Marnie, speak! Good girl.

One of the perks of being a guest on Knitty Gritty, is the opportunity to meet those knitters and bloggers whose work you've admired but whom you've never met. Getting to meet the DomiKNITrix herself, Jennifer Stafford, was no exception. To know her work is to appreciate it, even if her style is not to your taste. From the sculptural horns of her Devil Hat to the, thoughtful detailing in her Little Red Riding Hoodie, you see her flair for shaping. With her, now ubiquitous, skull chart, or the variations of her Elfin Goth, you can appreciate her attention to detail. So when Jennifer asked if I'd review her new book, there was simply no hesitation.

The review will appear over two blog posts. Today, I have a the results of a questionnaire I sent Jennifer. The next post will be my review of the book.

Part I, in its entirety is after the jump.

All images in this post are from the book and are reproduced here with permission from the author.

When last I blogged, I posted an interview with Jennifer Stafford, the author of the book DomiKNITrix: Whip Your Knitting Into Shape. I hope you'll take the time to read through the interview because it's chock full of great tidbits and suggestions, for the knitter and pattern designer alike.

In this post, I'll be discussing the book itself and my review of it. I am a tough reviewer so expect to hear the good and the bad, as I see it. Take it for what it's worth and take into account your own preference for both learning and knitting, since my taste may differ from yours. The review is rather long, so if you are a skimmer, I suggest jumping ahead to the Conclusion section of this post.

Find the full review, after the jump.

Introduction

When I first saw the cover of Knitting Lingerie Style, floating around that interwebby thing, I knew that regardless of whatever else was in that book, I had to have it. The cover piece is just amazing. Everything about the garment is perfectly structured. How did she do it? I had to know. The book was available for pre-order, a while back and I didn't waste any time in ordering it.

Over the past couple of years, I had noticed McGowan-Michael showing up in more and more places, including Knitty Gritty and Vogue Knitting, and yet, despite how impressed I've been with any of her work I've seen, I have never spent that much time really researching her as a designer.

The book arrived last week, and I set right to plonking down for a good read. Leo wholeheartedly endorsed this particular acquisition. I haven't had a chance to knit any designs yet, so I won't speak to topics such as the accuracy of the patterns or the fit, but I will pipe up with my 2¢ on anything else that comes to mind.

A little while back, I posted this picture and lamented that my WooLee Winder wasn't filling evenly.

It's going to take some fine tuning, but I'm definitely seeing improvement.

The skirt is progressing. After taking this photo, I threw in a lifeline and am now deciding how I want to work the chevrons into flat stitches. The key is not only making smooth transition from the zigzag to flat, but also adjusting the gauge which changes from 8 stitches per inch in chevron to 6 stitches per inch flat.

And look, my garden gave me another bloom. I am pleased.

I don't know how obvious it is to you, but I think we have two different varieties of Cosmos here. The smaller flower actually has slightly different shaped petals than the bigger one. I may be totally wrong but since we dumped several different mixes of seeds here, I think it's possible.

And finally, I'll be posting an interview with Donna Druchanus at the end of the month. I'm day 23 of her blog tour. I'm about halfway through the book now and gathering my questions.

I've worked with Donna before and am really looking forward to the interview. Expect lots of questions about the book and her travels and maybe some little tangents into her other interests. I just hope that I'm able to come up with questions she hasn't already answered a million times.

I'm Donna's 23rd stop on her tireless blog tour. Here's hoping she's collected a good number miles in the process, and didn't get stuck in a middle seat.

Donna has tech edited both of my Stitch Diva Studios patterns and has impressed me with her abilities to distill my aimless ramblings into a concise and friendly format, while still having a keen eye for detail. All of these qualities shine through in her new book, Ethnic Knitting: Discovery: The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and The Andes, which offers a technically sound and yet beautifully user friendly approach to designing ethnically inspired and custom fit garments. Her writing style is friendly and accessible, and she peppers the book with suggestions and tips that should benefit even seasoned knitters.

