Reference

Review: Little Red in the City

by --Deb 01.23.2012
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Ysolda says in the intro, “Through many conversations about choosing a size, substituting yarns, taking measurements and adapting shaping, the key thing that emerged was that most knitters would like to feel more in control when making garments, like they had a better ability to visualise what they wanted to create and actually end up with what they planned. Before getting to the patterns, the book goes through some things that I hope will help you get the results you want from both these patterns and any other garments that you want to knit.”

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Review: Knitting with Two Colors

by --Deb 01.09.2012
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You can almost always be confident, when ordering a book from Schoolhouse Press, that you’re going to get something thorough, detailed, and full of creative, useful ideas–and this book is no exception.

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Review: Alice Starmore’s Charts for Color Knitting

by --Deb 10.20.2011
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This is a treasure-trove of charts. Collected by origin (Norway, Russian, Celtic, Birds & Flowers, and so on), it doesn’t so much as tell you what to do with them as give them to you to do whatever you wish. You can knit with them, embroider, stencil, mosaic … anything you like. The possibilities are endless.

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Review: The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook

by --Deb 06.09.2011
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If you’re at all interested in natural fibers, you’re going to want this book. You’re going to find yourself poring over the pictures and fondling the pages, just like you finger your yarn and your spinning fibers. And you’ll never look at a label that says “100% wool” in the same way again.

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Review: Nervous New Owner’s Guide to Angora Rabbits

by --Deb 04.03.2011
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A small kind of book with lots of information about raising Angora bunnies.

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Review: Knitting Tips & Tricks

by --Deb 12.19.2010
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This is Lily Chin, a woman whose hobby apparently is to rethink everything about basic knitting. “Knitters do it this way, but what if they did this instead? Is there a better way? Faster? Different? Do we have to do this at all?”

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Review: Knitting Brioche

by --Deb 04.03.2010
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Darn it, there’s just nothing wrong with this book.

Luckily for you, that means this book is fantastic and one you should run-not-walk to find if this is a technique that you are even remotely interested in. Because, trust me, you’re not going to find a better guide to brioche any time soon.

Still, it’s great books like these that make writing reviews so frustrating.

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Review: Aran Sweater Design

by --Deb 02.17.2010
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I’ve practically lived and breathed this book for the last couple of weeks and finally realized I had to write a review of this book to tell you why.

I had decided to tear out an aran I knitted in 2006 and reuse the yarn, and I spent so much time looking for the right pattern when I decided that I should just design my own … and this was the book I immediately reached for.

Why? This book tells you simply everything you need to know to put together an Aran sweater.

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Review: Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques

by --Deb 01.24.2010
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Entrelac. Stranded. Intarsia. Stripes. Two-sided. There are so many ways to play with color while you knit, but… there are so MANY ways to add different colors to your knitting. What’s a knitter to do?

Run, don’t walk, to find a copy of this book.

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Review: Respect the Spindle

by --Deb 01.17.2010
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You know how they say the best way to learn a foreign language is to completely immerse yourself in the language? To go where it’s spoken, to live it, and breathe it as if there simply is no other language? Well, that’s how the author learned to spin.

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Review: A History of Handknitting

by --Deb 12.15.2009
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It took me years to get my hands on a copy of this book–not because it was so hard to find, but because, interested though I was, I wasn’t willing to pay full price. Which is why I was so delighted when it came up on the Interweave Hurt Book Sale list a year or so ago (and why my copy doesn’t have a paper cover). So, the big question–was it worth the wait? Worth the price?

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Review: Knitter’s Book of Wool

by --Deb 10.25.2009
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How can you resist a book that begins, “I have always loved wool–I mean really and truly loved it, like Claude Monet loved his Giverny and Julia Child loved her butter. Discovering a new wool yarn, smelling it, touching it, dreaming of what I can do with it, knitting and washing a swatch and seeing how it transforms … those things make me feel complete and fulfilled.”

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Review: Alice Starmore’s Book of Fair Isle Knitting

by --Deb 09.02.2009
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If you’ve wondered about this book, if you’ve tried to find a copy any time in the last fifteen years or so, now is your chance to see what all the fuss about. Because thanks to Dover Publications, a reprint of this masterpiece is now available to the public for less than $25.

Did I say masterpiece? Why, yes, I did! This woman’s eye for color is amazing. Her color combinations for the sweaters and even just for the color sample swatches is unerring, but that alone is not why this is such a great book.

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Review: The Knitter’s Book of Yarn

by --Deb 08.23.2009
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So, picture this: You’re a knitter. (I didn’t say this was going to be difficult.)

As a knitter, or crocheter, or anybody who uses yarn, you already know how important it is to match the right kind of yarn with your projects. Designs meant for flowing Alpaca won’t work with unresilient cotton. Designs meant for cotton might stretch out in wool.

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