I LOVE Ravelry and am always grateful for the inspiration and dedication of those who thought of it and make it work for all of us every day. However:
these are just two of the many shelves of knitting books that I happily own. They are often ignored as far as pattern searches go these days, while I lose myself to the wiles of Ravelry patterns and projects. I still often use the references and the stitch libraries when I’m thinking of a new pattern that I want to write, but the pattern books themselves sit month after month collecting dust.
Just lately, though, I’ve been spending some quiet time looking through some of the older books. Sally Melville’s inspired The Knit Stitch and The Purl Stitch. The Interweave “Style” books, edited by Pam Allen, including Scarf Style, the best scarf collection ever published (IMHO). All of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s books, written as if talking to you across the kitchen table, yet full of innovative designs and ideas. Any book written or edited by Melanie Falick, including the original Knitting in America, published in 1996 when, it seemed, no one was knitting in America. (Lots of people were knitting, but we were knitting alone, since there was no “on-line” in those days and few ways to connect with each other.)
It was fun to recall the joy of a knitting book, leafing through the pages, reading through the patterns, studying the lovely professional photographs to see: Is this the one I want to make? or: Hmm, now just how did they make that collar? or: I remember loving this sweater but for the life of me, I can’t remember why!
If you have a shelf (or two or three) of knitting books, show them some love! You’ll be inspired, maybe a little nostalgic as I was, and you just might find your next project.
Meanwhile I’ve been working on an easy poncho that’s almost finished, done in Noro’s pretty natural-colored new yarn, Tennen. It’ll be a free pattern when done, and if my niece likes it, I may have to knit another. Next week!
