Knitting Scholar » Clara Parkes

Review: The Knitter’s Book of Socks

--Deb — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:08:53 +0000

First, the facts:

Title: The Knitter’s Book of Socks: The Yarn Lover’s Ultimate Guide to Creating Socks that Fit Well, Feel Great, and Last a Lifetime

Author: Clara Parkes

Published by: Potter Craft, 2011

Pages: 207

Type: Patterns and how-to.

Chapters:

1. What a Sock Needs
2. Fiber Foundations
3. The Yarns
4. Stitch Tricks
5. The Patterns

The In-Depth Look:

Clara begins this book by saying,

Socks are the breakfast of our knitting diet, a physical and metaphorical underpinning to our day. They get us off to a good start, send us out into the world, and give a good indication of how the day will go. Is the cuff too tight? Frustration and discomfort from the get-go. Fabric won’t breathe? A stifled day. Has the foot sprouted a hole? Or two? A sense of sloppiness prevails–along with a fear that you’ll have to remove your shoes and expose your secret to the world. But when fiber, twist, ply, stitch, and foot unite in a wholesome, well-balanced, nutritious breakfast, the day is yours. You are proud, comfortable, confident. ‘Why yes,’ you quickly answer, hoisting up your pant leg and slipping off your shoe for a better view, ‘I did knit them myself. Aren’t they fabulous?’

Now, I don’t know that I’d put quite THAT much meaning on a pair of socks, but there’s no denying that nothing is quite so satisfying as handknit socks. There are reasons there are so many books about them, so many patterns and yarns. Because even if you don’t think of them as a metaphorical mirror to your day, they are the breakfast of knitting. Basic and satisfying, but still able to be embellished with the knitter’s equivalent of maple syrup or hot sauce.

Of course, this is Clara Parkes we’re talking about here. She’s already established herself as an expert on yarns with her reviews at Knitter’s Review and her two earlier books about yarn and wool. You would expect a book of hers about socks to not simply be a collection of patterns. You would expect more … and you’d get it.

There are some gorgeous patterns here–don’t ever doubt it–but the real beauty in this book is how she explains socks. What, you may be thinking, is there to explain about socks? You knit them and then you put them on your feet. Except it’s not that simple. All sorts of factors influence how well those socks are going to work. Do they fit snuggly enough that they’re not going to be rubbing blisters? Is the yarn elastic enough that the ribbing doesn’t fall down around your ankles? Is the fiber sufficiently long-wearing that these socks will last past their second wearing?

After all, if you’re going to put the time into knitting a pair of socks, you want them to LAST. Nothing is more depressing than finding a hole in a sock you labored over. (Especially if your darning skills are as shaky as mine. I can knit until the cows come home but I’m dreadful at mending.)

This is where this book’s true usefulness lies. The 20 sock patterns are gorgeous, but I appreciated learning about twist and fit and stretch and wear even more.

Honestly, I’d expect nothing less from Clara.

I’ll confess I didn’t always love the photos in the book. They’re pretty to look at but most of them are more of “scenes” than they are of the actual socks. There aren’t quite as many close-ups of stitch patterns as I’d like. I very much liked that there was a guide on how to care for your handknit socks at the back, though would actually have liked a guide for darning to go with it. (I did mention my lack of darning skills, right?) These are the merest of quibbles, though. Just like the “Wool” and “Yarn” books before it, “The Knitter’s Book of Socks” well deserves its place on my shelf.

If you are at all interested in making socks, you owe it to yourself to take a look at this book.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Potter Craft. Thank you!

My Gush: Is there anything Clara Parkes doesn’t know?

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Review: Knitter’s Book of Wool

--Deb — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:48:41 +0000

First, the facts:

Title: The Knitter’s Book of Wool: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using, and Loving this Most Fabulous Fiber

Author: Clara Parkes

Published by: Potter Craft, 2009

Pages: 207

Type: Lots and lots of information about wool, as well as some great patterns.

Chapters:

1. What is Wool?
2. From Pasture to Pullover–Turning Wool into Yarn
3. Meet the Breeds
4. Plays Well with Others
5. Patterns

Pattern Size Range: It varies

The In-Depth Look:

How many times have you heard these excuses?
“I can’t wear wool, it’s too itchy.” (Not if it’s the right kind, it’s not.)
“Wool is just too much trouble, you can’t put it in the washing machine.” (What? Letting something soak is too hard? Haven’t you heard of Superwash?)
“I’m allergic to wool, it always gives me a rash.” (Often–though not always–the irritant is not the wool, but the chemicals used in processing.)

