Book It! My Favorite Interweave Books from 2009

Not many people are fortunate enough to live a life of books. I've been surrounded by books for my entire life—from Pat the Bunny as a baby to my favorite mystery of this year, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Books can be such an important part of a person's life. I've laughed (Bridget Jones's Diary) and cried (The Bridges of Madison County—don't judge me!) and read days away in lounge chairs, my hammock chair, and in bed (Harry Potter, anyone?), and I'll bet many of you have, too.

Everyone in my family reads at night before bed, and I was lucky enough to parlay this love of books into a publishing career. I started out on my high school yearbook, worked on the school paper in college, spent ten years at an early childhood educational publisher, continued for nine years at an outdoor/conservation publisher, and now I'm here with you!

My 89-year-old gramma reads voraciously and I've been scouring the used bookstore to find her books that she'll be interested in. She finished her latest book last night, so I started searching my own bookshelves for some more books for her. I was sitting on the floor, pulling books from the shelves, and naturally I started looking at my knitting books. I ended up running a couple of books upstairs to my gramma and then returning to my floor-seat and rearranging my knitting books.

I reorganized them on their own bookshelves in my office area so that all of my favorites are at eye-level and some of my lesser-used but beautiful needles are in a handy container. I have a ridiculous amount of baskets with yarn in them, so I put one of those on display as well. I love my newly organized bookshelves!

Not surprisingly, most of my favorite knitting books are from Interweave Press. And we came out with a bunch of new ones this year. As I was flipping through them, I was noticing specific patterns in each book that "called to me" so I thought—why not share them with you? Welcome to the tour of my favorite Interweave Knitting Books, 2009!

		The New Stranded Colorwork is an amazing collection of stranded colorwork patterns. I recently saw "Bees Knees" in person and it was even more precious than in the photo, if you can believe that. The closures are little bees! The finishing of these pieces brings them up a notch from anything I've seen before. The designer, Mary Scott Huff, searched shops from little boutiques and antique stores to LYSes and big box stores to find the most beautiful—and sometimes perfectly whimsical—closures and ribbons to finish her incredible designs. I promise you that this book will be a constant source of inspiration for your knitting!
		Cookie A has become one of the most sought-after sock designers in the business. Hundreds of people on Ravelry have knit this pattern, Eunice, and it's just one of fifteen patterns in the book Sock Innovation. Cookie's book is so aptly named, too. She presents all kinds of techniques and modifications to make your pair of socks fit your feet! I had a chance to meet Cookie A at the Sock Summit at her book signing. I stood in line for almost 30 minutes to meet her, and she was just as lovely and friendly to me as she was to the other several hundred people in line! This book is truly a must-have for anyone who knits socks or wants to.
		Author, editor, and knitting designer extraordinaire Ann Budd designed and knit this hobby horse when she was in sixth grade, and she redesigned it to ride again in Knitted Gifts, an unparalleled collection of gift knitting patterns that Ann edited. The Hobby Horse is a definite stand-out in the book, but it's sort of a best of the best because the book is full of unique and special gift ideas. There are small items to knit and give, such as the Ruffled Bottle Sleeve (to protect your table from wine drips!), and some long-lead projects, like the Winter Sky Hat and Mittens (shown on the cover of the book). Regardless of the recipient or the occasion, you'll find the perfect gift idea in Knitted Gifts!
		I'm a sucker for a new finishing technique or design, and the Harmony Guide Knit Edgings &Trims is seriously handy. I don't have the first-gen Harmony Guides, but I'm lucky enough to have the current guides, and I use them a lot for finishing ideas, finding stitch patterns, and just for everyday inspiration. With 150 edging and trim ideas, you'll use this guide a lot. (Check out all of the Harmony Guides, though, as a group I think they're all a favorite of mine, but I've used Knit Edges & Trims most recently.)

What are your favorite books, knitting or otherwise? Leave a comment for us and share your must-reads!

Cheers,

Kathleen