Did You Know about These Celebrities Who Knit?

I don’t know if it’s because we’re heading in to summer or because I just haven’t been paying attention, but I didn’t see a lot of knitting news this week. But I did want to share this piece from mental_floss about 11 famous knitters.

Sure, you probably know most of them, like Julia Roberts, Eleanor Roosevelt, Grace Coolidge (pictured) and Kate Middleton, but there are a couple that might surprise you.

One I will make you click through to see, but one is Ringo Starr. He says he was sick a lot as a child and knitting was something he could do while in bed.

Did you know that?

Of course there are many more than these famous knitters, so feel free to add to the list if you have a favorite who didn’t make the cut. (Katharine Hepburn is mine.)

[Photo via mental_floss, from the Library of Congress.]

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There’s always room for more stitch dictionaries on your shelf, but Andrea Rangel’s Knitovation Stitch Dictionary is unlike those stitch pattern books you might already own. That’s because this one is full of colorwork stitch patterns rather than textured stitches, lace or cables, so the designs are ripe for adding to hats, sweaters and other projects with a stockinette stitch background.

The book starts with a quick introduction to knitting colorwork that’s also unlike what you’ve probably seen before, because it’s less about the colors themselves and more about the kinds of fibers you choose, how the yarn is prepared and the gauge you’re working at and how those things all change the look of a design.

Most of the book is filled with motif designs and swatches. The motifs were designed and named by Andrea’s husband Sean, who is an artist and brings a bit of whimsy to the designs.

You’ll find some classic looking leaves and flowers, mosaics and waves, but also rubber ducks, penguins, puzzle pieces, cherries and cows, snails and teapots, eyeballs and chess pieces, to name a few. Many of the designs also have funny names, like a fish named toilet bound, or cats in suits called corporate fat cat.

Of course you can use the designs in any way you want on any project you like, but there are also three patterns in the book — for a hat, a sweater and a pair of fingerless gloves — plus discussion of how the motifs were added, adjusting patterns for a different size or gauge, and adding your own motifs.

If you like adding a bit of colorwork to otherwise plain projects that other people have designed, or you’re ready to start making your own designs with fun motifs, this book is a great place to start. The fun and funny motifs are sure to inspire you to want to pick up your needles and add a little more color to your projects.

About the book: 160 pages, hardcover, 150+ motifs and three knitting patterns. Published 2023 by Interweave, suggested retail $28.

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