Welcome to the world of people who love wool but are forever trying to convince everyone else who remembers that itchy sweater they had to wear as a child that yes, wool really IS a good, soft, useful, miracle fiber.

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.”

Unlike Clara’s first book, about yarn in general, this book is all about wool. Specifically wool. Nothing but wool–except for some of the fibers that can be blended with wool.

You might be asking yourself, “But why? Didn’t she cover this already?” And yes, it’s true, she DID talk about wool in her first book, but not in-depth, not like this.

Because THIS book is in-depth! She starts off talking about the different kinds of wool.

How their crimp affects the kind of yarn they will make.
How wools with sheen and luster are different than ones with more of a halo effect.
How staple length can alter the way your yarn wears once it’s been knitted into a garment.
Why you might want to choose one type of wool over another.
Why manufacturers blend different types of wool together to get that “100% wool” label that doesn’t really tell a handknitter or spinner very much at all.

All this is even before you get to an overview of different sheep breeds and the types and uses of fleece each one has. Not that she covers every sheep breed, of course. That would take another three volumes (I’m guessing), but she does cover the “highlights.” She talks specifics about some of the more familiar breeds (Merino. Bluefaced Leicester, Jacob, Cormo, and so on), but she also makes sure that you, the reader, know what you’re looking FOR when judging a fleece or fiber. Just knowing whether a breed has short staple fleece rather than long staple can affect your decisions.

Then, once you’ve covered the history of wool, its types, its uses, and its breeds (not to mention the benefits of blending wool with other fibers)–you get to start playing. That’s where the patterns come in.

It shouldn’t surprise you to know that each pattern specifies the type of wool you should use. Standard, commercial yarns are mentioned, but she tells you what KIND of wool/blend you should be using–determined by all the factors already discussed in the book.

The patterns cover a nice range–hats, mittens, socks (7 patterns altogether), sweaters (5 patterns, or, well, 8 with the “three bears” set), shawls and scarves (5 patterns), even a tote bag and a pillow. There are things to make for adults, for children, for men, for women. Each pattern is designed specifically for the type of yarn being used, so the halo of the Shetland wool is put to good use, or the sheen of a merino/silk blend. Nor should it surprise you that she assembled some of the best designers around, either. Designers who can truly appreciate and understand the qualities of the wool they were working with.

All in all, this book is a fantastic examination of one of my favorite, misunderstood fibers. And, nobody could have done it better than Clara Parkes, whose writing is always entertaining. It’s not easy to make the description of a chemical components of wool interesting, but she accomplishes it with apparent ease. (“Wool is a natural protein fiber that begins its life deep in the hair follicles of a sheep’s skin. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfer come together to form long polypeptide chains of 19 amino acids that grow out of each follicle and become the shafts of fiber that we see.”)

Now, if you’re looking for an overview of different kinds of yarn, you should start with her first book. If you’re simply looking for a book of patterns–half of this book will disappoint you. But, if you want to know more about why this fiber is a natural miracle fiber, and all the different ways itcan be shorn, spun, dyed, plied, draped, and used for vastly different results–this book is a gold mine.

This very worthy second book is available at Amazon.com for under $20

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

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My Gush: Second books can sometimes be disappointing, but this one is NOT. Understanding how wool works can only make us better knitters!

Interview with Clara Parkes

--Deb — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:50:34 +0000

Thanks for letting me interview you, Clara!

I’m very excited about your new book, The Knitter’s Book of Wool, which I gather is about, um, wool? Your first book was an exhaustative look at different types of yarn, the fibers, the spinning methods … how did you find enough to talk about for another book solely about wool?

Wool is a whole universe in itself – it deserves several more books than just this one. The story of wool is the story of human evolution, of political and cultural and socioeconomic upheavals, of conquests and isolated islands and human migration and the rise and fall of entire empires. Each sheep breed has its own unique story, and its fleece has subtle differences (and similarities) that make the world of wool very much like the world of wine. There is a lot of nuance. From a knitting perspective, this means endless intrigue and variety. I wanted to help folks identify and appreciate the intrigue and have fun with it.

What’s your favorite part of the new book? A specific chapter? The idea behind it? The illustrations? The writing of it?

