The Principles of Knitting.

Here is a book that has been much-anticipated, a healthily revised version of a classic knitting tome: The Principles of Knitting, by June Hemmons Hiatt.

As I've expressed here on the blog before, I have a great love of serious knitting resource books. I don't need a lot of beautiful photography, though I'm in no way opposed to it, and while pattern collections can be wonderfully inspiring, there is nothing more exciting to me than a knitting book packed full of text, charts, and diagrams. The Principles of Knitting is right up my alley in this manner, as it is something of an encyclopedia of knitting at 736 pages. It is a thick, heavy book, one best perused at a table, with time and concentration.

Hiatt takes an analytical approach to the craft, cataloguing many versions of many techniques and offering an informed opinion on their best applications. As the length of the book suggests, Hiatt does not use words sparingly, as so many knitting technique books do. Instead, Hiatt takes all the room that is necessary to clearly and deliberately explain a technique, even one as deceptively simple as holding the yarn.

For someone who learns best from written instructions, this is a real treat, a book tailored to that very learning style. For me, The Principles of Knitting is a perfect fit, a big, beautiful book that I'm happy to page through for pleasure as well as instruction. If you have ever wanted a book of every imaginable cast-on, or have wondered which kind of increase or decrease to use, and why there are so many, The Principles of Knitting deserves your attention. It is a book to grow with, and one that reflects how much there is to learn and to do with knitting needles and yarn.

If I've intrigued you, come by the shop and see the book for yourself, where you'll find it weighing down the teacart importantly, a mere stack of two copies tall enough to tower over all the other new releases. See you at the shop.

Knitting with Two Colors.

Back in November, I wrote about two of my favorite new colorwork resources: Alice Starmore's Charts for Color Knitting and Mary Jane Mucklestone's 200 Fair Isle Motifs. I remember the feeling of contentment I had in placing those two on my bookshelf at home, thinking, "This completes my colorwork library." That, however, was before Meg Swansen and Amy Detjen's Knitting with Two Colors appeared. Now, having seen this new book from Schoolhouse Press, gaps appear in my colorwork library where none existed before. Where was the technical detail on preparing for and cutting steeks? The guidance on altering existing colorwork patterns, and designing your own? Ways to incorporate shaping into a colorwork sweater without completely confusing the patterning? The hows, whys, and whether-or-nots of various hems, borders, and necklines? Why, here they are, calmly and clearly explained by these two most experienced colorwork knitters, Swansen and Detjen.

Knitting with Two Colors is neither a book of sweater patterns nor a book of colorwork charts, but truly a book of techniques, a slim paperback volume that is absolutely bursting with information. I can imagine no better companion to Starmore's Charts for Color Knitting or Mucklestone's 200 Fair Isle Motifs than Swansen and Detjen's Knitting with Two Colors. Colorwork enthusiasts, and anyone else who's curious, should take a look at this book, and take home a copy if there's an ambitious colorwork project in your future. Find it on the teacart.

Two new colorwork resources.

It seems we've been getting tons of exciting new books this fall, one right after another. I confess, I've added about four new knitting books to my collection at home in the past month alone. Two of those have already been carefully reviewed here on the blog, but the other two have not yet had their moment in the sun. Given my proclivity towards stranded colorwork, it may come as no surprise that these two new titles focus on that technique in particular.

Alice Starmore's Charts for Color Knitting is exactly what it sounds like: a book of charts. Not a book of sweater or hat patterns with charts, just a book of charts. Starmore begins with a chapter on designing simply shaped, drop-shoulder colorwork sweaters, and ends with "A Word on Colour," but in between, she leaves the knitter alone with pages upon pages of charts. The charts are organized by place of origin, so that in flipping through the book, one can glimpse the color-knitting culture of Norway, then Sweden, then Russia, then South America, and onward. In addition, Starmore also offers charts she's adapted from ancient manuscripts, architecture, carpets, jewelry, and stonework, and encourages knitters to do the same. Colorwork charts are easily invented, after all--graph paper and a little color knitting experience is all that's needed.

Mary Jane Mucklestone's new 200 Fair Isle Motifs is similar to Starmore's Charts, but focused on the particular Scottish colorwork tradition for which it is named. The book begins with clear tutorials on all kinds of techniques used in Fair Isle knitting, from swatching to steeking to correcting mistakes. For those overwhelmed by the endless possible color combinations (all of us?), there is a little tutorial on color theory. Then come the 200 motifs. Mucklestone has organized these motifs by the number of rows and stitches in each pattern repeat, making it easy to find a pattern that divides evenly into the number of stitches you're working with on any given project--hat, socks, sweater, etc. Each chart is shown not only in the traditional black-dots-on-a-white-grid style, but also in a color photograph, a color variation, and an all-over version, giving the knitter a jump start on adapting these patterns for many uses.

