolly Erickson. Sure enough, it was a fictionalized account of Henry VIII and his last wife, Catherine Parr, the only one who outlived him. It wasn't as well-written as the Gregory books, but it did satisfy my anal-retentive need to finish out the saga of the wives.
on cable On Demand. I enjoyed the movie, although it was a bit more melodramatic than I expected. The costumes and scenery were amazing, and Cate Blanchett is a truly wonderful actress. Since Elizabeth I was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, it was interesting to learn a bit more about her life after reading about her parents' ill-fated marriage (again, taking into account that the movie was fictionalized and not always 100% accurate).
, by Donna Leon, the latest in her Guido Brunetti series set in Venice.
!
by Ian McEwen. Beautifully written, but sad and haunting.
Michael Finkel was a reporter working for the New York Times Magazine when it was revealed that a story he wrote about the African chocolate trade contained misrepresentations (he combined multiple interviews and details to create a fictional boy that he "profiled", including providing fake photos). He was sacked. Right around this time, he was contacted by an Oregon reporter who told him that a man accused of murdering his wife and three kids had been hiding out in Mexico using Finkel's name. Finkel draws parallels between his own journalistic deception and the lies spun out by the defendant (who by then was facing capital murder charges). Finkel befriended the defendant, and so there are shades of the Joe McGinniss-style dilemma of a writer getting too close to the story. To Finkel's credit, he doesn't spare himself, and he used the experience to help figure out traits of his own personality.
by Julia Collins. I stumbled over this book while looking for a completely differene one. We hear a lot of grandiose stuff about the Greatest Generations -- and it's true: that generation suffered and triumphed over World War II, changing America (and the world) forever. But what makes this book so interesting is that it gives us a glimpse of the toll that those achievements took on the ordinary men and women who were part of the Great Generation -- and the price paid by their children. Collins' father was drafted while a student at Yale. He fought in the Japanese theater, including the brutal fighting on Okinawa. His wartime experiences affected him profoundly, and Collins weaves together his memories of the war with her memories of growing up as the daughter of two deeply-troubled parents. Her father suffered from what would now be diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder, but forty years ago, no one had ever heard of that or knew what to do. Especially compelling when you relate it to all of the Iraq veterans out there.
by Mary Roach. I enjoyed Roach's earlier book but for some reason, didn't finish this one. The topic was interesting -- an examination of a random assortment of phenomena pertaining to life after death, including the doctor who weighed terminal patients at the moment of death to determine if a sudden drop of weight indicated the departure of a soul. For some reason, I found it too bogged down in detail to get sucked in.
