Used Books

Why buy a new book, when used ones are just as informational?

As the DH always says, "Mail delivery is the highlight of my day!" It definitely was for me today. I received a used knitting book that I ordered on Amazon last week. Since I am interested in experimenting with two strand color knitting (i.e. Fair Isle), I ordered a book I saw called Mostly Mittens by Charlene Schurch.  To tell you the truth, it was the colors on the mitten featured on the front cover of the book that attracted me! Yummy!  There are 36 beautiful mitten patterns included as well as 2 hat and 2 sock patterns. I know that I will be able to get at least one pair made from this book. If I can find the time! The mitten shown on the back cover is equally as yummy as the front. The hardest thing will be determining which of the patterns I end up choosing.

Then there comes choosing yarn and colors. For my first pair, I will probably stick to the suggested fingering weight 100% wool yarn. It is unlikely that I will find many of the actual colors, given that the book was © 1998. But I know that at least some of the yarns used such as Brown Sheep Company's Nature Spun and Nordic Fiber Arts' Rauma Finnullgarn are still produced.

This is obviously not Fair Isle knitting, but a style of knitting done by the Komi People of Russia. According to the book, the Komi People are a reindeer-herding people who are found in northern Russia just south of the Arctic Circle (where sweater weather never ends). The women knitted the colorful mittens and knee high socks that were worn by both the men and women.  As you can see by the cover pictures, the patterns are geometric, centered around a diagonal shape. Each village had it's own variation of the diagonal pattern and a Komi would know where someone else was from based on the design of their clothing.

All in all, this book is a lovely find and I am defiantly looking forward to digging in.

Speaking of color, there are certain color combinations that I really love: olive green and orange-red (think martini olive); chocolate and hot pink; light lime green and a bright pink; and a clear red wine and grape purple. But please don't limit me to those combinations as I could change my mind tomorrow.