These two books have me itching to cast on for something new. I am utterly overwhelmed by the number of half-formed knitting ideas rushing around in my mind, which is, by the way, a most pleasant experience. I am so excited by these two books, which complement one another beautifully. Until I figure out exactly what my next colorwork project will be, I'm enjoying simply poring over Starmore's black and white charts and Mucklestone's brightly colored motifs, inundated with ideas.

The Knitter's Book of Socks.

Clara Parkes has done it again, and by "done it again," I mean "provided a practical, beautiful, fascinating, rigorous resource for knitters." From the author of Knitter's Review, the woman who brought us The Knitter's Book of Yarn and The Knitter's Book of Wool, here's The Knitter's Book of Socks.

If you're a sock knitter, this is an indispensable book. If you're an aspiring sock knitter, this book may be a good place to start. While many of the patterns include cables, lace, or colorwork, the first is an introductory-level sock with a simple texture pattern, using worsted weight yarn. Once you've worked up a pair of those, you'll likely be ready and eager to dip your toes into some of the more complicated patterns. Also: those of you who are worried that your knitted socks will be too baggy or too tight, not stretchy enough, or that they'll fall apart after one wear will be encouraged and emboldened by The Knitter's Book of Socks. Parkes spends entire chapters on the effects of various fibers, twists, plies, and stitch patterns on the structure of a sock, giving knitters the information they need to avoid the potential pitfalls that may concern them.

The patterns come from an astounding group of designers, using all kinds of techniques to make socks in a wide range of styles. Cat Bordhi, Lucy Neatby, Ann Budd, Norah Gaughan, Nancy Bush, Cookie A, and Jared Flood all make appearances, as does a favorite new yarn of ours: the Swans Island Organic Merino, in fingering-weight.

I'm almost halfway through a sweater using this yarn, and had never considered it for socks, as it's hand-wash only. Then I came upon Parkes' ode to hand-washing hand-knit socks, which made the task sound more pleasant than inconvenient. Having just accidentally felted a pair of colorwork socks, I'm ready to make the switch to hand-washing, and it sounds like my socks will look better and last longer that way. Suffice it to say, I'm reconsidering putting that beautiful Swans Island yarn on my feet, and I have no doubt that The Knitter's Book of Socks will change the way I pair yarns and sock patterns, making me a better, more educated sock knitter. Come by the shop to peruse this new book, and plan your next pair of socks!

The Knitter's Book of Wool.

Though I breezed right past it in last week's round up of the shop's newest books, there is one book in particular that I am really excited about: The Knitter's Book of Wool, by Clara Parkes. I flipped through it once or twice at the shop, and quickly realized it was the kind of serious resource I'd have to take home to add to my own knitter's library. I spent the better part of a Sunday with this book, learning more about yarn in general and wool in particular than ever before in one sitting. Though I am a serious and devoted lover of wool, and though I consider it by far my favorite fiber for knitting, I realized as soon as I began reading that I actually don't know as much about it as I thought I did. Different spinning and dyeing processes, different breeds of sheep and respectively different qualities of wool, the variety of ways and reasons to combine wool with other fibers--all of these pieces of the puzzle I had only a vague understanding of.

The Knitter's Book of Wool brings specificity and clarity to these issues, which only makes sense, given the author. Clara Parkes is the author of The Knitter's Book of Yarn, a similar tome which tackles fibers of all kinds, and of Knitter's Review, a weekly e-newsletter where she reviews yarns, knitting books, needles, and other knitter's tools. For each yarn reviewed, she describes not only the experience of knitting, but also the washing and wearing, making sense of the fiber content and best uses for the yarn along the way. Parkes brings this same thoroughness to every aspect of wool, from sheep to skein, in this book. And then there are patterns, of course, from well-known designers like Cat Bordhi, Pam Allen, and Nancy Bush, for sweaters, mittens, shawls, and scarves, among other things. The patterns, too, are full of helpful information regarding the behavior of wool yarns.

I reached for The Knitter's Book of Wool because I wanted to know more about wool, and now I do, of course, but what really excited me about it is that it made me aware of how very much more there is to know about wool, and how much can be gained from looking more closely at each skein. It is the kind of book that makes you want to read more books, and I know I'll return to it regularly, for information as well as inspiration.

Come to the shop to peruse Clara Parkes' books for yourself, and in doing so, become a more informed lover of fiber.