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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | Music | Home » » » Knitter's Yarn Palette | | | | | | | Description: | | Invaluable inspiration for knitters interested in the latest yarns and newest designs! This unique book explains everything there is to know about weight, gauge, texture, and more. Beginners will gain confidence to use yarns other than those specified in a pattern. And experienced knitters will reach for this book again and again to inspire their own designs from the many choices of textures and rich colors. It's perfect for knitters who want to experiment with new and interesting yarns while avoiding time-consuming and costly mistakes. Plus, the book includes 30 original patterns! | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Claire Montgomerie | | Hardcover:
| 176 pages | | Publisher:
| Readers Digest | | Publication Date:
| October 15, 2008 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0762109092 | | Package Length:
| 8.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 8.8 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.7 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 1 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Add another level of creativity to your knittingJul 14, 2009
Knitter's Yarn Palette by Claire Montgomerie was a life changing book for me. I'm not changing my career or religion but I'm certainly changing the way I approach knitting projects. She writes that the objective of the book is to be an "inspirational guide to knitting innovatively . . . [without] an art-school education." She achieves her goal through teaching how to create "Mood Boards" for knitting projects - gathering leaves, shells, photos, scraps of yarns, buttons, etc to suggest colors, textures and shapes for projects. She also introduces principles of color, types of fibers, and dyes. Then she demonstrates her approach by presenting six of her own Mood Boards, each featuring three or four knitting projects.
I like the diversity of the twenty projects she offers which range from wraps and blankets to muffs and socks. There are four sweaters. Other than the two projects for children --one child's scarf, hat and mittens set, the second, building blocks -- everything is designed for women. Every design is practical and wearable but each also features a detail, a stitch pattern, or a yarn choice that makes them a small but interesting challenge for the intermediate knitter or adventuresome beginner. The Astrid Sweater varies the traditional Norwegian color palette and employs steeking for the neck and sleeves. The ankle-length Dust Socks uses occasional rows of purl to create the effect of windblown sand. The Loom Patchwork Blanket embellishes hexagons with intarsia and embroidery.
There is equal diversity in the author's yarn choices which include hemp, hand spun, mohair, and novelty as well as traditional wools. A Yarn Directory in the back describes yarn structures, types and illustrates differing weight yarns with photographs of a wide range of yarns.
The author's designs are divided into six sections that she calls Color Palettes but what I think of more as themes or inspirations. These are drawn from environmental regions of the earth like the ocean (Into the Blue), or the tropical rain forest (Tropical Storm). Claire begins with describing highlights of the region: for instance, contrasting textures and dappled lighting in Enchanted Woodland. She shares how these characteristics suggest colors, yarn, and stitches. Next she presents her Mood Board for that section and finally illustrates how her process translates into specific projects.
The photography is lush and includes elements of nature, yarn and swatch samples. Each photo is identified so that you can follow Claire's thinking. An added bonus for most of the designs is Claire's suggestions for altering the pattern or yarn choice.
I have some quibbles. I would have liked schematics or better photographs of some of the garments. Marine Waves Wrap, a beautiful fabric made of Sea Wool and featuring the feather and fan stitch to suggest ocean waves has arms built in, but I have no clear picture of what it looks like overall despite the four photographs of it.
Another lovely design, the Sequoia Shawl, knit out of mohair, uses a lace stitch that is a bit tricky to read (it uses double brackets and drops loops the following row) but the description is embedded in the pattern and not separated out. However, the crocheted edging, which includes bobbles, is described separately.
Most designs do not include a wide range of sizes: The standard small, medium and large for tops; small and medium for the fanciful Tree Frog Socks; and only small for the Dust Socks. To size up or size down, you'll have to do the math.
And the Henna Sun Hat lists four yarns in the Materials list but obviously only uses two. This editing oversight worried me and I looked for errata, which I could not find on the Reader's Digest website and finally contacted the author. She was very concerned about the error but assures me that the patterns have had thorough technical edits. She will post any corrections that might be found on her web site.
But these problems aside, I'm very pleased with the book. I can't even choose my favorite design because I like so many of them, although I'm going to start with the floppy Henna Sun Hat.
In the future, since reading this book, I imagine approaching most of my knitting projects differently. Sure, I can still find a pattern, pick some wool and start knitting. But I can also add another level of creativity and fun to make any project uniquely my own and imbue it with significance. I can imagine making a scarf for my friend inspired by the local marsh where we take weekly walks. Or maybe I'll gather photos of rabbits along with yarns and buttons that will suggest ideas for a sweater for my bunny-loving granddaughter. More than that, I now see places I visit differently. I take a walk in the woods or visit a museum and see colors and patterns and wonder how they would translate into yarn.
Frankly, I'm surprised this book hasn't gotten more attention. I think it would be a welcome addition for any intermediate knitter and it would be perfect along with any Elizabeth Zimmerman's book for a beginning knitter who wants to strike out on her or his own.
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