Knitting-related gifts!

I was very lucky this holiday season to receive 5 gifts overflowing with knitting wisdom!

• Amy and Derek gave me the fabulous 'Knitting to go' patterns, by Kris Percival, which come on individual cards for extra portability. There are some great patterns in there, lots of classic designs plus ideas on improvising. I especially love the men's V-neck sweater and the soft baby blocks.


• Mom and Dad gave me the 'Stitch 'n' Bitch Knitter's Calendar,' by Debbie Stoller. I'm very strict with myself about page-a-day calendars (no peeking ahead!), so this morning I woke up eager to open it up and look at the first page. Mondays are "Fave Fiber" writeups, and I learned about a yarn I hadn't heard of before. I'm looking forward to Tuesday tips, Wednesday Web Sightings, Knitting History on Thursdays, and Grab-and-Go Patterns on Fridays!


• Elizabeth Zimmerman's 'Knitting Workshop' is also from Mom and Dad. I'm about halfway through it, and I'm learning a lot about sweater construction. I can't wait to try out some of the techniques! EDITED TO ADD: In this book, Elizabeth Zimmerman describes how to add short row shaping to the neck of a sweater in the back to make it fit better. This would have been a big improvement to John's zip raglan cardigan! His main complaint about that sweater is that the collar is too short in the back and won't turn down. Now I'll know for the next sweater!
  


• Andrew gave me Barbara Walker's 'Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns,' which is even thicker than the First! It contains pages and pages of cable, lace, and color patterns that I'm itching to try out.


• Rounding out my library of knitting essentials is 'Knitting From the Top,' also by Barbara Walker (another gift from Mom and Dad). I've started flipping through and it looks amazing. This book, along with the EZ books, should help me go farther in deviating from patterns.

Thanks Amy, Derek, Mom, Dad, and Andrew, for these fantastic additions to my knitting library!