Book Reviews

(continued from the May 2008 issue of YMN)

The Best of Knitter’s: Guy Knits
XRX Books | $19.95 | ISBN: 1933064099
It’s difficult to strike the right balance between knitters and knittees when it comes to men’s pattern books: Stitchers like to play wild with color and shape, but most guys aren’t looking for kooky Huxtable-esque sweaters. There are a few that fall into this category in Knitter’s latest men’s compilation (including a vest with high finance/real estate motifs knit right in), but the majority will please more conservative dressers. Pullovers and vests with texture and geometrics predominate; standouts include Norah Gaughan’s Guernsey-style Mandalay Turtle and Kathy Zimmerman’s Forks in the Road, a unisex shawl-collared Aran. And while the jury’s still out on whether men really wear knit ties, the mix-and-match reversible outerwear-accessory sets should have wide appeal.

Knitted Socks By Anna Tillman Trafalgar Square | $24.95 ISBN: 1570763860

Love to Knit Socks By Bronwyn Lowenthal Cico Books | $19.95 ISBN: 190609442X

There’s no end in sight for the foothold sock knitting has on the imagination of the stitching public at large. These two new books are happy to feed that well-heeled mass. With so many sock patterns available, the ones that stand up most prominently here are on the gotta-getta-gimmick side; note that both volumes have plenty of attractive, wearable pairs in all heights and techniques. They’re just not as much fun to talk about. With that said, here are some highlights:

In Love to Knit Socks, check out the thronged, cropped flip-flop socks, the Victorian black-lace socks with a flirty edging of white trim, the doggy leg warmers, the thigh-high gardening socks with built-in kneepads and the striped men’s rugby socks. In Knitted Socks, there’s a pair of slouch socks ruched to stay scrunched, long-wearing tube socks knit sans heel, rainbow-toe and sandal-toe socks, and a slew of cutesy animal socks—ladybugs, penguins with pop-out wings, ankle pockets for mini teddy bears and the Whole Hog, whose head and body travel across two feet.

Destination Alchemy
Alchemy Books | $24.95 | ISBN: 0980105706
Alchemy Yarns of Transformation embarks on a grand tour through its own yarn in this self-published collection put together by Artistic/Creative Director Gina Wilde. The hand-paints are dramatic on their own, doubly so when coaxed into glamorous lace, snaky cables, ruched transparency. The travel theme works two ways: Many of the pieces not only take inspiration from far-off climes (take the Origamist sleeved wrap or the charming snake-cable-backed cami) but also work well as go-anywhere travel pieces (try the Ingenue silk tank with cross hatching at the yoke. All twenty designs are knittable and highlight the subtleties in the yarn the way Wilde intended.