Monday, February 28, 2011

REVIEW: Fearless Fair Isle Knitting

Fearless Fair Isle Knitting
30 Gorgeous Original Sweaters, Socks, Mittens, and More
by Kathleen Taylor
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: The Taunton Press (February 15, 2011)

fairisle

Fearless Fair Isle Knitting takes the fear out and puts the fun in your Fair Isle knitting!  If you're new to Fair Isle, this is the book for you.  Author Kathleen Taylor walks you through the very basics, including what is Fair Isle, yarn selection, swatching, tension and the nightmare of all nightmares, steeking.  

Newbies can start their fancy color work with such easy patterns as the Floppy Hat, Fingerless Mittens, Reversible Scarf and Drawstring Gift Bag.  More advanced Fair Isle knitters will get their color work on for the Dragon Ride Shawl, Dakota Dreams Women's Cardigan and Nordic Snowflake Sweater Dress.  

Patterns are broken up into chapters by style: Geometric Dazzle, Stripes Checks and Curlicues, Holiday Fun, Dakota Dreams, Nordic Snowflake, Genevieve's Graduation, Prairie Earth and Sky, In the Flower Garden and The Dragon Ride.  The best part is that the patterns in each category have not only been written to coordinate with each other design wise, but some have been written for stashbusting reasons, allowing you to use the the pile of leftover yarn from the larger projects.  Knit the Dakota Dreams Women's Cardigan and then use your leftover yarn for a pair of matching Women's Mittens.  Complete a Reindeer Romp Christmas Stocking, then knit a pair of beautiful Drawstring Gift Bags.  Make a pair of Prairie Earth and Sky socks after you've completed the Women's Vest. 

As far as that nightmare of most knitters, you no longer need to hide your scissors!  As intimidating as steeking may seem, Kathleen teaches us that the process is actually not something to worry about.

In Fearless Fair Isle Knitting, you will learn how to enjoy color work and stranded knitting.  Kathleen’s simple patterns, vibrant photos and large, easy-to-follow charts, will have you eagerly wanting to cast on a new project.  The results are stunning. The 30 beautiful designs represent her updates on classic Fair Isle motifs and include sweaters, socks, dresses, vests, mittens, hats, and bags.

About the Author: Few understand the nuances of Fair Isle knitting the way Kathleen Taylor does.  A polific author with over 30 years of knitwear design experience, Kathleen is responsible for the best-selling books The Big Book of Socks, I ♥ Felt, and Knit One, Felt Too, as well as more than 500 articles on knitting and needlework.. She has designed many knitwear projects exclusively for the Knit Picks yarn company and has appeared on HGTV’s Smart Solutions. Kathleen lives, writes and designs in South Dakota.  Check out her blog, Kathleen Taylor's DakotaDreams

4 comments:

Kathleen Taylor said...

Thank you so much!

SissySees said...

Hmmm... Think I should buy it and put it under my pillow until familiarity kills the fear?

jen said...

Although I am not a knitter, my sister is, and this sounds like a great read for her!

Grace said...

Tom asked last night for a fair isle pair of socks and a hat, guess this book is going on my list of things to buy. I have done a wee bit of fair isle but far from feeling comfortable with it yet!

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