Mother-Daughter Knits, 30 Designs that Flatter and Fit (POTTER CRAFT, 2009)

This book is a joy and a wonder and more than a dream-come-true! It is not only the unimaginable delight of a collaboration with my daughter, but it is the culmination of years of work and what I consider my most significant offering to our world. And it's a gorgeous book! Thanks to POTTER CRAFT!

• the collaboration,
• the book's special focus,
• the garments,
• the errata,
• some reviews.

First, the collaboration 

Imagine this scenario. You do something you love, but your daughter--despite your trying to teach her--does not share your passion . . . until one day when you are teaching her boyfriend . . . and she takes his knitting from him . . . and she gets it . . . and then she takes off as if she had invented it!

The story could have ended there. But it didn't. Because then she started designing (and selling) amazing stuff! And then she started teaching! Oh my, what wonderful phone calls ensued!

And the story could have ended there. But it didn't. Because soon after, I was looking for a publisher. And I landed where I did because I happened to mention that my daughter was designing and knitting and teaching . . . and I was saying this to a woman who's dream had been a two-generation knitting book! (Her offer to publish a collaborative work with with my daughter was probably the main reason I settled with Potter rather than other fine publishers.)

To speak practically for a moment--to put the obvious emotional resonance aside--why a two-generation knitting book?

Because my daughter and I represent the two demographics of the knitting world. To speak in broad strokes, this would be the 60-yr olds and the 30-yr olds. Are we different in what we design and we wear? Absolutely! But I'll let the book provide evidence to that.

While the collaboration itself could have been enough, Rosy (the aforementioned editor) asked about a focus to the book. She knew that I was a teacher and wondered what I wanted to teach?

(This reminds me of a conversation with Cat Bordhi--in which I said that I was a teacher, not a writer, and that I could not imagine writing a book that didn't teach something. She then said "You should tell people that." So there: done deal.)

I thought of all that I had learned, over the years, about sweater lengths and styling. And, believe me, this hadn't always been a wonderful process. 

• Sometimes I'd design a garment for a publication, and the final photo (over which I'd little or no control) would show the garment . . . badly. Why? What was wrong? 
• I went to my own closet and experiemented: why did some sweaters work with some pants or skirts but not others? 
• And why did a sweater I loved-once it had stretched out to an inch longer than intended--suddenly looked wrong?

• how to find your perfect length for our most common styles;
• what to wear with it;
• the (potentially 5 but often only 2 or 3) places you should never follow a pattern;
• how to adjust a pattern so the finished garment is perfect for you.

• Tabbed Cuffs (28) These are shown upside down. (The part without the buttons is meant to be worn on the hand. I think you'll get it when you make them.)
• Camelot Coat (39) I love this fabric after fulling (as directed). But it does pill a little--at least for a while. (I don't know if this is because I fulled it or not.) I don't mind: I just take my SUPER electric sweater shaver to it every once in a while. And--after a month of wearing--it  seems to have stopped.
• Scarf-closing Cardigan (53) I wish we had a larger photo of this garment--and one in which I could have taken the time to make the lower edges line up. (You won't have trouble lining the edges when you wear it.) Plus I hope you can imagine it with a fuller scarf. (I have a larger, fluffy green scarf that looks wonderful in this piece.) Truly, you change the scarf, you change the outfit! 
• Flirty Top (98) If you make this and don't like the amount of 'poof' at the hips, just sew a 2" fold into the flounce at each hip. (I"ve done this with mine, and I wear it all the time!)
• Reversible Tank Top (123) This company has closed, but that does not mean you can't still find the yarn? It's a worsted weight, soft tape, knit to a looser gauge than the label would suggest.
• Femme Tie (126) A word about the photo: this was meant to be tied as a man's tie. (It's a wonderful thing when worn that way and with a shirt.) Also, this used the same yarn as the previous piece, so please read that note.
• Altered Austen Jacket (128) and Lace and Cable Jumper (134) Again, this company has closed, but this yarn is very similar to Katmandu Aran or to Tahki's Donegal Tweed--which comes in so very many wonderful colors!
• Crinkly Blouse Sweater (145) I wish we had a photo of this piece with me standing: the garment has a very full A-line shape, and it really hangs wonderfully on the body. But this yarn--in worsted weight--has been discontinued. You can substitute (with another worsted, and the Punta Yarns Montoya  looks like a perfect choice), or you can use a DK weight (like the Classic Elite Soft Linen), or you can use the same yarn that is still available in a sport weight. 
• The worsted weight linen did stretch out to a very large garment, so the garment works  knit on a finer yarn. If I used sport weight or DK weight, I did the whole garment on 4mm (size 6) except that I used one size larger for the first few inches of the sleeves. The garment might end up 10% smaller than the original finished measurements, but the pattern has enough ease to suit a finer yarn.
• If you do use a worsted weight linen, I'm not sure I recommend washing it: it stretches out so very much!

