Knitting book reviews

First up: Romantic Hand Knits, by Annie Modesitt.

One step in my usual process for reviewing a pattern collection that I've checked out of the library is to go through it with Hubby, asking for a thumbs up/thumbs down on each design. He really enjoyed the process this time; the designs are...I'm trying to think of a good word for them; this is not "bedroom wear" for the most part, and "flirty" doesn't seem to get quite to the right point either. But at any rate the designs flatter the models, and the photographs flatter both, and at least one garment in the book will flatter almost every body a knitter is driving around, including taking into account individual tolerances for bare skin and clingy fabrics.

The designs abound with lace, ruffles, and embroidery; some are revealing, some are almost the opposite of revealing, some are clingy, some are flowing. There is a wide range of sizes available (most tops have a largest size that fits a bust over 50"!).  Includes technique tips for "Crochet for Knitters" (some projects have crocheted accents) and handling knitted millinery - I am in love with the two hats presented in the book, and one of them maybe to the extent that I will learn to handle millinery wire! I don't know if I'd buy this book right now, but several projects are going into my Ravelry queue, and I would happily check it out again.

Also checked out this week: Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters.

I don't think I've gotten as much as I can out of this book, because I read it without yarn and needles in my hands. As it is, I have to take Cat Bordhi's word for it that the stitches that make up the gusset in a conventionally-constructed sock can go absolutely anywhere in the relevant section of a sock. The concept hurts my brain.

This is definitely going on my bookshelf. It details eight nontraditional ways to put a sock together - some toe-up, some cuff-down - and, perhaps anticipating difficulty people like me will have learning to do them without actually doing them, each "sockitecture" is accompanied by a pattern for a baby sock for use as a learning tool, a generic Master Pattern, and a handful of adult-size sock patterns, most of which seem to just beg for hand-painted sock yarns. Each pathway offers different advantages to a designer in terms of highlighting a stitch pattern or customization for fit - and one was sufficiently different and beautiful on its own that she felt adding any design features beyond the architecture was gilding the lily.

The directions seem clear - I will not be able to tell whether they are or not until I actually try to knit them - and cover both DPN and two-circular knitting methods. (Magic Loop is mentioned briefly, not given its own set of instructions, but I believe they can work from the two-circ instructions...). And, for use in conjunction with the Master Patterns, there is a "parts bin" of generic heels, toes, and cuffs, and a designer's reference for getting socks of a particular size when knitting at a particular gauge.

Thumbs up. Every sock knitter needs a copy of this book.