Knitting Little Luxuries

I got this book in order to knit pretty, stylish things for my granddaughters. I love to knit and why make a bunch klutzy stuff they won't like? It is full of great ideas and the patterns are easy to use. I have knit two of the classic beanies since last night and have embellished one with folk-art star buttons and the other with a small bouquet of knitted flowers, from directions given further on in the book for embellishing an evening bag. I added a knitted leaf with a ladybug button. Both hats came out great and not a bit grandmotherly. I am going to add some arty glass beads to the flower centers tomorrow to jazz it up another notch. These are great basic patterns for getting your creative juices flowing and your embellishing stash involved. Very feminine, nice pattern stitches, very classic designs. If they aren't classic yet, they will be. Young hip people will like these designs, and so will their grandmothers.

I bought this book for it's potential gift resources and discovered that the author and myself have very similar taste in yarn and accessories; so much so that for once I actually had the same yarns at hand for the patterns. We just clicked, and so did my needles. So far the patterns have been true to measure, really cute, and the recipients have loved them. I've combined some of these designs with things from 'Knitting Over the Edge' with wonderful results especially with the hats. The instructions are very well written and easy to follow and the photography is beautiful, what more could I ask?

We all need to treat ourselves nice and the projects this book presents are just the ticket. Nearly every pattern in my book is flagged for a future project. The Fingerless Gloves were a snap to make and made a lovely Christmas present. I now have tons of yarn to make tons of gloves. Great patterns for "Grace" which might be Yarn of the Year in my stash. A beautiful yarn with such great possibilities and this book makes great use of it. The little purse on the front cover is made with a beautiful yarn that I snapped up as quickly as possible. The instructions are clear, concise and the pictures are lovely. Enjoy!!

I love to knit, but I often find that current magazines and books offer designs that are a bit "crunchy" (mainly sweaters, chunky mittens, thick wool scarves, etc). This book, however is different and I easily would classify it as one of my favorite knitting books. The designs are elegant, interesting, modern, but with a quirky attitude and old-world feel. All the pictures are beautifully done and the descriptions are easy to understand. Designs range from simple to difficult and from quick work to weekly projects. I found, as others mentioned as well, that this books lends itself to creating gifts for others and I plan on using it extensively for the next holiday season.