At The End of My Yarn

I love retro patterns. I love antiques, old things, historical things, and new things based off old things but in modern gauges and sizing. I love most everything about this book. Rita Taylor and Madeline Weston give us a selection of knitted summer shirts, sweaters, cardigans, twinsets, and accessories, each one developed from a retro pattern and most named for a famous woman from the time period the pattern is from. Most of the patterns are knit in a smaller gauge with thinner yarn which can throw some people off, and there are no charts which I see as a downside but I know not everyone likes charts.

The patterns are all well-written and in a variety of sizes, usually between a 34 inch bust to a 40 inch. I do question some of the suggested yarn choices, like Doris, a lace top that they suggest for summer but then knit in a mohair blend, which seems to me like a sweaty nightmare. I knit mine in a bamboo-cotton blend. Luckily, the yarn requirements are stated plainly with yardage requirements and gauges so it’s easy to substitute yarns.

I see myself knitting every pattern in this book and wearing them often. Helps that I do love lace, and a majority of the patterns use it for detail.

Pick it up from Amazon here…

Let’s start off with my book was bought used about nine years ago, so if it looks like it’s been dragged through hell and back that’s because it has.

Elizabeth Zimmerman is one of the most influential knitters in my life, and the one that really got me started on knitting from an idea instead of strictly a written pattern. Her thought processes might not be to everyone’s taste, but she’s always worth a read.

Start with this book’s dedication “To the unsure knitter, to the blind follower, and to all those who do not yet know that they can design their own knitting, this book is encouragingly dedicated.”

See why I went with Knitter’s Almanac after my last review? The premise of this book is pretty much what it says on the tin, it contains projects for each month of the year. The majority are sweaters, but there are is also a month for mittens and gloves (May, so it’s not cold and you don’t rush them and have cold fingers), socks, a famous baby jacket, and shawl patterns. The patterns were written from the 1970s (the first edition is from 1974), but classics that carry you through. I remember reading through it the first time and learning about charts, traveling stitches, and the importance of a gauge swatch and how to make that swatch into a practical hat all in the first chapter.

The book is written like a cross between a novel, a diary, and a knitting pattern book. It’s actually a good read even if you aren’t into her patterns.

She has a very natural writing style that makes you feel like you’re in her head, seeing her thought processes and intentions for each pattern organically. The patterns aren’t line-by-line and written in a very conversational style like she’s telling you exactly what she was thinking as she drafted each pattern. There are ‘pithy’ patterns at the end of each chapter that iron out the details of the project.

The only drawback and it’s one where you need to consider the time it was written is that she can come off a bit anti-feminist, such when she’s describing the idea of a circular shawl increased using pi and writes that women “have expunged such theories from their memory” but does say the theory has been expunged to make room for more important things.

I love how she describes her life and what was going on when she drafted each pattern (someday I’m going to get myself an Old Man and live in a converted schoolhouse, hold me to this).

Now tell me, who’s in the mood to knit an almanac? I know I’ve got mittens on the horizon. Or perhaps I’d better start on knitted borders and hats for June?

Pick it up on Amazon here…

I was a crocheter for about 12 years before I learned to knit in high school. This book was the one that made me realise that there was more to basic, back-and-forth rows and granny squares. It’s a book for a true beginner, but Debbie Stoller writes for every skill level. There are sections on hooks, explaining how they are sized, and also plenty of info about yarn itself, going into detail about different fiber types and even how to read a yarn label.

This book takes you all the way from learning how to hold the hook to creating scarves, bags, and even beautiful, lacy sweaters (something I never had associated before with crocheted clothing).

The first third of the book is everything you need to start crocheting like a champ (and I do mean everything). You’ll learn the basic single crochet stitch, how to work in the round to make a flat circle, how to do the shell stitch, a crocheted mesh stitch that would be great for a grocery bag, and how to seam flat pieces and much more. The rest of the book is dedicated to patterns, and her curated designs are all varied and delightful in their own way. A common theme in the Stitch N’ Bitch series is how each pattern is by a different designer, which is a fabulous way for a new fiber artist to expand their horizons .There is a pattern for a one-skein scalloped edge scarf that I’ve made at least six of over the years. Flipping through the book now to write up my review (delicately, it’s been well-loved and bits fall out if I’m not careful) I’m finding things I want to start today. Now time to go stash diving….

Buy it on Amazon here…