Recently in BoOkS Category

New knitting books are about as much fun as new yarn. Last week at knitting night, Kathy brought a big stack of books for us to flip through. The two favorites that emerged were "Knit 2 Together" by Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark, and "Museum of Kitschy Stitches: A Gallery of Notorious Knits" by Stitchy McYarnpants.

This book is seriously laugh out loud funny. I only recently came across Stitchy's blog (I know, I'm soooo behind the times!). But let me tell you, this book is so funny that Kevin actually picked it up and read it all on his own! His favorite is the helmet guy on page 71. If you have the book (and you should!), you'll know who I mean. I wasn't too sure about this book at first. I read a review/article about it in Interweave (or Vogue?, I don't remember). But I remember thinking, "that sounds ok, but it is probably just another Hollywood over the top knitting book". Kind of like Celebrity Scarves or the Hollywood Knits books (ok, yes I do own all 4 of those, but no one said I wasn't a little hypocritical here!). I really liked this book; it is cute and funny, and the patterns are interesting. Although, I have to second Nona's review and that I too wish some of these patterns were available as single patterns. I like the book, but there are several items that just don't interest me at all (that's never stopped me from buying a knitting book before, but I'm not feeling the "I must have this book vibe" from this one). I plan on knitting the Grownup Bonnet and maybe the Rowena Cardigan, but there isn't much else I'd actually knit.

But overall 2 good books to check out if you haven't already!

Hamster Face!

I just got this book in the mail today. I had forgotten that I ordered it. I've belonged to Crafter's Choice for a couple of years now. The initial deal was great and I was able to stock up on some great knitting books, but since fulfilling my obligations, I've ordered a couple of things, but not many (considering the prices aren't that much better than Amazon). I've been annoyed with the monthly email reminders about the Editor's Choice (which I sometimes forget to reply to and then they send it and I have to send it back and it is a big hassle). So I decided the other day after the most recent email, that I would like to close my account. I realized I had enough bonus points though for a less expensive book. On a whim, I picked "Natural Knits for Babies and Moms". I only had to pay for shipping, so the price was right! I figured since my cousin just had a baby a few days ago and another friend of Kevin's is expecting, I ought to have more baby patterns in my arensal than just the Sheepy Blanket. I love the Sheepy Blanket, but I don't want to be a one note baby knitter! I've been flipping through the book and I really like it. The pictures are nice and the patterns are simple. They're not to cutesy or babyish, and the idea of using organic yarns is cool. So overall, if you are like me and don't have many or any books with knits for babies, this is a good pick because the patterns are simple and classic (and it gives you an excuse to buy Blue Sky Alpaca's Organic Cotton in large quantities!).