Category Archives: Cardigans

Traditional Knitting

Posted on by under Cardigans, classic sweaters, Color Knitting, Colorwork patterns, Historial knitting books, Kid's designs, Pullovers, Sweaters, Vests
traditional_knitting

Traditional Knitting – Cover

I’ve been stuck with a book that I just couldn’t sit down to review. It was published in 1981 and written by Gwyn Morgan. My guess is that it was originally written in the UK as the patterns have centimeters given first in measurements. Spoiler alert – I’m not keeping this one.

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Traditional Knitting – back cover

Nice traditional designs that would be appropriate for current casual wear!

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Knitting History

The book begins with an historical overview.As the subtitle suggests there is history of Ireland, Scotland and England.

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Guernsey and Fair Isle sweaters

The patterns are traditional styles with projects for kids, women and men.

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Shetland colorwork charts

The charts in the patterns are a plus for making the sweaters.

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Guernsey charts

Nice that the patterns also include stitch charts for ease in knitting.

cardigans

Cardigans and Vests

For knitters who love lots of stitches and color patterns this book is perfect. I’m probably not going to use this again so it will travel on to another knitter!

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Knitting-Patterns-Ireland-Scotland/dp/0312813147/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=traditional+knitting+Patterns+of+Ireland%2C+Scotland%2C+and+England&qid=1568579979&sr=8-1

Weekend Knitting – Melanie Falick

Posted on by under accessories, Accessory projects, Cardigans, Color Knitting, home decor, Shawls, sock knitting, Sweaters, Uncategorized
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Magazines Out!

I spend time this past week in the 90 degree heat in my office revamping and decluttering. This group of 13 magazines are now sadly gone, but I feel lighter!

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Weekend Knitting – Cover

I love Melanie Falick’s work and that must be why I added this book to my library. This beautifully photographed book was published in 2003 by the imprint where Melanie worked. Now that I’ve got ruthless, I can see that it’s got to go.

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Weekend Knitting – Back Cover

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Chair Cushions – Kristin Nicholas

As soon as turned to this page, I knew that these were Kristin creations! She has a colorful style that is not hard to spot. Love these, but I would never make them.

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Egg Cozies

Cute idea, but my least favorite project. I’m not sure that anyone even eats eggs this way any more.

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Fingerless Gloves

Ok – now for my favorite project! I love the idea of fingerless gloves with actual fingers. Most of the ones I’ve made just end at the knuckles with a bind off.

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Brioche Scarf

Caitlin

Perfect Pie Shawl

I’m including the above 2 pics which are modeled by Caitlin Fitzgerald. If you’ve never heard of her, just Google her name. She’s now an acclaimed actress and dated Aidan Turner (of Poldark fame). My interest in Caitlin is personal. I did work with her Mom – knitting designer, Pam Allen. Also, Caitlin did a short internship with me at Lion Brand. She’s a great gal and I’m thrilled that she’s succeeded in her career.

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Knitting in Literature

The book did add some unique touches such as a list of books that feature knitting plus a recipe for cookies and hot chocolate plus a side bar on making tea.

Melanie – thanks for your great books! The knitting world is a better place because of them.

 

 

Loop-d-Loop

Posted on by under accessories, Accessory projects, Cardigans, classic sweaters, Jackets, Stitch Patterns, Texture & Cable Stitches
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Loop-d-Loop cover

In 2005 this book by designer Teva Durham was cutting edge. Unique designs and photos by Adrian Buckmaster (google his name if you want to see some interesting photos – think Diane Arbus) made Loop-D-Loop more than just another knitting book. Cut to 2018 and the book is now out-dated.

It’s off my shelf. Sorry Teva, but I’m downsizing and it’s now one that works for my current life!

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Loop-D-Loop – back cover

From accessories to full sweaters, there is a nice mix of designs.

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Leaf Design pullover

I did think this is an interesting fairly simple sweater.

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Cabled Riding Jacket

A beautiful classic design and lovely photograph by Adrian.

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Braided Neckpiece

This is one of the more quirky designs.