• page 14, center column, If Your Garment is Mid-length and Shaped                                                 The header should be changed to If Your Garment is Short or Mid-length and Shaped.                               The first 2 sentences will read as follows: "Knit it to your ideal short or mid- length (page 17). If worn with an A-line skirt, the short length might be a better choice because the mid-length looks too long (diagram 10).  If worn with straight pants or skirt, the mid-length looks good (diagram 11)."

• page 43, Body, you should change to larger needles.

• page 70, rows 9, 11, 13: P5, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1; repeat from *.

• page 79, 11 lines from the bottom of the page,      and again on page 117, right column, 8 lines from the bottom of the page should read "k5, wyif slip 1 purlwise, wyib, slip 1 purlwise, psso. (It's the second slipped stitch that I missed.)

• page 108, SHAPE ARMHOLE, second line should read 86 (92, 100, 104, 112) stitches. And then, 3 lines below  number of decreases should be 3 (6, 10, 12, 16).

• page 148, right column, 8 lines from the bottom, 1X should be 77 stitches. 
• page 148, right column, 7 lines from the bottom, the line should read as follows: Continuing on larger needles, work mistake rib with sllp stitch at end of RS rows and 1 stockinette stitch at beginning of WS rows until piece measures 9" (23cm).
• page 149, right column, 10 lines from the bottom, 1X should be 77 stitches.
• page 149, right column, 7 lines from the bottom, the line should read as follows: Continuing on larger needles, work mistake rib with sllp stitch at end of WS rows and and 1 stockinette stitch at beginning of WS rows, making buttonholes that match placement of buttons as follows. Next row (RS) make buttonholes K3,  . . . then continue with line as written.

• the correct phone number for Classic Elite is 800-444-5648 or 978-453-2837

Truly elegant and useful innovations are sometimes clear and simple. This book is based on such an insight and has the potential to transform and re-energize garment knitting.--Cat Bordhi (author of New Pathways for Sock Knitters and ATreasury of Magical Knitting)

The knitting experience, book 1, THE KNIT STITCH (XRX, 2002)

Years before Styles came out, my friend, Lee Andersen, had encouraged me to think about doing a series of small books . . . to teach the skills that I taught in workshops. That idea sat on the back burner until Elaine Rowley asked me what I wanted to do to follow Styles, and I answered “A learn-to-knit series!”

As I write in my blog, there was not a lot of encouragement for this book. But then it appeared as the perfect book for the perfect time—when all the ‘scarf knitters’ were wondering “What next?!”—and I had more enthusiasm that anyone could have wished. Timing really is everything.

People ask which garment I love best, and I’d have to say The Einstein Coat. (Mind you, patterns are like your children: you love even the un-pretty ones!) But I will never forget the experience of that pattern. . . .

I had seen a top in a ski shop—with opposing stripes. It was interesting, and I knew it offered possibilities. (This is often how designs evolve.) But the lower stripes of that top had been horizontal, with the upper stripes then vertical, and that had seemed backwards to me. If oriented that way, how would I—who like to work my garments from bottom to top—attach the pieces? I bought some periwinkle blue lopi, and I started knitting—turning those ‘stripes’ (in garter stitch) so the lower were vertical and the upper were horizontal. (At the time, I was teaching a workshop for the Ottawa guild: as I knit the lower part of that first coat in a very small version, they thought I was knitting a scarf.)

