Knitting Book Review: Leave Me Alone!

I know, this doesn’t sound like a knitting book. Bear with me.

I was looking through the Publishers Weekly best books of the year lists and this one caught my eye in the children’s book list. I was a little ashamed I hadn’t heard of it earlier, because it combines two of my family’s favorite passions: fiber arts and science fiction. And reading, for that matter.

Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brogsol is a story I think we can all relate to this time of year.

Winter is coming, and grandma has a lot of knitting to do. Her gaggle of grandkids need new sweaters for the season, but she just can’t seem to get any knitting done.

Her grandchildren were curious about her knitting.
Were you supposed to hit the ball with a stick?
Could you eat it?
Could you make your brother eat it?
Why did the ball get smaller as you chased it?

She tries to find some more privacy by going out into the woods and climbing the mountain, but animals turn out to be as curious as grandchildren.

So she walks to the top of the mountain and onto the moon, which is no help, but finally finds the peace she’s looking for in the void on the other side of a wormhole.

This book is really cute, both the story and the illustrations, and if you knit for kids who are picture book aged they’re sure to love it. Or gift it to a friend who is always knitting for other people.

Have you read this book? I’d love to know what you thought of it!

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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