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Fair Isle short-row pullover

A classic type of design with a unique twist.

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Bolero

Not too much to say about this one!

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Teva Durham – designer

Read about Teva. She’s an interesting designer. She and I did some work together and I have great appreciation of her creativity.

https://www.amazon.com/Loop-d-Loop-More-Novel-Designs-Knitters/dp/1584794143/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528663020&sr=8-1&keywords=loop-d-loop

Debbie Bliss – times 4!

Posted on by under Baby Books, Blankets, Cardigans, classic sweaters, Color Knitting, Jackets, Kid's designs, Knit and Purl Stitches, Sweaters, Texture & Cable Stitches
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Quick Baby Knits

Today I’m trying something new! I have 4 booklets that are from 80 pages (3 of them) to one at 128 pages. They all come to us from the British Designer, Debbie Bliss. She is especially known for amazing photography, classic styles and wonderful kids/baby knitting patterns.

I am lumping this group together. What do they have in common? Three are published in 1998/1999 and the longer one in 2002.

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Quick Baby knits – back cover

On one of my London trips, I visited Debbie’s yarn shop and visited with Debbie.

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Debbie Bliss’s shop

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Autographed book

While I visited her shop, got one of the books signed by Debbie.

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Nautical Knits for Kids

Debbie is also known her oversized kid’s knits.

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The Family Collection

A nice booklet of designs for babies, kids, women and men.

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Cotton Knits for all seasons

The largest of these books includes 25 projects. Cotton is versatile and as the booklet title suggest – great for many seasons.

So why am I moving these 4 booklets off my shelf? The main reason is that they ultimately are books of patterns and not patterns I would probably ever use. Sorry Debbie!

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Baby-Knits-Over-Designs/dp/0312202512/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1527019878&sr=8-2&keywords=Quick+Baby+Knits

https://www.amazon.com/Nautical-Knits-Kids-Debbie-Bliss/dp/1570761078/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527019929&sr=1-1&keywords=Nautical+Knits+for+Kids

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Collection-Knitwear-Designs-Children/dp/0091863570/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527020003&sr=1-2&keywords=The+Family+Collection+Debbie+Bliss

https://www.amazon.com/Cotton-Knits-Seasons-Debbie-Bliss/dp/157076218X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527020053&sr=1-1&keywords=Cotton+Knits+for+all+Seasons

 

Celtic Knits – Debbie Bliss

Posted on by under accessories, Baby Books, Cardigans, classic sweaters, Colorwork patterns, Jackets, Kid's designs, Pullovers, Sweaters, Texture & Cable Stitches
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Celtic Knits – Debbie Bliss – Cover

As the year ends, I wanted to get one more book off my shelves. Since my last blog (was it really in August), I spent hours and hours going through yarn, bagging it, photographing it and finally selling lots on eBay. It seemed to go a whole lot faster than my very slow snail pace of going through and getting rid of books. Now I’m away from my yarn for the winter, it’s a good time to get back to reading, reviewing and hopefully eliminating books. A good goal for 2018!

Celtic Knits by Debbie Bliss was published in 2000 first published in the UK. This is a tip off that the patterns are more UK centric in terms of pattern writing. There are many patterns for kids/babies with some for women and one or two designs for guys.

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Celtic Knits – back cover

Spoiler alert – this is simply a book of patterns. As wonderful as Debbie Bliss designs and photographs, it is in the end just a slim 80 pages of patterns.

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Cabled Hearts Sweater

Debbie Bliss does lovely oversized children’s designs and this one is particularly nice. It comes in sizes 3-5 years old, but the oversized pullover probably will fit larger sizes.

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Simple Sweater with Collar

It’s wasn’t easy to understand, but this is actually a child’s sweater (sizes 2-10 years). I originally thought it was an adult pattern. The largest size has a chest measurement of 43″ so it certainly would fit many adults.

