I think that a great many of us have been awaiting the publication of Knitted Lace of Estonia with no small amount of eagerness. I know that I have wanted to see it ever since I heard it was in the works about a year or so ago.

It is everything I had hoped for and much more besides! The wait has been more than worthwhile because the outcome is a showcase of a beautiful knitting tradition that will captivate for years and years to come.

I first encountered Estonian lace in a beautiful German book, Maiglöckchen (Lilies of the Valley) which focused on this traditional motif (you can still get the book on amazon.de - it's in German but with charts so you can easily follow the patterns). I fell head-over-heels in love with this lace, even though it is true that until you get the hang of it, those 'nupps' can be a bit of a challenge. Eventually, though, I was creating all manner of Lily of the Valleys and happily 'nupping' along.

Nancy Bush's wonderful book traces the traditions and then offers them to us in one amazing shawl or stole after another. Inspiring? Yes - enough inspiration for a lifetime of knitting joy.

Oh - and we happen to carry the yarn used for the specacular cover shawl: Skacel Merino Lace, one of the best wool lace yarns anywhere. Enjoy an enlarged veiw of this shawl below, and find the yarn for it here (you'll need 2 skeins) [http://www.euronaturayarn.com/yarns/skacel/merino_lace.htm].

M'Lou Baber's Double Knitting showcases what is perhaps the most exciting color pattern design collection ever to find its way into print. Never, ever have I been interested in double knitting - until M'Lou* came on the scene, that is. Now I find myself thinking about nothing else, trying to decide which of her spectacularly beautiful designs to try my hand at first.

Spectacular and beautiful - that's what each of her more than 25 designs and projects are. And for each garment you knit, you are really getting two to wear because they are perfectly, lusciously reversable. M'Lou's design are not only outstandingly artistic, ranging from traditional oriental and western patterns to art deco and beyond, her use of double knitting makes each face a mirror image of its opposite. Take a look below - you'll see what I mean. Two-for-one knitting plus timeless beauty. This is not your average knitting book, not by any stretch. M'Lou's book is a masterpiece, pure and simple.

If you are willing to be enchanted by color and design, and excited to learn a fascinating traditional technique (there are easy-to-follow instructions that will have you double knitting like a pro in no time), Double Knitting is just the ticket. Here is a very small sample of what you'll find inside:

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary Shawl

Art Deco Coat

Calico Corners Jacket

Nordic Summer Sweater and Hat

(For those of you who might be interested - I'm leaning toward making myself the Calico Corners Jacket in two contrasting colorways of Fleece Artist BFL 2/8, Aqua and Ivory, possibly Topaz and Ivory. I think the subtle color-shifts of these handpaints will add an intriguing element to the design. I'm off to start swatching now!)

*In case you were wondering, "M'Lou" is pronounced as though it followed "Skip, skip, skip to . . .".

Let's see . . . if I were to be stranded on a desert island will all the yarn I might want (in my fantasy, I'd have sent the yarn ahead so it would be there waiting for me when the ship went down), what knitting books would I take with me? (Isn't that a fun question?)

In my case, there are so many possibilities that I could spend days just musing about it. But through the haze of beloved books shines a couple very clear rays of light: I would take everything by Elizabeth Zimmermann, and I would absolutely take a copy of Sweater 101. [I would also take much more, enough probably to send me to Davy Jones locker along with my fantasy ship, but that is beside the point here.]

Sweaters 101 is one of the most practical, clearly written guides to the art of knitting. It is also one of the easiest to learn from as well as being one of those books that will so empower you that your knitting life will take on creative dimensions in ways that will surprise and delight you as they enrich every stitch you make. Following her clear and sensible advice will yield sweater after sweater that fits perfectly. Add your own design elements whenever and where ever you wish - even if you are now a novice, Cheryl's pointers make it so simple to know what to do next that once you try them out, you'll never look back.

In other words, Sweater 101 will set you free. It is a must-have for your knitting techniques bookshelf. Don't leave home without it (even if your destination is not a desert island!).

This is a beautiful book, filled with heart. The designs range from personal to universal, each knitter's story adding to the love that has been poured into these creations of soul comfort. As such, just to page through The Prayer Shawl Companion is to discover oneself in the warm company of friends, each of whom shares something very special about themselves and life. There is limitless inspiration between the covers of this single book. It is my belief that it will reach into corners unexpected and shine light and love everywhere the Shawl Ministry idea travels.