Quite honestly? I’m fond of the whole process, from start to finish. I loved assembling this amazing group of designers and getting to conceive the projects with them, and then watching these gorgeous knitted objects emerge from their needles. I absolutely adored researching about the breeds and wool characteristics and the history behind wool. And of course I loved sitting down on my porch, books and notes and swatches and skeins and fiber snippets all around me, and pulling it together into a manuscript I hoped would be useful to others.

Will you be doing a book tour for this new book? A blog tour?

I’ll be at the NY State Sheep & Wool Festival at Rhinebeck signing books on Saturday from 1-3pm at the Spirit Trail Fiberworks booth, and Sunday all day at the authors tent; I’ll also be at the Yarn Barn of Kansas booth at Stitches East on Friday October 23 from 2-3pm. I’ll also be on Kathy and Steve Elkins’ Ready, Set, Knit podcast, and Knitting Daily TV did a segment that will air at the beginning of January. And of course I’ll be representing my glorious state of Maine at String Theory Yarn on November 14th and Purl Diva on December 5th. Anyone else want a visit?

Your reviews of different yarns are a marvel of thoroughness. Yours were the first yarn reviews I ever read that went beyond basics like “soft,” “pretty,” and superficial comments like “a little splitty.” You’re like the Consumer Reports of yarn, testing everything. Not only how they feel to start, or how they knit, but what happens when they’re washed, how well they stand up to abuse, whether the dye leaches out … is this because you really love yarn? Or you secretly hate it and want to abuse it?

I really and truly love yarn. This becomes evident at knitting gatherings. While everybody else is grabbing one another’s sleeves and asking for the name of the design, I always, always want to know what yarn they used. I once approached a total stranger at a Maryland restaurant and asked if her sweater was O-Wool Balance. At first, the look on her face suggested she was trying to determine how quickly she could grab her cell phone and call 911. Then she relaxed and asked, with a puzzled smile, “Yes, I think it is. How on earth did you know?” I felt like I should tip my hat and say, “Just doing my job, ma’am.”

Do you love playing with yarn more than the actual knitting?

For me, playing with yarn is knitting.

When you are making something other than making swatches, what DO you like to knit? Sweaters? Hats? Socks?

I love to knit small useful things that have sculptural elements to them – particularly socks and hand-coverings.

The sock pattern you have available on KR is the one I used for my very first pair of socks. Do you think of yourself as a designer? Do you want to be?

I’m honored that you used that pattern! I consider myself more of a Facilitator of Yarn Play than a capital-d Designer. I really like creating useful, functional, attractive patterns that step aside and let the yarn do all the talking.

I understand that you were a writer before embracing this passion for yarn–what kinds of things did you write? What kinds of things do you most WANT to write?

I wrote about food and travel for several years, and then I changed courses completely and began writing about technology. I did that for many years until the lure of the tactile drew me back. I enjoy any kind of writing that involves turning away from the huge noisy world and focusing very intensely on one thing – whether it’s a restaurant, a particular ingredient, or yes, a yarn. If you look closely enough, everything has a captivating story. I like finding that story.

Did you ever imagine yourself as a computer/internet visionary? I love your Knitter’s Review site–what made you think of it?

Not at all. For me, the internet was simply a quick and extraordinarily effective medium for expression.

As much as I look forward to your KR weekly newsletter, I’ve always loved the KR forums–one of the first knitting “social networking” sites I discovered that really taught me a lot. What’s your take on this technological spread of knitting information? New techiques and patterns being so easily shared?

I think it’s wonderful. The more easily our knitting questions can be answered, the more easily we can get back to our knitting. For me, though, the actual act of knitting remains a very quiet, healing, solitary activity. Yes, the social networking elements are fantastic, but I’m also aware of the countless knitters around the world for whom the act is primarily a deeply fulfilling solitary one.

Do you think the online socializing at Knitters Review, Ravelry, and Knitty, not to mention all the blogs, has changed knitting?

I don’t think it has introduced any fundamental changes to the way we do things. I do think it has made the retrieval of information much, much easier. Questions can get answered in minutes. Curious what others have done with a yarn? Make a few clicks and boom, you have your answers. Traveling to Ohio and want to know if there’s a yarn store nearby? Click click click, presto, you have your answer. But social networking hasn’t changed the actual act of knitting one bit.

Of course, there’s no substitute for real life knitting … what are your favorite real-world interactions with other knitters?

I love being in a room with other people who are happily knitting away on projects. I love how the conversation ebbs and flows in a very steady, safe, comfortable way.

Tell us a little about the KR Retreat–what made you think of it in the first place? What’s the one thing you would say to someone thinking of going?

