Sunday, November 22, 2009

REVIEW: Color by Kristin: How to Design Your Own Beautiful Knits

Color by Kristin: How to Design Your Own Beautiful Knits
by Kristin Nicholas
Hardcover: 172 pages
Publisher: Sixth&Spring Books (November 3, 2009)

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Color by Kristin: How to Design Your Own Beautiful Knits is, well to sum it up quite simply, a very beautiful book! The examples and patterns are simply stunning and the gorgeous photography only adds to the appeal. Talk about a coffee table book for knitters - this is it!

The photos are what caught my eye from the moment I opened Color by Kristin. As the title would suggest, they are full of color... beautiful color. Ooohs and Aaahs all around!

After you get past the oohing and aahing, you'll become engrossed in reading about color. Kristin's introduction gives a great background on her adventures with color, right up to how this book came about. She goes on to teach The Joy of Color and how to use a color wheel, as well as the importance of swatching when working with color. The easy to follow Fair Isle tutortial is a must read if, like me, you are interested in adding some color work into your knitting repertoire. Kristin even writes about - gasp! - The Steek and continues with a chapter on designing your own Fair Isle knits..

Two practice projects are given to get you started with Fair Isle - a draft stopping pillow and a child's sampler scarf. After you're on your way working with color, you'll become addicted to the fabulous patterns... each one more stunning than the next. Mittens, wraps, afghans, sweaters, scarves, pillows and more - there's plenty to keep your needles clicking!

Kristin also provided a wonderful Designer Sourcebook, which includes multiple edgings and a colorwork chart glossary.

If you're interested in color, Color by Kristin is definitely a must-add to your bookshelf (and did I mention what a perfect coffee table book this one makes? Even non-knitters will ooh and aah over the photographs).

About the Author: Kristin Nicholas is a renowned knitwear designer, decorative artist, and author who was named one of Vogue Knitting’s Master Knitters of the 1990s. Her designs have been featured in Vogue Knitting, Family Circle, and other publications. She has her own line of yarn called Julia from Nashua Handknits. Kristin lives with her family in rural western Massachusetts in a very colorful farmhouse. Be sure to check our
Kristin's blog.

2 comments:

SissySees said...

Hmmm... Let me know if you get addicted. I still find stranded knitting too fiddly to really be fun.

Grace said...

Even being into designing I would have more then likely passed the book by but now you have piques my interest!!

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