In 1937 a group of women approached Emma Jacobsson with the request that she help them start a home-based business. The result was one of the most vibrant design houses in the history of knitting: Bohus Strickning. The founding decisions shaped the course of one of knitting's most exciting colorwork traditions: they would produce an exclusive product with only the best designs and yarns; women in their homes would knit from patterns created by some of the world's best knitting designers; marketing would be to the luxury market so that everyone could make a living. Their success can be measured by the fact that Bohus Strickning continued until 1969 - no small feat for a cottage industry!

Wendy Keele has created beautiful portraits of the women who guided Bohus Strickning, and managed to capture both the excitement of their venture and their dedication to their craft. For some excitement of your own, the second half of the book reproduces many of the the most beautiful Bohus original designs as patterns for you to knit in modern yarns. These are classic styles that will wear well through myriad fashion trends and showcase some of the best color pattern knitting ever designed. Really fabulous stuff in a landmark book!

What a treat to have Mary Wright's little book back in print! Cornish Guernseys & Knit-frocks is a treasury of history, knitting technique and inspiration which has been missed for many years by all knitters who have ever seen it. Now that it's available again, we can once more enter the world of 19th Century Cornwall, North Atlantic fishermen, and contract knitters whose hands placed knitting patterns that spoke of life into guernseys so textural rich that over a hundred years later we still marvel at them.

In addition to priceless photos and fascinating historical background, Mary Wright also gives us 30 patterns copied from Cornish guernseys and advice and instruction for creating your own guernsey. Step into history, emerge with a sweater to cherish.

This little booklet has been part of the same revolution in knitting that Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar initiated - one of those "aha!" moments that led thousands of knitters to discover the joys of happier knitting through the simplicity of a single long-cable circular needle.

In it, Bev will teach you how to use a 32" or 40" circular needle to go 'round and 'round any small knit piece, whether socks, cuffs, sleeves, necklines, or more. Really, it couldn't be simpler or more effective.

This little gem is truly a must-have treasure for any knitter's bookshelf.

Those of us (our numbers are legion) who love Mason-Dixon Knitting and Kay and Ann's hearth-focused, warm approach to knitting and to life have been waiting and waiting for Book Two to appear. At last the moment has almost arrived, and we are celebrating by offering a preorder special.

We are also celebrating because this book is so darned good. Kay and Ann were good enough to send us a prepublication proof: even with black and white reproduced xeroxed photos, I'm so excited I can hardly sit still. (Kay assures me, and I believe her completely, that the "real" book will be fraught, simply fraught, with GLORIOUS COLOR - which ought to make it glow in the dark, given how fabulous it is with fuzzy black and white.)

Like their first book, Outside the Lines is packed with wonderful, good stuff that will beautify, enlighten, warm and delight. Not to mention show you ways to keep knitting while doing all of that - these ladies really mean business when it comes to knitting their loves into life.

Here's a bit of what you'll find inside:

• An entire chapter devoted to "Decorating Yourself" in which Ann discovers that it's just a whole lot of fun to knit things that will look great when worn. And there are some beautiful things to knit which will look wonderful on anyone - what a treat! Sweaters, jackets, coats, purses, scarves, and socks to fill your closet and bedeck your life.
• Then, "Fair Isle" is revealed to be the happy color festival that it is - with some unexpected ways of using it "writ large" (think blankets and rugs).
• In "Covering the Small Human," Kay appears on the scene equipped with enough denim yarn to keep an entire elementary school warm -- and places before us one of the most charming and interesting children's sweaters ever. See for yourself, her Sk8r is such a good design you're going to want to figure out how to make one for yourself, too. There are non-denim dresses and tops as well, just in case you don't share Kay's color passion, as well as a cuter-than-cute baby cap and even "blu jeans." Knitting for kids has never been better than this.
• Knitting runs the gamut from Christmas Stockings to kippahs in their "Occasional Knitting" chapter. But, because every day can be celebrated, there is also a table runner, a felted tote, linen grocery bags to take you back to 1973, even covers for paper lanterns that make me smile and wish it were dry enough in Oregon to string paper lanterns across our back yard.
• Last, but absolutely not least, "The Sophisticated Kitchen" is an ode to the glories of, you guessed it, the 'warsh rag.' I can't begin to tell you how much I love this chapter - it is happily utilitarian, and happily at home making one's house better and nicer and prettier one stitch at a time. The classic ball band wash rag reappears sized for a heavy duty workout as a reusable mop cover and a doggy coat (just roll the little fellow over and scootch him for a cleaner floor and a more playful puppy). The hanging towels are just plain lovely and will make truly great gifts. There are even potholders (of course!) and, get this, a cuff for your rubber gloves (to keep your hands even dryer!).

