Gifts for Knitters - Books

At this point, with 11 days until Christmas, you may have decided it's just too late to knit something for a knitter in your life, but they're still on your list.  Now what?  You probably don't want to give a Random Act of Yarn (a skein of yarn you think is pretty and have no idea what your knitter will do with it.)  And needles?  With so many kinds in so many sizes , circs, dpns, short straights, long straights... well, it can be hard to feel good about that, too.

Here's the thing: you're thoughtful enough to want to get it right, and yet don't know what that particular knitter dreams of at night.  These books would be welcomed by most knitters I've every met.  Try them for your favorite knitter, or leave this list out for folks who are shopping for you!

BOOKS:  Generic knitting books are usually safe and welcome.  Try The Knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliff, a tote-able resource that covers basic to intermediate knitting conundrums.  Vogue Knitting Quick Reference: The Ultimate Portable Knitting Compendium is another great basic, and is spiral bound, making it lie flat when opened.  (This is very handy when your hands are full of knitting.)

Any of the Knitting on the Edge  (Over the edge, Beyond the edge, etc.) by Nikki Epstein books are a great inspiration and addition, even if your knitter is still diligently knitting their first scarf.  Specifically containing only edge treatments, each offers a plethora of "spice it up" ideas with complete pattern instructions.

Stitch dictionaries are also very handy and popular.  Try any of these: The Encyclopedia of Knitting by Stanfield and Griffiths has explanations of how and why certain techniques are used, as well as abundant photos and directions.  Knit and Purl by Erika Knight covers hundreds of beautiful designs you can make with just the two most basic knitting stitches - an excellent reminder for those of us who over complicate everything.  Knitting Stitches Visual Encyclopedia by Sharon Turner is just that - an easy to understand visual index of knitting stitches.

For the knitter who has everything, try the latest in the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary series, Stitchionary 6: Edgings.  As this series goes on, it becomes more addictive.  Have a big budget?  Collect several of the titles above for your favorite knitter.  They'll swoon in delight!

Notes for Wednesday

Some random Wednesday notes: 

I've added a "Cloths and Squares" page. I'll be adding charts for dishcloths/blanket squares fairly frequently as I translate my drawings to computer files.  If you have a particular square you'd like to see, let me know.  I'll try to get the favorites up first.

This blog is now available through for Kindle through Amazon.  It's been available for a week and the feedback is great.  Now you can take Karma with you!

I was just updated that Nancy Marchant, the brioche knitting maven I've praised in the last couple of posts has an article in the current Vogue Knitting.  Take a look! It's a good one!

People keep re-reading two old posts, Mean People Suck, and Where You Buy Your Yarn.  (Available in Archives to the right.)  Many people have mentioned how glad they are that as knitters, we're generally a mellow, happy group.  The Angry Shopper is rare, and seeing one reminds readers of how very rarely it happens.  The Where You Buy Your Yarn post brings comments like: "You wouldn't bring your own food to go eat in a restaurant," and "Based on how much yarn I buy, my LYS will never close.  I keep them in business all by myself!"

Thanks for the emails.  You're welcome to post your comments right to the blog, too.  I'd love to be able to share all your remarks with everybody!

Two Color Brioche - The Continuing Saga

The holidays have come and gone, and things are settling back down to normal around here.  I've seen a few knitting friends in the last few days, and the long and short of it is this: I have not found a two-color brioche teacher yet.  I thought I had one, but she turned out to be thinking of something else.  When I mentioned my dilemma to my Mr., he suggested I just borrow a pastry cookbook.  Then he wondered where the colors come into it.  I explained that it was a knitting thing, and his face visibly fell as he realized I wasn't about to bake some brioche.

As always, I am not a loss for projects, but I haven't given up on the brioche thing, either.  As a knitting teacher, I always feel funny about not being able to perform a particular stitch.  (Does this mean I have nothing to offer as a teacher?) I don't know whom to ask for help. I've decided the next two steps in my journey will be to attentively work with the website briochestitch.com (run by Nancy Marchant), and to order the book Ms. Marchant wrote called Knitting Brioche: The Essential Guide to the Brioche Stitch.  Ms. Marchant is Vogue Knitting's go-to expert on the brioche, and the work I've seen in photos from her book is stunning. (Why isn't two-color brioche covered in any of the Vogue books?) She has directions on her website which appear to be a little different from what I've been able to find so far, and I'm hopeful.  No video, though, so we'll see. The book also has several pages of directions with photos. So I will patiently knit socks as I wait for my book to arrive, and perform lessons while staring at the website.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.