MUST GET book: Knitting Nature!
You all must know by now that I rarely buy pattern books anymore. Actually, I rarely knit someone else's pattern at all. It's really unusual that a knitting pattern book jumped out at me this much, but Knitting Nature, by Norah Gaughan, is literally amazing. The book is divided into sections, such as spirals and hexagons, which are taken from nature. Then Gaughan uses that repeating motif to create different garments and accessories, all of which have a fresh, unusual spin that's still wearable. The last book that made me this giddy was Loop-d-Loop, but I wouldn't want to wear most of the things in that book (well, maybe the coat). Almost everything in Knitting Nature is wearable, yet interesting and unexpected. There are 7 projects in there I want to make! That has to be some sort of record.
And you know what's really weird? One of the designs is almost exactly something I have had sketched out for the last year, waiting to be made up. I couldn't find a picture of it online, so you have to settle for the pic I shot of the book page. It's this jacket:
This wide-collar swing jacket is so.perfect. I will definitely take that net edging off when I make it, but I love it SO MUCH. The slightly double-breasted closure is exactly what I had sketched, and the silhouette, and the hemmed edges. Sigh. Love. I may make two.
Now to find the perfect yarn . . . I simply have nothing perfect in the stash closet.
New book review!
Today I bought and read Yarnharlot's new book, Knitting Rules!
I loved it! Check out the full review over at the Chiagu Reviews page.
I said it again today and I said it a LONG time ago: Stephanie is one of the funniest people EVER! And she's funny about knitting . . . what more can you ask for in entertainment?
THE BOOK IS HERE!
The book came! I spent a large chunk of today mailing off pre-orders, the rest will go out tomorrow. We have already sold 99 copies of the book as of today! Isn't that awesome? Don't worry about us running out, though, I ordered 100 more today, they should arrive next week. (and if you ordered it from anyone but us, other distributors should be getting it sometime in the next month. Amazon still doesn't have it as far as I know)
Don't forget about the book signing tomorrow night, everyone's invited! You can get your copy there at 30% off, and Linda will sign it for you. If you missed the info below, here it is again:
Luxury Knitting Book Signing & Reception
Thursday, November 10th, 6-8pm
at the Museum of Arts & Design, 40 W 53rd St, New York, NY
In my own news: I had the first session of my lace workshop tonight, and it went really well. I haven't taught many group classes before, although I've done tons of private lessons for everything from socks to crochet flowers, so it's a good thing there were only 2 people in tonight's class. They each got lots of attention and both accomplished everything we set out to do. Most of the class was on learning to read a chart, and both students made gauge swatches and cast on for their sweaters! It really feels great to teach enthusiastic knitters, especially when they tell you how intimidating that sweater was before we broke it down into the repeat and swatched the lace. It was a great night!
Healthwise, I feel a lot better than I felt this weekend. I got over 24 hours of sleep between Sunday and Monday, and I think that really helped get me back to feeling more normal. I bet having some fun tomorrow night with some knitters will make me feel even better!
Now, what handknit item should I wear tomorrow? Hum, imporant decisions!
I went all the way to Stitches and all I got
was more KOIGU! (are you surprised?)
There are some colors here that I'd never seen before! These came from 4 different vendors, I walked into each booth saying, "I really don't need to buy anything" and yet, somehow, spent more than twice what I had planned on spending!
The reason Stitches was totally worth it for me this year is not merchandise-related: I got to meet the Harlot and Cassandra! They even complimented me on Tramonto, and we walked around some booths together petting yarn. They're both really funny and friendly people, I felt like I'd known them my whole life after only a minute in their company! Stephanie's new book had completely sold out of the show by the time I found her, but she was signing copies of the first one. People kept coming up to her and she was always friendly and gracious -- one woman walked up and said, "I laughed so hard last night I snorted!" Congratulations on your success Stephanie! And nice to meet you both! (no pictures b/c they told us they were confiscating cameras. I think they were trying to stop Marilyn!)
Aside from the great company, I enjoyed petting lots of yarns and seeing lots of nice people. I wore my shawl and got lots of compliments, gave out the Chiagu name and URL, and made other business contacts.
I also bought this book, which I'd never heard of before:
This is the perfect book for me, I can't believe I didn't know it existed! It shows pictures of knitwear from runway shows, everything from thin machine knits like the dress on the cover to big chunky pullovers that could have been handknit. I've only had time to flip through it and look at the pictures so far, but there's lots of writing in the book, too. It talks about the history of knits, the construction and development, and even has a whole section towards the back that is art kniting, with installations and necklaces and furniture. It also identifies all the designers and where each piece came from -- I can see that I'll need to look up those designers online so I can see the full collections!
This is of course not a pattern book, but rather an idea and history book. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves fashion and likes to flip through books looking for inspiration. And the knee socks on the back cover are not to be missed!
