11.04.2005 | 20:25

M is for Melville

How can you tell that I've been stressed at work? I keep ordering books to comfort me. See, some people eat comfort food and some people order books. How does English-Klingon-Englus dictionary sound to you? Yes, I ordered that, too.

But how can you tell that I've been very stressed and very tired? The books stop coming because I'm too too busy to order them and at home I just try to remember to read few mailing lists, check a few blogs and tell myself to update my own blog.

Anyway, here's something from the "I'm not that stressed yet" period. (There's more.) I realised that I have a Melville gap in my bookshelf and ordered three books by Sally Melville at once. I got Sally Melville Styles (1998), The Knit Stitch (The Knitting Experience Book 1) (2002), and The Purl Stitch (The Knitting Experience Book 2) (2004).

Sally Melville Styles has designs that may look complicated at first. She uses many colours and patterns - and that's what the book is about: using leftover yarn. The designs have quite simple shapes but the ideas are great, especially the last section of the book that deals with using knitting as basis for weaving. So, first you knit and then you weave yarn and create patterns.

The use of colour is magnificent. The book also has a good introduction to colour theory and tells you how to pick your own colours so that they look good and harmonious. That was very interesting, since I've always been shy in combining colours.

The Knit Stitch - need I say more? It's the book with the famous Einstein jacket.

All the designs in the book are made using the knit stitch only. Of course, you knit back and forth, in the round, you increase and decrease and slip stitches and use colours, so it's not just plain boring garter stitch all the way.

The Purl Stitch is then the follow-up for The Knit Stitch and in the book the purl stitch is introduced, so the designs have ribbing and moss stitch and of course good old stockinette.

Both the knit and purl stitch books are thorough and have well illustrated tutorials and "learn to knit" sections as well as "how to fix mistakes" sections. I'd say that those books are good basic books for beginners but give something also to advanced knitters.

Oh, and did I say that I love the use of colours?

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