There have been a lot of good books piling up on my table lately—
Home & Away: Knits for Everyday Adventures by Hannah Fettig
I loaned Hannah a few Fringe Supply goods to be used as photo props for her latest book and she sent me a copy in return. I couldn’t be happier to be associated with it — such a beautifully photographed, beautifully produced book! It’s a collection of 8 sweater patterns (and 1 hat) but it’s also a compendium of all the basic info you need if you’re new to sweater knitting — from choosing your size to picking up stitches for the edgings.
Madder Anthology 2: Simple Pleasures by Carrie Bostick Hoge
I bought the digital version when it was first announced and forgot a print version would be landing on my doorstep one day. Great collection — as I raved at the time — and another gorgeously produced book.
“Nordic Knitting: Thirty-one Patterns in the Scandinavian Tradition” by Susanne Pagoldh
This is the out-of-print gem mentioned in my post about Jules’ Faroese shawl. My friend Kate brought her copy to Columbus for the trade show in May so I could have a look at it, and wound up sending it home with me — on loan, mind you. Her last words to me that weekend were, “You have to send that book back.” And I better do it soon, but will definitely be acquiring my own copy.
“Worn Stories” by Emily Spivack
This was sent to me by a very kind reader (another Kate!) and I am beyond in love with it. Spivack asked sixty-some notable people (from John Hodgman to Rosanne Cash and Rachel Comey) to tell her the story of a single garment in their wardrobe — “memoirs in miniature” — and they’re SO GOOD. Each day when I need a little brain break, I open the book and read the next one, and I’m sad I’ll run out of them in a couple of months’ time. Probably the appropriate thing to do when I reach the end is to send it on to the next person, but this one will be on my shelf (or maybe my bedside table) for life.
Fix Your Clothes by Raleigh Briggs
I bought this little zine from Have Company and it’s the most charming and useful thing — all handwritten and illustrated, of course, and covering everything from emergency fixes to proper mending and darning techniques to dealing with buttons and zippers. Love.
Yokes by Kate Davies
My admiration for Kate Davies is well-documented and naturally I bought her new book when it published a few months back. The subtitle is “Eleven signature designs, with stories of the sweater that changed the shape of modern knitting,” and it starts out with an incredible history of the yoke (across regions) that I can’t wait to sit down with someday soon.
Similarly, I’m incredibly eager to get may hands on Susan Crawford’s book, Vintage Shetland, which isn’t published yet. Crawford — a self-described “knitting anthropologist” — has spent four years painstakingly creating patterns for 25 pieces from the Shetland Museum. The patterns and writing and photography (of Shetland, the museum pieces and the pattern samples) are all done and the printing is being crowdfunded. Her Pubslush campaign started today, so you can find out lots more over there.