Bottom line: Mason-Dixon Knitting - Outside the Lines is one great knitting book. Even if we had to wait twice as long, every minute of anticipation would be well spent!

Vatid, Troid, Vamstad is a beautiful showcase of knit sweaters and jackets from the islands of Estonia. It offers photos of sweaters made between the 1880s and 1930s and is a treasure house of design, culture and masterful knitting. Many of the garments are quite literally museum pieces, some are from the author's collection and those of her friends. Altogether, this is a book to cherish -- setting it down will be your greatest challenge.

I should add that this is not a pattern book, though it is not at all difficult to reproduce the color patterns and constructions from the photos. And, the individual descriptions of each sweater are written in Estonian only, although each chapter has an introductory overview that is in both Estonian and English. For me, the language barrier is in consequential as, fortunately, pictures are still worth thousands of words. The absence of graphed color patterns is only a small bother, as they are quite easily discerned from the photos.

What Vatid, Troid, Vamstad is, is sheer inspiration. And so very beautiful.

Everyday Knitting is a treasure trove of knitting patterns and cultural history. The author unravels the fascinating history of traditional Norwegian knitting, a story that sprang to life as she explored the storage bins of a wool recycling factory (which she had just purchased in what must have been one of the more amusing real estate transactions in Norwegian history. She was a weaving teacher and had wanted some experience in a full-scale woolen mill -- the owner said he'd happily provide the training if she would buy the mill first!)

The mill produced batting from recycled wool obtained by shredding old woolen knit garments. As Annemor went through her new holdings, she realized how much history was being lost in those shredding machines and how very important it was to recapture some of it.

The result was this wonderful, beautiful book which has everything a knitter, garment designer or cultural historian could every want. There are patterns that go back to the beginnings of Norwegian knitting and beyond; a thorough discussion of all stages of knitting in Norway; there are photographs of some rescued knit treasures -- amazing socks, gloves, caps, sweaters; old photos showing these sweaters in daily life; instructions and advice on how to go about recreating these masterpieces of beauty and practicality, or using the motifs and patterns to create something new with something old.

A beautiful book to treasure, learn from, and use.

It is such a treat to find someone who has taken up the delicious possibilities of using handpainted yarns in multiple colorways, and even more of a treat to see the shimmering creations with which Janel tantelizes our needles and our eyes.

And, once your eyes have feasted on her creations, you'll most certainly want to have you knitting needles poised to cast on and cast away any hesitations you may have had about combining more than one multi-colored yarn with another. Her creative results are so very wonderful that there can be no hesitations left and only the wonders of color to discover.

Regardless of what your favorite handpainted yarns are, you'll find inspiration and instruction on using them aplenty.

We think this is one of the most exciting new sock knitting books to come along since Cat Bordhi's New Pathways. Try it - we know you'll love it, too.

I consider this DVD to be something of a "dynamic duo" of practical knitting. Here, in one place, you'll find a really innovative, highly wearable side-to-side jacket pattern and a smooth-sailing blanket that is also self-storing. Not to mention warm and comfy (notice the cat's happy look).

Meg's Round-the-Bend Jacket will go 'round the bend all by itself, never sending you and your knitting there, too. It's is knit with an Aran weight yarn and sized at 44" or 40", depending on gauge. As Meg suggests, should you wish a differet size, use Elizabeth Zimmermann's EPS system to recalculate the pattern. We recommend the following of our yarns:

Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester Aran - 4 skeins for jacket as written

Fleece Artist Aran Alpaca - 4 skeins as written

Zitron Cambio - 17 balls as written

The Puzzle-Pillow Blanket is acccomplished with sweet 'n' simple garter stitch and bulky weight yarn. Meg teaches us her "sew" as you go technique using dpns (!). When you're finished, do crawl under for a good nap with sweet knitting dreams! We recommend:

Fleece Artist Big Blue - 2 skeins each color for 24"x36"; 3 skeins each color for 28"x42"; and 4 skeins each color for 36"x54"

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Ribwarmer is one of her signature designs - for good reason. It is classic in its looks and delightful in its knitting. What was practically unknown until very recently is that Elizabeth also designed a more "dressy" version, the Butterfly Jacket which was published only one time in a 1956 McCall's Needlework magazine. So that it does not go back into near oblivion, this DVD contains instructions and demonstrations for the classic Ribwarmer, sized for 36" chest (adult) and 24" chest (child) (consider Fleece Artist Aran Alpaca), the Butterfly Jacket in two yarn weights sized for 36" (try Fleece Artist Organic Wool) and 42" (Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester Aran) chest, and Meg Swansen's Knee Length Ribwarmer sized for 53" around the hips and 38" around the chest (Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester DK would be lovely), with instructions for creating a narrower hip measurement if desired. Altogether great fun!