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Cabled Tweed Jacket

Love the cables, but it is disappointing that this cardigan only comes in two sizes – chest/bust size 37 and 41 inches.

baby_knit

Moss Stitch Baby Jacket

This is a typical Debbie Bliss baby design – sizes 3 to 12 months. The oversized sizing make it ideal even for toddlers.

socks

Classic Fair Isle Socks

These socks are paired with a matching Fair Isle cardigan for a baby/toddler. There were many Fair Isle patterns in the book, but I only choose to include this sample as I prefer the one-color designs.

pattern

Instruction Sample

Notice that the measurements are given in inches and centimeters to make them workable for the US and UK markers. For the US knitters, slogging through all the cm measurements within the pattern can be disconcerting. I would recommend to make a copy of the pattern and highlight measurements and numbers that pertain to the size made.

To keep or not to keep – Nope! This one is going. Looks like it’s out-of-print, but still available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Knits-Designs-Babies-Children/dp/157076140X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514319273&sr=8-1&keywords=celtic+knits+Debbie+Bliss

 

Sweaters from New England Sheep Farms

Posted on by under Cardigans, classic sweaters, Color Knitting, Colorwork patterns, Jackets, Pullovers, Sweaters, Texture & Cable Stitches
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Sweaters from New England Sheep Farms – cover

I’ve been carrying this book around for sometime while reading the 8 stories about various sheep farms around New England. After all it is summertime and I’m moving in “slow-mo”.

One of the joys of reading Sweaters from New England was that many of the small yarn dyers are familiar to me as many have shown their wares at yarn shows I’ve attended. I found their stories engaging. But back to the essentials and more about the book!

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Sweaters from New England Sheep Farms – back cover

Candice Eisner Struck wrote and published this book with Down East Books in 1999. It’s a combo of 26 designs (mainly sweaters for women and men) and stories about the farms that produce the yarns for the designs.

I think it is a gem at 128 pages. The sweaters are a bit oversized (long and loose) as was the style of that time, but could be easily updated for more modern styling.

Does this book belong on my book shelves? Sadly, the answer is NO. I’m not going to make the sweaters and although I enjoyed the read, it wouldn’t be a “must have” for me.

Morehouse_pullover

Man’s pullover from Morehouse Farm yarn

When I read the story about Morehouse Farm and Margrit and Albrecht Pichler who ran the farm, I couldn’t help thinking about Margrit’s death in 2015. A great loss to many of the Morehouse Farm fans. From looking at the current web site page, it appears that the  Merino yarns are still being sold and that the business still prospers.

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Stories of the farms

Candice did a very good job of describing her farm visits. Her journeys made the reader feel that they were along for the ride. She interviewed the owners and talked about how the yarn came into being and the dye or not-dyed process. Some of the owners used fleece from their own sheep. Some did not raise their own animals.

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Rockport Gansey pullovers

The classic pair about are perfect for a man or woman!

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Charts

I was very impressed with the in-depth written patterns and charts. Again, Candice is very precise and there are good examples of her skill throughout the book.

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Sources

For those who want to make the sweater patterns in other yarns, there is a page of suggested commercial yarn companies along with 2 pages for making substitutions.

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Books given away!

My blogging is going so slowly that I decided that a bunch of “pattern only” books had to go. I hope that they will find a good home with an avid knitter!

https://www.amazon.com/Sweaters-New-England-Sheep-Farms/dp/0892724463/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502739713&sr=8-1&keywords=sweaters+from+New+England+Sheep+Farms

How to Knit – Debbie Bliss

Posted on by under accessories, Accessory projects, afghans, Cardigans, classic sweaters, Color Knitting, Colorwork patterns, Designing, home decor, How-to info, Jackets, Kid's designs, Knit and Purl Stitches, Stitch Patterns, Sweaters, Texture & Cable Stitches
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How to Knit – Debbie Bliss

I’m starting this book review in a quandary – to keep or not to keep. On first pass, I was ready to chuck this one. As much as I love Debbie Bliss (fantastic UK designer), I didn’t think this book offered enough to keep on my shelf. On 2nd pass, I’m conflicted.