The KR Retreat really began as a post in the KR Forums. Folks in the Virginia area wanted to get together, someone suggested perhaps renting a condo by the beach, and the “me too!” replies started coming in like crazy. I realized this a big and important need among readers and that I should step in and organize it as an official Knitter’s Review gathering. Since then it has grown dramatically in size, changed locations a few times, but I work very hard to maintain an accessible, affordable, unintimidating, totally safe and welcoming spirit. You’d be amazed at how many long-lasting friendships have been forged over the course of that weekend. To anyone thinking of going, I’d say yes, please do! And also be aware that registration fills up within minutes, so folks need to act quickly.

The KR shop sells, among other things, your notecards. Do you take all the pictures yourself? Any tips or tricks for taking great photos of yarn?

Yes, I took all the pictures myself. The only tip I have for taking great photos of yarn is to use natural light. The flash is the enemy of all yarn photographs.

How about other hobbies? What NON-yarn-related things do you like to do? Any pets?

I love to bake, and I garden a lot in the summer (fruits, vegetables, and flowers). I also like to sail. And travel, and read. I have one adorably sweet little cat named Casey who keeps me company and does not get into my yarn.

Name one yarn you’ve never tried but would love to knit with.

I honestly can’t answer this question because as soon as I identify a yarn as something I’d love to knit, I procure a skein and start swatching. I don’t wait. Life is too short.

What is the one thing you would want to say to a new knitter?

Enjoy the adventure. Relax, have fun. Things may look or feel weird at the beginning, but just keep going. Don’t be afraid to try new yarns, new needles, new techniques, everything. And there is no such thing as failure – you learn from absolutely everything you do.

If you could have a superpower (knitting or otherwise), what would it be?

I’d love the ability to know—definitively—what fiber, and how much of it, is in every yarn I see. Call it Fiber-Ray Vision.

Since this IS a site for book reviews–two questions: What do you look for in a book review?

When I read book reviews, I most enjoy the ones that are well written and that teach me something, or that take me on some kind of journey related to the book’s subject—always artfully weaving the book in relevant and insightful ways. I also appreciate book reviews that keep the book—and not the author’s own personality—in the forefront. And I tend to avoid reviews that just rehash the cover flap or table of contents. That doesn’t respect the reader or the review genre one bit.

Thanks so much,

Books (so far):

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Knitter’s Book of Yarn.

Review: The Knitter’s Book of Yarn

--Deb — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:35:05 +0000

First, the facts:

Title: Knitter’s Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn

Author: Clara Parkes

Published by: Potter Craft, 2007

Pages: 256

Type: Patterns and all you want to know about yarn

Chapters:

1. Fiber Foundations
2. Making Yarn
3. Ply Me a River
4. Putting it All Together

Pattern Size Range: Wide variety, to go with a wide variety of patterns

The In-Depth Look:

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. But … WHY?

But even beyond that, the way the yarn is spun and plied can make a difference to how it works, acts, and (most importantly) wears over time. How the yarn was treated. What kind of dye was used. What kind of fibers are blended together.

All important stuff to know, and with this book, it’s easy, because it’s all collected in one place. Clara has been doing some of the most thorough yarn reviews you could ask for at Knitter’s Review for years now, and there’s no question she knows her material. Certainly she’d be the person I’d ask if I had questions!

Then, once she’s discussed the types, methods, fibers, and processes that all contribute to any skein of yarn you might have in your hand? Then there are patterns. (Because what’s the use of knowing all these tasty facts about yarn if you don’t have anything to do with them?)

There is a very nice variety in the patterns, here, a little of everything. Adult sweaters. Baby sweaters. Shawls. Gloves. Scarves. Headbands. Socks. Blankets. All nice, classy kinds of patterns–nothing too weird or too trendy–and there’s realy not a clunker in the bunch. They are sorted by the type of yarn that is best for that pattern, and come with all those nice extras, like schematics and detail photos. The designers are practically a Who’s Who of great designers: Adrian Bizilia, Cat Bordhi, Teva Durham, Jack Erickson-Schweitzer, Norah Gaughan, Amie Gavin Glasgow, Jennifer Hagan, Bess Haile, Lana Hames, Shelia January, Amy King, Elanor Lynn, Tara Jon Manning, Gina Wilde, Margaret Klein Wilson.

This excellent book is available from Amazon.com.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

My Gush: Wonderfully informative, and with some great patterns to round it out.