As some of my long-term readers know, I dabble in quilting. I’m not being humble when I say that I dabble; I usually opt for quilt patterns with simple shapes or do improvisational quilting by sewing scraps or odd pieces together. My technique is far from perfect and my pieces don’t always square up. But I love working with color and I love the clever ways that quilters make all sorts of shapes by stacking, lopping, and turning pieces to different angles. So it’s not really a surprise that I am fascinated with the subject of today’s book review.
Geometric Knit Blankets, by Margaret Holzmann, drew my eye because several of the designs were inspired by quilting patterns, tiles and other designs that use blocks and geometric shapes. And the results are fantastic! Let’s take a closer look.
Margaret Holzmann, like many knitting designers, has an interesting, non-textiles background: software systems engineer at Bell Labs. Retired now, she is a prolific knitting designer with a website called The Knitwit. Some of you may know Margaret from her Safe At Home pattern that was popular a year or two ago:
Margaret’s biography notes that she likes creating big designs, like throws, blankets and sweaters. She is especially talented with what I think of as spatial issues — fitting pieces together using different techniques, structuring blocks in unusual ways, playing with short rows and modular knitting. Which brings us to the spectacular designs found in her book.
Geometric Knit Designs contains patterns for a whopping 30 blanket designs. The blankets use a variety of techniques: short rows, intarsia, knitting shapes in the round, designs made of pieces sewn together, provisional cast-ons, and of course lots of modular construction. Paging through the book is a real pleasure, given the variety of designs, the color choices and the unique constructions.
The Sunburst Quilt (above) is reminiscent of the Dresden Plate pattern in quilting. The pattern is knit in blocks, with the rays of the sun knit first, then the center, then the outside corners. I’m impressed by how Margaret is able to take just about any kind of shape and translate it into knitting.
Here’s another example:
The Windfall Blanket first caught my eye because of the color movement from lighter at left top to darker at right bottom. Again, the blanket is knit in blocks, seven “slices” per block. If you guessed short row, you’re absolutely correct. You may be thinking how complex a project this is, but in this particular pattern, you’ll get a full page color photo, a full page diagram showing the colors used in each block, a third full page diagram showing how to assemble the blocks, plus written instructions showing how to knit the block AND charts that walk you through each shape and even contain squares where you can mark off sections as you go along. There’s also additional help available via the author’s website.
Here’s a side-by-side look at the Hip To Be Square blanket, close up on the left, showing some of the individual shapes and the finished blanket at right. Clever! Creative! Gorgeous!
Some other blankets that I fancy:
I’m loving the different color combinations, the lines of the various shapes and the ingenuity of them all.
The book describes the patterns as intermediate/confident beginner. I think if you have done short rows, picked up stitches along edges, and knit modular squares before, you’ll be okay. The directions are clear and give lots of help. Most of the designs are knit in pieces, which means you can practice the techniques on waste yarn without investing too time time.
The Grenada blanket, shown tucked into a chair and bird’s eye (or should I say drone’s eye?) view, is stunning in blues with gray and white but would also be spectacular worked in leftover yarn in multiple colors. For those who are looking for economical yarn choices, the sample was knit in Red Heart Super Saver. It doesn’t get more affordable than that and the blanket will last forever (and is machine wash).
Just a couple more to underscore the variety of the designs:
The knitty-gritty: 30 blanket patterns, mainly in worsted, chunky and aran weight yarns. It looks like all the blankets are done in garter stitch with additional techniques varying by design. Lots of color diagrams with labels, some of the whole blanket, some of individual blocks, charts to help with construction and color choice, plenty of notes and tips sprinkled throughout. A color photo of each blanket starts out every pattern; more stylized photos and some close-ups also added. This is a paperback book with about 214 pages, all color, MSRP $27.95 but priced at $15.20 through the link above at the time of this writing. (This is an affiliate link so I may receive a tiny amount as a referral fee.)
The verdict: if you are inspired by quilt-like designs, if you enjoy making modular or pieced knitted blankets, if you’re looking for some patterns that aren’t the same-old, or you’re looking for ways to play with leftover skeins of yarn, you’ll want to check this book out — at its current price, that’s about fifty cents per pattern, which truly is a steal.
All photos copyright 2022 by M. and G. Holzmann. I believe my use of photos in this post qualifies as fair use but if you are the copyright owner and disagree, please contact me so that I can rectify the situation.
