Today I am going to review 2 craft books that I have purchased and read recently. The first is Knitwear Design Workshop. I had been thinking over the summer about starting to design my own sweaters (and have a Pinterest board with inspiration) so I purchased this book with the hopes that it could help. However, I really decided after slogging through it that anything by Elizabeth Zimmerman and Barbara Walker are really more my style. There is some good info in this book but I found it to be very repetitive and some of it was really elementary. For example there is actually a chart on converting fractions to decimals in case anyone doesn't know that 1/4 = .25 or 1/2 = .5! Also, the author knits everything flat and then sews up. Which is fine but I don't think is necessary in all cases. There was some good information on different types of necklines and sleeve styles but it was a rather spendy book so I was hoping for something different. It does have good reviews on Amazon so I am clearly in the minority.
The second book is Pretty in Patchwork Holidays by John Q. Adams from Fat Quarterly. I love this book so much and have found many projects that I would love to make. There are pillows, quilts, table runners, ornaments, aprons, gift bags and much more. A lot of them are Christmas themed but there are quite a few fall themed projects and some that could be anytime of year based on fabric choice. I would really like to make the Home Squash Home wall hanging but in reality probably wouldn't get it done for this season. We shall see, I may be going fabric shopping this weekend so I might find what I need and start next week.
Now I need to get started on a hat for my friend's Christmas present, in past years I have knit her a Hawkeye striped scarf and Hawkeye mittens. This year she is getting a black hat to go along with those, I am using Madelinetosh Vintage in the colorway cloak. I have not knit with this yarn before but I love Madelinetosh so I am looking forward to it. I am planning on knitting a Lotus Hat with a few mods to make it slouchy. So more on that next week!
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