Upcoming Knitting Books - Fall/Winter 2006

Here's a list of books that will be released this Fall/Winter 2006

October 2006
•Knitting With Balls: The First Contemporary Guide To Knitting For The Modern Male by Michael Del Vecchio
•200 Stitch Patterns for Baby Blankets by Jan Eaton
•Knitted Toys: 25 Fresh & Fabulous Designs by Zoe Mellor
•Finishing Techniques for Hand Knitters: Give Your Knitting that Professional Look by Sharon Brant
•Chic Knits for Young Chicks by Sarah Paulin
•Cables Untangled: An Exploration of Cable Knitting by Melissa Leapman
•The Little Box of Knits for Baby by Sandy Scoville

November 2006
•Handknit Style II: More Contemporary Sweaters from Tricoter by Linden Ward and Beryl Hiatt
•Family Album of Knits by Bobbie Matela
•Domiknitrix: Whip Your Knitting into Shape by Jennifer Stafford
•Home Knits: Luxurious Handknits for Every Room of the House by Suss Cousins
•Hip Graphic Knits: Unique Patterns and Techniques for Adding Stylish Graphics to Your Knitted Designs (Domestic Arts for Crafty Gals) by Rochelle Bourgault and Lisa Evans
•Knit (Handmade Style (Thunder Bay Press)) by Janine Flew

December 2006
•Never Knit Your Man a Sweater (Unless You've Got the Ring) by Judith Durant
•Heartfelt: 24 Projects for Stitched And Felted Accessories by Teresa Searle
•Naughty Needles: Sexy, Saucy Knits for the Bedroom and Beyond (Potter Craft) by Nikol Lohr
•100 Knitting Projects by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss

I saw "Knitting With Balls" the other day. My son is a beginning knitter, so I was trying to look at it from his perspective. I didn't purchase it for him because I felt it had a non-masculine design sensibility. The few patterns that I thought he might actually do have been rendered better in other books and magazines.

I guess I won't be buying Never Knit Your Man a Sweater (Unless You've Got the Ring). The title sounds bad enough really. Domiknitrix is on my wish list, never being one to pass up a gimmick. Cables Untangled sounds promising.

Not in the future but damn recently, has anyone seen Knit 2 Together? I'm very tempted. What do you think?

I browsed through Knit 2 Together when I looked at Knitting with Balls. It was very amusing, the designs were fresh and I almost bought it, except I was purchasing birthday books for my daughter and didn't have the extra $$$.

Yes, exactly. The downside of so many new knitting resources in print is that too many people can put really mediocre designs and patterns out there. There's no editorial quality control like there is with fashion.

I saw lots of patterns in this that I liked, so I bought it. Haven't actually tried out any of the patterns yet though.

By "this" I meant Knit 2 Together, BTW.

I have Stitchionary and Stitchionary 2 - which I think are beautifully photographed, but unfortunately, I have not had the time to delve in and start whipping out swatches. Has anyone seen the 3rd one yet?

Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters' Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures by Kay Gardiner and Ann Meador Shayne came into the library yesterday. I would have totally ignored it except the word KNITTING in the title caught my eye. The cover is awful, but a glance inside had me hooked. They have some really pretty ideas. Take a look inside....it will totally surprise you.

Yetsa's Sweater is a new collectible picture book about the whole process of making wool - from washing the raw fleece, to teasing, carding, spinning, etc. - and passing along the tradition of knitting Cowichan sweaters from grandmother to granddaughter. The artwork (pastels that look like oil paintings by Joan Larson) are gorgeous. I bought a copy for my niece (who is six) and one for myself (I'm quite a bit older than that)! Another new book if you have children/pre-teens wanting to knit some funky projects is the Kids Can title, Quick Knits by Judy Ann Sadler (I can't get the link to work for the title, but if you click on the author name, it's listed there). The Quick Knits patterns definitely have a girly slant - does anyone have good recommendations for titles that would have more appeal for boys?

I've been hearing intriguing things about Spin to Knit: The Knitter's Guide to Making Yarn but I haven't been able to pick up a copy to look for myself. Has anyone here done so?

There's a review/author interview on my blog at:

http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/2006/10/fleece-to-face-with-shannon-okey.html

It's a good little book - covers the basics of spindles and wheels, as well as fiber prep. Supplements Lee Raven's book well in that regard. Also gets deeply into knitting with your handspun yarn in a way the other books I've seen do not, including the behavior of energized singles when knitted. On the whole, I like it. Good for a beginner or intermediate spinner.