Books
New & Noteworthy: April Books
Dear Ann,
I know, it’s Saturday! We’re meant to be Knitting to This!
But there are NEW BOOKS, Ann. I cannot let the New & Noteworthy pass without noting them.
I’ll be brief, as I know you have knitting and TV to get to, and it might even be nice outside.
Arne & Carlos Favorite Designs
Everybody’s favorite bespectacled Nordic charmers (whom we are proud to include among our colleagues on the Knit Stars teaching staff this year), Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrison, have shown us the fun in all sorts of knitting techniques and items including balls, dolls, birds, slippers, sweaters, scarves, mittens, and more. Their latest book is literally a greatest hits album, including 70 designs from their past books, plus 15 new designs. If you missed their darling Field Guide to Knitted Birds, for example, this is your chance to sample a few species before committing to the full aviary of 40.
Arne & Carlos Favorite Designs: Greatest Hits and New Inspirations (Trafalgar Square, April 24, 2018.)
Knitted Tanks & Tunics: 21 Crisp, Cool Designs for Sleeveless Tops
Summer garments pose a challenge for knitwear design. Knitted fabrics naturally want to cover up, not reveal, or even ventilate, the body. In Angela Hahn’s impeccable collection of sleeveless tanks and tunics, the styling accentuates the slim line of these summery garments. This may give the wrong impression: the sizing runs from XS to XL and in some cases to 3X, and the shapes are simple and elegant. What drew me in are the interesting construction details, especially for clever, eye-catching necklines that look fun to knit. I love the apron-style back of Bellingham (and the photos on Ravelry show the shape to be looser (aka more Kay-friendly) than the ones in the book). If you’re looking for lightweight tops to knit up quickly for Summer 2018, this is the book.
Knitted Tanks & Tunics: 21 Crisp, Cool Designs for Sleeveless Tops, by Angela Hahn (Stackpole, April 1, 2018).
Noro Kureyon: The 30th Anniversary Collection
Sound the Noro klaxon! As a decades-long fan of the Japanese yarn Noro Kureyon, I know that even a single new pattern that plays with its magical color changes is an event. A collection of 30 designs is big news. I haven’t gotten my hands on a copy of this book yet, but I want to make the cover blanket just for the fun of picking up all those stitches.
Noro Kureyon: The 30th Anniversary Collection (Sixth & Spring, April 3, 2018).
Cake
It’s not a knitting book, but beloved illustrator and writer Maira Kalman is a knitter and member of my sewing circle, and furthermore: CAKE! Here, Maira teams up with food writer Barbara Scott-Goodman, who provides the recipes, which are for CAKE.
In conclusion: CAKE.
Cake, by Maira Kalman, with recipes by Barbara Scott-Goodman (Penguin Press, April 10, 2018).
Love (and CAKE),
Kay
That cake book is screaming my name!
If I were not a knitter I would still read this blog because you might mention Maira Kalman. After I finish this note, I must go find CAKE! Not to mention Arne and Carlos, of course.
I’ll second that!!
How about a vest pattern, cotton yarn for a 3yr. old boy…simple!! PLEASE SOMEBODY
Here’s a perfect one…ask me how I know..Kid’s Vest, page 74, Joelle Hoverson’s “More Last Minute Knitted Gifts.”
Rowan’s Tadpoles and Tiddlers book. Patterns might be available for individual sale as the book is nearing “vintage” age
ask on ravelry, people are very willing to help there.
A new Maira Kalman book is always cause to celebrate
Happily looking at knitting books and the Cake appears. I would buy a print of the cover – gorgeous!
How did she get the frosting so shiny?!
I love Maira Kalman. She lives in the same apartment building as an old friend I was visiting in New York a few weeks ago, and I bumped into her in the elevator. I was so star-struck that all I could think to say was “Oh, you are in Kay’s sewing circle!” Nothing about the illustrations or the writing, just the sewing circle. The voice inside my head said “She will ask if you know Kay and you will have to say no.” Thankfully I remained silent, we smiled at each other (she mostly smiled at my friend’s dog), and we left the elevator.
Here’s a link to Part1 of 3 where Arne and Carlos show vintage knitwear. Several garment came from Arne’s family or his own childhood. I haven’t gotten the book yet but having watched their videos on their vintage collection I can believe the book would be sooo inspiring.
Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA3MBy-hlMM
You’re joking about picking up all those stitches, right?
Get your mittens on 13 Words by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Maira Kalman! Many splendid cake, bird, and fancy hat pictures. Excited to hear she’s a knitter!
She is, and here’s the evidence: https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/thanks-knitting/
Being Maira, she did not hesitate to knit the same baby kimono in all different weights and fibers. They turned out looking like her illustrations. Proud to have sewn the side seams in on them….
Ordered the tank tops.
Against all evidence, I believe that summer is coming.