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How to Knit – back cover

The back cover could have added a little more info for the reader? What were the publishers thinking?

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Great illustrations

The illustrations in this How-to are very clear and would be easy for a novice to use.

Aran

Aran Workshop

This section comes pretty early in the book – Chapter 3 as a matter of fact. It’s really Debbie Bliss’s favorite style so I’m not surprised to see it covered extensively.

cables

Cable Workshop

In the middle of the Aran chapter, this simple cabled sweater is a simpler version of some of the other knits.

lace

Lace Workshop

The best thing about this chapter is the 23 lace stitch pattern samples.

edges

Edgings

Love the edgings. This makes the book a winner. I just used the leaf edging for a project. Wish the instructions were charted and not so UK centric with yf terminology that is not used by US knitters.

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Entrelac illustrations

Ok – I know you’re asking – what the hell is Entrelac. Not a common technique, but these illustration make it very clear.

 

What did I decide? I might keep this book for awhile and see if I refer to it before moving it along. My copy is a bit worn and I probably couldn’t sell. I do think the UK vs US make it less valuable for a new knitter, but then again – I’m not a new knitter.

 

https://www.amazon.com/How-Knit-Definitive-Step-step/dp/1855856964/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497383208&sr=8-1&keywords=How+to+Knit+Debbie+Bliss

More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

Posted on by under accessories, Accessory projects, Cardigans, classic sweaters, How-to info, Kid's designs, Pullovers, Sweaters, Uncategorized
knitted_Gifts

More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

Spoiler alert! I’ve already listed this book on Amazon so you know that it’s not going back on my shelf.

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Back cover – More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

Joelle Hoverson has teamed with Melanie Falick to create this beautifully crafted book. It’s full of fairly simple patterns that are grouped by the time needed to make the gift starting with “less than 2 hour gifts”.

Pattern groupings

Pattern groupings

What else did I like about the book? I did like the number and alphabet templates. I did a project last year where I needed alphabet charts. Of course, with my many, many books – who knew?

alphabet charts

alphabet charts

number charts

number charts

There were a few projects that I really liked, but not enough to keep this book.

fingerless gloves

fingerless gloves

ribbed hats

ribbed hats

The photos of graphing were really helpful for anyone trying this technique.

grafting

grafting

My final thoughts. I loved the feel and look of this book, but my feeling for books of projects really doesn’t allow for shelf space for this one. Hopefully another knitter will find a good home for this lovely book!

 

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Minute-Knitted-Gifts-Joelle-Hoverson/dp/1584798602/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495654342&sr=8-1&keywords=more+last+minute+knitted+gifts

Knitting for the First Time

Posted on by under Accessory projects, Cardigans, Color Knitting, Colorwork patterns, How-to info, Kid's designs, Knit and Purl Stitches, Pullovers
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Knitting for the First Time

Knitting for the First Time by Vanessa-Ann (is this a real person?) was published by Sterling/Chapelle in 2003. I think it was put together by an editor and the author is just a made-up name. The first question is do I think this is a good book for a beginner. This is what I thought about as I reviewed the book.

Before I go further, I’ll say: Thumbs Down for this book.

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Knitting for the First Time – back cover

The answer would be no, no – not a great beginner book. It does start with a decent review needles, tools and yarn.

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Illustrations

I do like the drawn illustrations as opposed to photo illustrations.

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Abbreviations

The order of all the basics is a bit strange. First abbreviations, then adding a new skein of yarn, then fixing mistakes and then finishing. I think a true beginner might find this a bit confusing.

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Basic Techniques with patterns

For me, here’s where it breaks down. Really – a color work Christmas stocking in beginning patterns. Plus, other than the cute baby pullover and hat, the other patterns are not great.

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Cute Baby Hat

With the sweater, this hat is very cute!

Beyond the Basics

Beyond the Basics

More unimpressive patterns.

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The Gallery

This spread and the next couple pages show sweaters designed by some of the designers within the book. No patterns for these – just pictures. I guess it’s inspiration, but all are really, really beyond a beginner!

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0806964154/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=