Dawn and Faina's blog tour, for their new book, Casual Elegant Knits.

I directed my questions to both Dawn and Faina, who graciously answered all my questions. I think you'll find them as interesting as I did.

I lived most of my life in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, experiencing the full range of seasonal changes from hot and muggy to sub zero, covered in ice, I think my eyes just froze shut cold. But it wasn't until I moved to Los Angeles that I suddenly rediscovered knitting and took to it in earnest. Five years in a climate that rarely dips below 55 degrees Fahrenheit and often blasts right past 90, gave me a keen appreciation for versatile and light knits. As any of you living in warmer climates know, balancing comfort in the hottest temperatures with the over zealous application of climate control in various offices, restaurants, theaters and stores, is not as easy as one might assume.

Enter Kristi Porter's newest book, Knitting In The Sun. This collection of 32 projects is sure to please almost anyone who lives somewhere with at least a few months of warm weather.

For my stop on Kristi's blog tour, I'm doing a brief interview with several of the contributing designers from the book. A huge thank you to the following designers for their contribution (in alphabetical order).

• Carol Feller [CF]
• Faina Goberstein [FG]
• Anne Kuo Lukito [AKL]
• Janine Le Cras [JLC]
• Kristi Porter [KP]
• Julia Trice [JT]

I think you'll all agree that their answers are really interesting and their designs are simply lovely.

1. Quimper, 2. Anna Maria Tank, 3. Cinnamon Bay, 4. Blacksea, 5. Alishan, 6. Yehliu, 7. Bordeaux, 8. Cover, 9. Provence, 10. Bardini, 11. Vernazza, 12. Cabrillo, 13. Puget Sound, 14. Coronado, 15. Windansea, 16. Aviara
Ravelry Link to the projects in this book here
Most images Copyright Wiley Publication, all rights reserved. One image copyright Julia Trice, all rights reserved.

The cover features a double-breasted jacket worked in mosaic stitch

Cardigans and jackets are hugely popular with knitters. Pulling a sweater up over your head, multiple times a day, is a great way to get an Einsteinian coiffure but it's not hugely practical, while a cardigan or jacket lets you put on or take off the garment, with ease, or wear it partially open, fully closed or completely loose.

Cardigans & Closures, by Melissa Leapman is, in essence, two different books; a resource book on closures and a pattern book with 7 different designs.

As a resource, this 56 page book is concise but should cover the vast majority of closure needs, from those that need not be planned for ahead of time, such as zippers and loop closures, to those that are integrated right into the knitting, such as the double-breasted mosaic jacket on the cover. All techniques are fully explained and many offer helpful illustrations as well.

For those whose prefer seamless designs, with integrated plackets and closures, you may find this book lacking. Garments are all worked in pieces and most of the button treatments are picked up and knit on or require some seaming work.

The Funky Boyfriend Cardigan has a sturdy double thickness placket that is knit flat, folded, and seamed to the wrong side.

As a book of knitting patterns, Cardigans & Closures offers a nice variety of stitch patterns, lengths and, of course, closure treatments. Projects use Craft Yarn Council standards for sizing, skill level, and yarn weights, offering garments to fit bust sizes from around 28" / 71 cm up to 54" / 137 cm. Patterns use imperial measurements with a metric conversion chart at the end of the book. More complex stitch patterns are charted, only, but the charts are clear and the repeats are relatively small.

The seven designs in the book.

Silhouettes are all straight through the body (one garment has a flared flounce at the bottom,) with no waist shaping, and the garments mostly feature modified set-in style sleeves. While I'm partial to more figure hugging shapes, many of these would be easy enough to modify, if a different shape suited you better.

For those of you who might be looking for a resource to help you improve your closure making skills, or if you like any of the projects shown, you should find this little book a good resource. I could see this being particularly helpful to people who want to convert existing pullover designs into cardigans.

If you want to find out more about this book, you can see the press release here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. I received no other compensation for this review.

