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Mason
Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines:
Patterns,
Stories, Pictures, True Confessions, Trick Parts, Whole
New Worlds and Familiar Ones, Too
Authors:
Kay Gardener and Ann Shayne
Rating:
5 Sheep (excellent)
Kay
and Ann follow up their first book (Mason Dixon: The Curious
Knitters Guide) and reveal the Secret of Knitting and what
makes knitting fun. They guarantee there is nothing in this
book you cannot do and find fun. I love their sense of humor
and playfulness.
The
Decorating Yourself chapter has two “Coaty Coats”, a flappy
scarf in Muench Touch Me (the Flapotis!), two seminars disguised
as projects help you learn techniques – errant socks (cables),
your first top-down sweater. “Margaret” is a beautiful,
romantic wide ribbed a-line long sweater with knitted quotes
chain-stitched on the bodice. Cool idea, though I probably
wouldn't want someone reading my chest – I'd probably replace
it with a geometric pattern or cables (or leave plain).
There are some great items playing with the sheerness of
mohair – “a haze of knitting”. a translucent Cardi Cozy
(see-through wrap to wear tied over your storebought sweater).
Belinda is a plaid mohair wrap where the plaid is created
by overlapping two layers of solid color crisscross geometric
lace. I have a small stockpile of mohair I could see doing
four wrap pieces and swapping them out – seeing how the
colors play with each other & how the look changes depending
on which color is over or under another.
The
Fairest Isle of All chapter introduces Fair Isle knitting
along with steeking via a rug, baby dotty blanket and working
your way up to a wonderful blanket based on Liberty of London
wallpaper.
Covering
the Small Human chapter has great knits for kids along with
tips on what to avoid when knitting for “children who have
reaches the age of reason”. If you have kids in your life
to knit for, there is a unisex denim sweater with interesting
construction, a cute dress for your “young Avenger” – the
Emma (Peel), a Jane Austen dress – knitted bodice and a
simple skirt made by gathering & seaming a length of
fabric, I think even I could do that. Or make a Jane Austen
shrug to layer over it, cute and quick knitting. There is
a beautiful striped long sweater for a toddler with embroidered
ferns which Ann had entered in the TN state fair (her confession
about the Perils of Competitive Knitting). I absolutely
love the “heartbreakingly cute pilot cap” which is knit
in a zig-zag strip of Koigu then sewn up.
The
Occasional Knitting chapter has some holiday gifts – knit
Christmas stocking, felted Christmas Advent Trees (which
remind me of hats for garden gnomes) and a striped shortrow
kippah (skullcap), a poached wool picnic bag, table runners,
a knit market bag, a paper lantern cover!
The
Sophisticated Kitchen has their kitschy kitchen items –
dishcloths, mitred hanging dishtowels reminiscent of Mom's,
and in the new “green” style of living – “the Swifty” reusable
mopcovers (go wild and make it into a doggy coat!), superthick
hotmitts and some crazy dishwashing gloves with knitted
cuffs attached! It all goes along with their philosophy
of “MUST use the knits”.
My
husband tells me if he'd looked through this book to see
if I'd like it, he'd have put it back. He couldn't imagine
me making anything in it. I have a lot of knitting books
that I haven't made anything out of, but I still admire.
Actually, I could see me making the mohair wraps easily.
The pilot cap or “blu jeans” would be great for a friend's
baby. A top down sweater is on my list too.
I
also love to read knitting books, Kay and Ann's sense of
humor….. I love the treatise on the independent knitter
(where have you gone Elizabeth Zimmermann?) – taking charge
of my knitting, being inspired by their knitting mojo and
hoping some of it rubs off on me from owning this book.
Respectfully
submitted,
Candy
Grastorf
Buy
this book from Amazon.com
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