Community serviceTwo friendly books offer inspiration for knitters |
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Knit 2 TogetherTracey Ullman and Mel Clark (STC Craft)AUD$49.95 / ISBN 1584795344 |
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Knitting Rules!Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (Storey Publishing)$21.95 / ISBN 1580178340 |
Knitting with a bunch of like-minded souls is informative, inspiring and fun. And so is reading both Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka the Yarn Harlot) and Knit 2 Together from comedian Tracey Ullman and NZ designer Mel Clark (see our Q&A on Page 10 of Yarn 5).
Tracey and Mel strike a conversational tone: advice and instruction is presented as dialogue between the two, and Ullman provides lots of laughs with her pithy observations and amusing anecdotes. You'll soon feel inspired to try out Mel's patterns, even if you've only knitted scarves before. Her designs range from homewares and toys (like a wee family of mice) to vintage-inspired modern classics like a lace-edged hug-me-tight which is truly a thing of beauty. And I can see myself churning out the funky felted house slippers as pressies for years to come.
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has a similar 'give it a go' attitude. 'There are no yarn police!' she cries. And you gotta love a book that lists five scenarios when you don't need tension. She covers a broad range of topics such as the relative merits of different types of needle, the benefits of a well-stocked knitting bag and how to identify those oddments in your stash which lost their labels many projects ago. There are no patterns as such, but you'll find enormously helpful, liberating 'recipes' for hats, socks, scarves, shawls and sweaters.
Both these books recognise that knitting is not just about technique. It's not just about the tools of the trade, either. It's also about belonging to a community which revels in sharing its knowledge and passion.
—Megan Longhurst