I first heard the name Heinz Kiewe in the early aughts, when a blogging friend described him as a “knitting crackpot.” Her description intrigued me; while my friend was often dramatic, she knew a hell of a lot about knitting. My initial Google searches turned up contradictory descriptions of Kiewe. Some described him as a textile historian, others as an…
Tag: knitting books
A beautiful day in the knit-borhood
I was three years old when Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood premiered. I was entranced by the gentle, always-affirming man in the cardigan and loved his Land of Make-Believe. I don’t know if you can credit a tv show with helping to make you the person you are but if you can, Mister Rogers was a formative influence on me. When I…
Book Look: Instaknits, by Melissa Leapman
My dear friend Melissa Leapman has a new book out which is perfect for these cranky, uncertain times. Instaknits (Stackpole Books; MSRP $26.95, available for $24.25 at the time of this writing through the affiliate link) is a collection of fun patterns that knit up quickly. If you’re pulled every which way and don’t have that much time to knit…
No-Bull Book Review: Geometric Knit Blankets by Margaret Holzmann
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…
Win a copy of More Lovely Knitted Lace by Brooke Nico
Ah, my lace-loving friends, today we have a very special treat for you. My pal Brooke Nico, lace cognoscente, just released her second book, called More Lovely Knitted Lace. The title does not lie: you’ll find more lovely garments, more gorgeous lace, and plenty of knitting to keep you creating smashing sweaters and accessories that you’ll wear with pride. Yes,…
It’s here!
It was a labor of love that I started in fall of 2012. It was carefully nurtured, and revised, and tweaked, and edited by the fabulous folks at Sixth and Spring Books, and then a wonderful book designer created exactly the perfect design for it. And now, nearly four years later, it’s on sale at your LYS or local bookshop…
Sneak preview: Lace Yarn Studio
It seems like I’ve been working on Lace Yarn Studio for years. Well, I actually have been working on it for about two years, when I first floated the idea of doing a sequel to Sock Yarn Studio focusing on lace weight yarns. And after many months of swatching, knitting, ripping out, writing, proofreading, and so on, Lace Yarn Studio:…
No-Bull Book Review: Magpies, Homebodies & Nomads, by Cirilia Rose
I’ve had my eye on Cirilia Rose for a while — not in a creepy, stalkerish kind of way, but because from the first time I was introduced to her, I was struck by her charisma, talent and style. I always think of Cirilia as a kid, probably because I’m old enough to be her mother cool younger aunt, but…
No-Bull Book Review: Sock Architecture, by Lara Neel
Today’s book review is the intriguingly-titled Sock Architecture, written by Lara Neel and published by Cooperative Press. Sock Architecture is, as you might infer from the title, a sock knitting book that is very much concerned with sock structure. [Sometimes when I write a sentence like that, I have to step back and chuckle. A huge percentage of the sock-wearing…