18.08.2005 | 18:30

Books books books

It's been a while since I've shown you any books here. I've been buying them, though...

The two books on the left, the blue and red ones, are First Book of Modern Lace Knitting (1953, published by Dover in 1972) and Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting (1961, published by Dover also in 1972) by Marianne Kinzel and contain patterns for... ahem... lace knitting.

There are patterns for lace knitting on two needles and on four needles. Just think of starting a shawl or a table cloth from the center - how can you hold the needles so that they won't fall?! There are patterns for round and rectangular pieces. They're retro in a homely way: I could picture my mom knitting something from these books (I think she would rather crochet a table cloth, but anyway...).

If you are looking for lace patterns you could take and use in your own designs, these aren't the best books for you. Of course you could take an idea or a piece from here and there, but most of the projects in this book are quite big and cannot be split into smaller sections that easily. I do like these books, though, now I just should turn into someone who likes doilies, knitted table runners, tray cloths, glass mats and those lace thingys you can put on top of your sofa or armchair back.

The reason why I happened to order the lace knitting books is in the lower right corner: the fifth book in Elsebeth Lavold's Designer's Choice series. Book five is called The Summer Breeze Collection.

I got all the three books from Needle Arts Book Shop. I thought of ordering just the Summer Breeze Collection but I couldn't help myself. I have to say that the service was friendly and when I got the package, it was so beautifully wrapped in lilac paper that I did not want to open it...

The Summer Breeze Collection has 17 patterns for Elsebeth Lavold's Cable Cotton, Cotton Patiné, Silky Tweed and Silky Wool yarns. I don't know, but after the viking knits the books have got a bit boring. Of course there are good ideas every now and then but still... I did find a favourite: Jasmine.

I also got books on Andean and Netherlandish knitting. (Anne, buying one of these books is your fault.)

I got Andean Folk Knits (2005) by Marcia Lewandowski at the same time I got Loop-d-Loop, I just did not blog about it then. It's a nice book, and as I already have Cynthia Gravelle le Count's Andean Folk Knitting, it's a good addition to the folklore section in my knitting book library.

Andean Folk Knits has patterns for socks, mittens, chullos and many many bags, so you can get plenty of ideas and of course the fairisle photos (and the whole book) looks nicer than the older and therefore mostly black and white Andean Folk Knitting because all the pictures are in colour. However, I do think that if you want to learn about the knitting itself and find more patterns/motifs you could use in your own designs, Andean Folk Knitting is a better book. But, this was not Anne's fault.

This is: Knitting from the Netherlands by Henriette van der Klift-Tellegen. Anne happened to mention this in her blog, so of course I had to google. I came across the pages of a Dutch used book store Klondyke and of course I had to order the book. In Dutch! What wouldn't you do for a knitting book?

The book is about Dutch fishermen's knits that are very similar to those from the British islands. It tells about their history, shows some basic techniquesm shapes, patterns and motifs. I like ganseys, so I like this book.

What's left in the middle is Stitch'n Bitch, A Knitter's Design Journal by Debbie Stoller. It's a journal for knitters - and it comes with a handy needle gauge and ruler stored inside the cover page. The measurements are both US and metric and the gauge/ruler also has some formulas for basic conversions.

The journal mostly has blank pages for your designs and graph paper. I just don't know if I have the heart to draw and write anything on those pages, the project should be Something Very Important then.

But the book is not completely blank! At the end it has advice on ease and shape and tables of standard body measurements, some journal pages where you can write down details on the project and attach a piece of yarn, plan new projects, fill in the measurements of the people you knit for and of course there are reference pages for basic instructions and some pages for just notes.

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