Demonstrated Techniques include:

• Invisble Cast On
• Increasing
• Short Rows
• Garter-stitch Weaving
• After-Thought Pockets
• EZ's Applied I-Cord
• 3-Needle-I-Cord Cast Off
• Reversible Phoney Seams
• Sport-jacket Vent

Meg's Shawl Collared Vest looks great on both men and women, and is lots and lots of fun to knit, too. Full written instructions are included for chest sizes 40", 44" and 48", and Meg's demonstrated techniques make it all come together so very nicely. The Shawl Collared Vest is knitted completely in the round, steeking all the way, and then cut. We suggest our Fleece Artist Big Blue (Bulky Blue Face Leicester Wool) for spectacular results.

Demonstrated techniques include:

• K1b, P1 rib
• Increasing
• Cable with or without a cable-needle
• Kangaroo Pouches
• Steeks
• V-neck Shaping
• Knitting-Back-Backwards
• Machine-Stitched Steeks
• I-Cord Cast Off
• 3-Needle I-Cord Cast Off
• Shawl Collar Shaping
• Reversible Phoney Seams
• I-Cord Tab Buttonholes

Intarsia knitting, despite its undeserved poor reputation, can in fact be enjoyable and yield wonderful results. On this disc Lucy demonstrates the preparation for serene knitting, tackling the first few rows, reading charts, tangle reduction and resolution. Learn how to maximize the number of ends that may be knitted in and to make the best use of those tails which do require darning. Also included are a number of cool rescue techniques.

Contents:

Introduction to Intarsia

• Wrapping your head around intarsia!
• What is intarsia knitting?
• Comparison with a stranded fabric
• Stranded fabric examples
• Intarsia fabric example
• Why bother with all these bits of yarn?

Chart Preparations

• Regular v. one-row holes
• Looking at types of charts
• Preparing your chart
• Simplifying your chart
• Making a shade card
• To count stitches or not?
• Easy or tricky?

Yarn and Tool Preparation

• Yarn palette preparation
• Butterflies or bobbins?
• Measured lengths
• Useful tools
• Choosing needles
• Gauge considerations

The First Few Rows . . .

• Reading your chart
• Weaving in tails on the horizontal
• Weaving the tails up and down or over & over?
• Reading the chrt from the purl side
• Linking yarns

Onwards . . .

• How the yarns link arms
• The missing link
• Living with and resolving tangles
• Darning hints - when is hole not a hole
• Joining a new piece of yarn
• Diagonal slopes
• Shallow diagonal slopes
• Horizontal colour change
• Balance theory

Reading WS Rows

• Inverting the chart
• Working from right needle to the left
• Emergency yarn join
• Using marker yarns for reference

Transformation Tips

• Naturally occurring holes
• Ends near edges
• Vertical yarn joins
• Neatening a short-tail vertical yarn join
• Un-simplifying

Rescue Techniques

• Unpicking row by row
• Unpicking a single section
• Laddering back
• Duplicate stitch
• Surgical replacement

Now that you enjoy intarsia, here are some sophisticated skills to help you tackle special situations: long horizontal colour jumps without breaking the yarn or having to think ahead, as well as a selection of slick tricks to make life easier. Explore textured stitches within color blocks, sculpted shapes and how to analyze patterns to see what lies ahead.

