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Book Review: Knitlandia

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Knitlandia by Clara Parkes reviewKnitters have a lot of events at which we are able to get together, learn new things, discover new yarns and buy a lot of stuff. As a teacher and yarn lover, Clara Parkes has been to a lot of these events and done a lot of things that most knitters don’t do.

She’s a regular at Maryland and Rhinebeck, has taught classes for Craftsy and was a regular on Knitting Daily, she’s written books and led retreats.

Her latest book, Knitlandia: A Knitter Sees the World, offers 17 essays about the places and people of the knitting world and Parkes’ experiences in it. There are trips to Iceland, Paris and Edinburgh, to Taos and Columbus.

She writes about attending the two Sock Summits in Portland and teaching at Yarnover, a day of workshops presented by a Minnesota knitting guild that takes place in a school.

She shares the details that make each of these places and events special in a way that makes you wish you could go there someday — or could have gone there. If you have FOMO (fear of missing out) you probably should not read this book.

You might have trouble with it, too, if you’re a minimalist or on any kind of a yarn diet. The excesses of some of these shows in terms of how much people buy actually makes me not feel so bad about never having attended them (fully understanding that it is vital for the healthy continuance of our craft for people to buy things, even things they never use).

I did enjoy reading this book, and it always makes me happy to see the camaraderie that can be found among knitters anywhere in the world, and the sense that in those moments when we come together as a group, we are one.

A single knitter is shorthand for “nothing to see here, move on.” But when knitters gather, we become incongruously conspicuous. We are a species that other people aren’t used to seeing in flocks, like a cluster of Corgis, a dozen Elvis impersonators waiting for an elevator.

These essay are the armchair travel of the knitting world, giving you a taste of what some different knitting-related experiences are like, which may encourage you to seek those places out for yourself.

If you like reading about knitting as much as you like actually knitting, you’re going to want to grab a copy of this book. And of course if you’ve ever attended Rhinebeck or Maryland Sheep and Wool, the Edinburgh Yarn Festival or Vogue Knitting Live, you’ll want to read these stories to get the point of view of a teacher and a keen, detailed observer of the knitting world.

Book specifications: 160 pages, hardcover with jacket, 17 essays. STC Craft, published February 2016. Suggested retail $19.95

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Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.