All images in this post are from the book and are reproduced here with permission from the author.

When last I blogged, I posted an interview with Jennifer Stafford, the author of the book DomiKNITrix: Whip Your Knitting Into Shape. I hope you'll take the time to read through the interview because it's chock full of great tidbits and suggestions, for the knitter and pattern designer alike.

In this post, I'll be discussing the book itself and my review of it. I am a tough reviewer so expect to hear the good and the bad, as I see it. Take it for what it's worth and take into account your own preference for both learning and knitting, since my taste may differ from yours. The review is rather long, so if you are a skimmer, I suggest jumping ahead to the Conclusion section of this post.

Find the full review, after the jump.

One of the perks of being a guest on Knitty Gritty, is the opportunity to meet those knitters and bloggers whose work you've admired but whom you've never met. Getting to meet the DomiKNITrix herself, Jennifer Stafford, was no exception. To know her work is to appreciate it, even if her style is not to your taste. From the sculptural horns of her Devil Hat to the, thoughtful detailing in her Little Red Riding Hoodie, you see her flair for shaping. With her, now ubiquitous, skull chart, or the variations of her Elfin Goth, you can appreciate her attention to detail. So when Jennifer asked if I'd review her new book, there was simply no hesitation.

The review will appear over two blog posts. Today, I have a the results of a questionnaire I sent Jennifer. The next post will be my review of the book.

Part I, in its entirety is after the jump.

Introduction

When I first saw the cover of Knitting Lingerie Style, floating around that interwebby thing, I knew that regardless of whatever else was in that book, I had to have it. The cover piece is just amazing. Everything about the garment is perfectly structured. How did she do it? I had to know. The book was available for pre-order, a while back and I didn't waste any time in ordering it.

Over the past couple of years, I had noticed McGowan-Michael showing up in more and more places, including Knitty Gritty and Vogue Knitting, and yet, despite how impressed I've been with any of her work I've seen, I have never spent that much time really researching her as a designer.

The book arrived last week, and I set right to plonking down for a good read. Leo wholeheartedly endorsed this particular acquisition. I haven't had a chance to knit any designs yet, so I won't speak to topics such as the accuracy of the patterns or the fit, but I will pipe up with my 2¢ on anything else that comes to mind.

A little while back, I posted this picture and lamented that my WooLee Winder wasn't filling evenly.

It's going to take some fine tuning, but I'm definitely seeing improvement.

The skirt is progressing. After taking this photo, I threw in a lifeline and am now deciding how I want to work the chevrons into flat stitches. The key is not only making smooth transition from the zigzag to flat, but also adjusting the gauge which changes from 8 stitches per inch in chevron to 6 stitches per inch flat.

And look, my garden gave me another bloom. I am pleased.

I don't know how obvious it is to you, but I think we have two different varieties of Cosmos here. The smaller flower actually has slightly different shaped petals than the bigger one. I may be totally wrong but since we dumped several different mixes of seeds here, I think it's possible.

And finally, I'll be posting an interview with Donna Druchanus at the end of the month. I'm day 23 of her blog tour. I'm about halfway through the book now and gathering my questions.

I've worked with Donna before and am really looking forward to the interview. Expect lots of questions about the book and her travels and maybe some little tangents into her other interests. I just hope that I'm able to come up with questions she hasn't already answered a million times.

I'm Donna's 23rd stop on her tireless blog tour. Here's hoping she's collected a good number miles in the process, and didn't get stuck in a middle seat.

Donna has tech edited both of my Stitch Diva Studios patterns and has impressed me with her abilities to distill my aimless ramblings into a concise and friendly format, while still having a keen eye for detail. All of these qualities shine through in her new book, Ethnic Knitting: Discovery: The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and The Andes, which offers a technically sound and yet beautifully user friendly approach to designing ethnically inspired and custom fit garments. Her writing style is friendly and accessible, and she peppers the book with suggestions and tips that should benefit even seasoned knitters.