After the lower piece was knit, I sat and worked through how the rest of the garment would go together. (One yarn shop has called it ‘knitting origami,’ and that’s how I felt as I sat in my hotel room and puzzled it out.) The next morning I had it finished and showed it to my class. They were impressed—because, remember, they had thought I was knitting a scarf—but no-one (including me) was over-the-moon for it.

But then I went home and bought enough yarn (in a neutral color) for a woman’s coat. As many of you know, lots of knitting followed. When it was done, it wasn’t lovely, but I knew it needed blocking. After washing in EUCALAN, and drying on my knitting room floor, I tried it on, and it was the loveliest thing! It was fabulous! I wore it to dinner with my girlfriends, and this time everyone (including me) was suitably impressed.

I’ve said this many times before, but I am so glad I had the wisdom to call it The Einstein Coat and not something frivolous I would be forever living down!

For corrections or clarifications . . .

The knitting experience, book 2, THE PURL STITCH (XRX, 2003)

As some of you know, most of The Purl Stitch was done before The Knit Stitch was photographed. In fact, they were intended to be one book . . . until I realized that it was too big a book and needed to be two. Would anyone buy a book without purling, without stockinette, without ribbing?  What a joy it was that everyone did! But then, a year later, the second book appeared.

The Purl Stitch didn’t make quite the splash that The Knit Stitch did, and I understand why. There are knitters who will never go to that level, plus there is no Einstein Coat! And, besides, you can only make an ‘unexpected’ splash once! But I know that it’s a really really good book: it’s the one I recommend to knitters who will go past garter stitch, because it contains all the skills they’ll use in every garment they make! I worked really hard to make this be so.

And my favourite piece in the book? If we judge by sheer volume, it would be the Elegant Gauntlets! I’ve made more pairs of them than socks, and that’s saying something! Plus I love that they are shaped. (I designed them by laying my arm on a sheet of paper, tracing its shape, then drafting a pattern to fit.) With the current fashion of ¾ sleeves, these pieces are a wonderful accessory!

Otherwise, I’d say that the Cross-over Vest is my favourite piece.

For corrections or clarifications . . .

The knitting experience, book 3, COLOR (XRX, 2005)

This was the book for which I just could not stop knitting! I wish it were half the size, but what would we leave out? There are so many skills available to us to express colour; stripes, bi-colour knitting (which I call ‘stripes that aren’t’ and that are probably my favourite knitting), two-color-stranded (or whatever we are to call this technique!), intarsia, duplicate stitch, and combinations of the above. Whew! That’s a lotta stuff!

There are things I wish could have been different for this book, but none of them detract from the skills offered in this book nor from the garments themselves. These are the garments I reach into my closet to wear—the Faith Jacket, the Collar-Closing Cardigan, both wraps in the Stripes That Aren’t chapter, the KISS purses, the Panel Party series, the Knitting Bag Jacket, and (probably the one I wear most) Wobbly Stripes. I’ve seen knitters who’ve made the pieces of this book and worn them with delight and pride, and I know that we did good work together!

For corrections or clarifications . . .

STYLES: a unique and elegant approach to your yarn collection (XRX, 1998)

If you read my blog (parts 3 and 4), you will hear the story of how this book came about. It’s a cute story! But it doesn’t tell you what the book itself is about. So here’s where I do that.

I approached the problem of how to use up a yarn stash with the thought of ‘Granny Squares’ afghans or American quilts—those beautiful pieces that hardly look like they are made from bits and scraps and that have a heritage, a history, and an integrity all their own. It didn’t seem to me that knitting had anything like this . . . a body of work that taught us to use up our leftover yarns to produce beautiful fabrics.

To write the book, I had the following problems to solve.
What yarns (weights, fibers, textures) go together?
What colours work together?
What to do with yarns that are too beautiful to use?
What to do with yarns that are too awful (the dog’s breakfast) to use?
How do we arrange our stash so we know what we have and use it well?
Do we have enough? How much do we need?
What stitch patterns will integrate all these yarns and colors to produce   beautiful fabrics?
This book opens with my solutions to these problems. And then you are offered garment patterns that put all this work together. And then—because I wanted to give you all the skills you needed to go off and find your own solutions—there is a Basic Pattern Drafting chapter at the end of the book.