Some of the best knitting books…

17 Jan Some of the best knitting books…

Do you love collecting and reading knitting books? Do you have more books than can possibly fit on your book shelves? I do, and I do – I am a self confessed book-a-holic. I love books and look for knitting books (along with just about every other subject) everywhere – local books stores both new & used, antique stores, yard sales, my local yarn shops of course and our local library. Some of my best finds for knitting books have been from our local library, and today I want to share one with you.

Our libraries have fund raising sales and a couple of years ago I found this treasure at one such sale in Manitou Springs. “Knitting Made Easy” by Barbara Aytes. This book was published in 1970 – old by today’s standards.What makes this book so special? First, Ms. Aytes’s writing is easy to read. Her descriptions of techniques are straight forward and illustrated well in black & white photos. In the first 5 chapters she covers the basics – from choosing yarn & needles through knit/purl sts, increasing & decreasing, ribbing and buttonholes. Throughout these chapters she includes easy yet classic designs that beginning knitters can easily do, and more advanced knitters can use as a starting point for customizing.

Then with chapters 6 & 7 she presents embellishments like embroidery and surface weaving. A lot of her weaving designs are inspired by the art of the southwest native Americans. Moving on to chapters 8 & 9 she shows you how easy and elegant lace can be. Some of the lace patterns I have not seen in any other books or stitch pattern dictionaries. And again, with each chapter she includes designs that will inspire you. In the final chapter she shows how to make daisy and flower cards – remember those? I will say that while I think theses are cute on little girls knits – I’m not so sure about embellishing adult garments with them.

And, one other thing that made this find really special – tucked inside was a two page ‘account’ of a previous owner’s project! How awesome is that! It’s like a personal knitting history.The publisher of this wonderful book is Doubleday, and here are the particulars: Library of Congress catalog card number 79-97646 / Copyright © 1970 by Barbara Aytes / All Rights Reserved / Printed in the United States of America.

I hope you enjoy your own book hunts – you never know what gems you will find. Cheers! Jean