Dawn and Faina's blog tour, for their new book, Casual Elegant Knits.

I directed my questions to both Dawn and Faina, who graciously answered all my questions. I think you'll find them as interesting as I did.

I lived most of my life in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, experiencing the full range of seasonal changes from hot and muggy to sub zero, covered in ice, I think my eyes just froze shut cold. But it wasn't until I moved to Los Angeles that I suddenly rediscovered knitting and took to it in earnest. Five years in a climate that rarely dips below 55 degrees Fahrenheit and often blasts right past 90, gave me a keen appreciation for versatile and light knits. As any of you living in warmer climates know, balancing comfort in the hottest temperatures with the over zealous application of climate control in various offices, restaurants, theaters and stores, is not as easy as one might assume.

Enter Kristi Porter's newest book, Knitting In The Sun. This collection of 32 projects is sure to please almost anyone who lives somewhere with at least a few months of warm weather.

For my stop on Kristi's blog tour, I'm doing a brief interview with several of the contributing designers from the book. A huge thank you to the following designers for their contribution (in alphabetical order).

• Carol Feller [CF]
• Faina Goberstein [FG]
• Anne Kuo Lukito [AKL]
• Janine Le Cras [JLC]
• Kristi Porter [KP]
• Julia Trice [JT]

I think you'll all agree that their answers are really interesting and their designs are simply lovely.

1. Quimper, 2. Anna Maria Tank, 3. Cinnamon Bay, 4. Blacksea, 5. Alishan, 6. Yehliu, 7. Bordeaux, 8. Cover, 9. Provence, 10. Bardini, 11. Vernazza, 12. Cabrillo, 13. Puget Sound, 14. Coronado, 15. Windansea, 16. Aviara
Ravelry Link to the projects in this book here
Most images Copyright Wiley Publication, all rights reserved. One image copyright Julia Trice, all rights reserved.

The cover features a double-breasted jacket worked in mosaic stitch

Cardigans and jackets are hugely popular with knitters. Pulling a sweater up over your head, multiple times a day, is a great way to get an Einsteinian coiffure but it's not hugely practical, while a cardigan or jacket lets you put on or take off the garment, with ease, or wear it partially open, fully closed or completely loose.

Cardigans & Closures, by Melissa Leapman is, in essence, two different books; a resource book on closures and a pattern book with 7 different designs.

As a resource, this 56 page book is concise but should cover the vast majority of closure needs, from those that need not be planned for ahead of time, such as zippers and loop closures, to those that are integrated right into the knitting, such as the double-breasted mosaic jacket on the cover. All techniques are fully explained and many offer helpful illustrations as well.

For those whose prefer seamless designs, with integrated plackets and closures, you may find this book lacking. Garments are all worked in pieces and most of the button treatments are picked up and knit on or require some seaming work.

The Funky Boyfriend Cardigan has a sturdy double thickness placket that is knit flat, folded, and seamed to the wrong side.

As a book of knitting patterns, Cardigans & Closures offers a nice variety of stitch patterns, lengths and, of course, closure treatments. Projects use Craft Yarn Council standards for sizing, skill level, and yarn weights, offering garments to fit bust sizes from around 28" / 71 cm up to 54" / 137 cm. Patterns use imperial measurements with a metric conversion chart at the end of the book. More complex stitch patterns are charted, only, but the charts are clear and the repeats are relatively small.

The seven designs in the book.

Silhouettes are all straight through the body (one garment has a flared flounce at the bottom,) with no waist shaping, and the garments mostly feature modified set-in style sleeves. While I'm partial to more figure hugging shapes, many of these would be easy enough to modify, if a different shape suited you better.

For those of you who might be looking for a resource to help you improve your closure making skills, or if you like any of the projects shown, you should find this little book a good resource. I could see this being particularly helpful to people who want to convert existing pullover designs into cardigans.

If you want to find out more about this book, you can see the press release here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. I received no other compensation for this review.