Contents:

Sophisticated Skills

• Introduction to long horizontal color jumps
• Long horizontal color jumps - yarn ahead and behind
• Why not think ahead?
• Starting a yarn with a single stitch
• Why bother with intarsia?
• Single stitch lines

Sneaky Tricks

• Outlining - using two ends of one piece of yarn
• Neatening an outline from a point
• Two-row stripes
• Exploiting variegated yarns
• Chequerboards adn the double-tail weave
• Big and little stitches on vertical joins
• Comparison of double-tail weave methods
• Housebricks
• Swapping yarns at the top of a shape
• Using yarns double
• Problem points
• The alpha darn

Mixing Your Stitches

• Mixing your stitches
• Garter stitch
• Reverse stocking stitch
• Mixing reverse and stocking stitches

Pattern Analysis

• A simple star?
• Planning yarn routes
• Cute = dangerous!
• Two legged shapes
• Intarsia or stranded?
• Jagged shapes

Fancy Variations

• Sculpted intarsia examples
• Sculpted intarsia technique
• Mixing stranded with intarsia
• Intarsia sections behind a background yarn - comparison
• We all roll over and one falls out
• Howard's technique

Sublime finishing details for the connoisseur. Expert shoulder shapings and various joins, setting-in fitted sleeve heads with ease. Experience the exquisite joys of double bands: knitting up the stitches (right first time every time), equalizing the two sides, adding shaping to the corners of the bands, reversing for the inner layer and how these principles may be applied to neck and armband situations.

Contents:

Ship Shape Shoulders

• Short rows by Japanese and wrapped methods
• Grafting over a bound-off edge
• Three-needle bind-off for garter stitch
• Short rows within intarsia
• Afterthought shoulder shaping
• Examples of afterthought shoulders
  
  

Fitted Sleeve Heads

• Setting in a fitted sleeve head - example
• Phoney knitting
• Crossing the shoulder line
• Other uses of phoney knitting

Double Stocking Stitch Bands

• Why use double bands?
• Knit-up ratios
• Equalizing the numbers
• Knit-up ratios for garter stitch
• Sampling the bands
• Knitting-up the bands
• Equalizing the two sides
• What's special about the corner stitches
• Looking at the corner stitches
• Working a right-side row and RSI
• The second right-side row
• The third right-side row
• Turning rows
• Reversing the shaping and K2t
• Matching the second side
• Buttonhole placement
• Bind-off details
• Finishing the band - catch stitching
• Finishing the band - grafting
• Working a right-side row and LSI
• Reversing the shaping ans ssk
• Closing the lower band edge
• Reading your chart

Neck and Armbands

• Neckband Diagram and Sample
• Remedy for a missing stitch
• Neck with fully fashioned shapings
• Armhole modifications

Antje Gillingham has extended the use of two circular needles to include knitting both socks at a time. I have to say, it is much easier to use her method for two-at-a-time knitting than it is to use my method. With her method, the socks both share both needles and you move seamlessly from one to the next and around and back. With my method, each sock had (notice the past tense!) it's own pair of needles and I worked one sock and then the next, untangling the yarn as I switched. Antje has changed all that for me and she can do so for you, too.

Her lovely book is filled with clearly photographed instructions, charming sock designs and lots and lots of useful information, including yarn and size conversion tables. There's even instructions for translating dpn instructions to her two-socks/two-circulars method. Anyone who wants a better method to knit two socks at a time will find it in Knitting Circles Around Socks.

Just when we all thought that everything that could be said about scarf knitting had been said, along comes Lynne Barr to show us just how many delights were yet to be discovered. While Lynne does offer the beginner some a few places to "get the hang of knitting," overwhelmingly, her designs beckon us to reach beyond the basics and apply one technique after another in new and delicious ways. Her exploration of form, line, and fashionable wear-ability are everything any knitter could ask for. Scarf knitting is no longer passé - it's time to advance to the cutting edge alongside Lynne Barr.

Knitters, it's time to break out the champagne (being careful not to spill any on your knitting, of course)! Woolly Thoughts is back in print!!!

Woolly Thoughts is a book that knitters (at least on the North American side of the pond) began hearing about in earnest at just about the same moment that it became unavailable. Now, frustration turns to joy as we can all feast at the table of Pat and Steve's endlessly creative method of modular knitting, a method that offers a bullet proof fitting technique alongside open-ended, scintillating creativity of design.

How do they do this? Well, they are both mathematics teachers, amazing in their ability to make everything clear and fun. Right from the start, they forge a pathway to knitting heaven by having you take out whatever yarn you like, your choice of needles, and a small calculator. What happens next is a guided tour through a mosaic of shapes and colors -- all of them easy, all of them fascinating and beautiful. With Pat and Steve at your side, you can truly forget about conventional knitting patterns and follow your imagination whereever it leads you.

Happily and heavily illustrated throughout, with a section of color plates showcasing some of Pat's creations, Woolly Thoughts brings you everything you need for a lifetime of joyous knitting.