Exquisite Little Knits: Knitting with Luxurious Specialty Yarns

Some of the patterns call for different types of Great Adirondack yarn which have proven for me to be quite difficult or impossible to find, and in several cases the various colors from differnt manufacturers haven't been true to the actual yarn I've purchased via the internet. These two snags have not prevented me from working up the items. The yarns indeed are exquisite, the patterns simple, and the stitches and needle sizes are chosen to highlight each yarn's beauty. This is a well-thought out approach to using novelty yarns as well as luxury fibers. A smidge of indecently expensive yarn will take you far: I plan to wear even the dressier items with jeans, and coddle each as an heirloom piece.

Beautiful little projects that really show off the uniqueness of novelty yarn without overpowering the yarn's structure by complexity of knitting patterns. You will find ideas for her and him and most of the projects don't take long to finish. Some of the yarns are a bit pricey but the overall projects are still affordable as they don't call for more than a couple of skeins. The only little downside is that if you are looking for the original yarns (maybe you just want to change the colour but keep the look and feel exactly the same) they are sometimes not so easy to find. I finihsed the Romantic Ruffled Scarf in my own colour scheme and the lacy stole (highly recommended as lace project that you can take along because of the stunningly easy pattern) and I have already started two more. If you are interested in trying out specialty yarns and create wearable knits - this is certainly the book for you.

I went to the library and got this book, expecting it to maybe have one pattern, maybe two, that were good. After looking at it, I immediately went out and bought it. I love that it shows the strands of yarn used, so it's easier to find substitutions -- with novelty yarns, it's difficult to see what the yarn really looks like if you only see it on the skein. I'm looking forward to digging in to this book on our next long distance trip -- will give me lots of projects as I sit in the passenger seat!

I really like the projects in this book. It contains lots of projects that are fairly quick to knit; most of the projects are scarves. Most of the yarns used are the novelty yarns that are currently popular, and many patterns offer alternate yarns to use. Although I've discovered one project calls for an elasticized ribbon yarn that is discontinued (good luck finding that!). Many great small projects made in a few hours, to fun larger projects that might take a couple of weeks. Great book for beginning to intermediate knitters.

This stunningly photographed book takes knitting to the level of haute couture, and best of all, the most challenging thing about most of the projects is simply knitting with more than one strand of fiber! Many unique textures and fibers are used, including ribbon and moire. Knit a shawl suitable for a black-tie event, a beautiful lace stole, or even an evening bag!