Knitting

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Merry Christmas! New Giveaway!!

by 50 Comments

lilychinIf there’s one thing that every knitter can use, it’s an accessible guide filled to the brim with tips, tricks, shortcuts and secrets for unraveling any yarn mystery. Who better to compile it than Lily Chin – author of four immensely popular books, and a veteran teacher.

Lily was named a “Master Knitter” by Vogue Knitting International and was named World’s Fastest Crocheter in 2004. She has designed knitwear for more than 25 years.

From Random House!

To enter this giveaway, tell me what your favorite “knitting guide” is. Book? Note cards? In your head (really?), but hurry, This contest ends 12.31.09!!

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Comments

  1. The knitting guides I use are Ann Budd’s “knitter’s handy book of patterns” and “knitter’s handy book of sweater patterns” and Charlotte Schurch’s “Sensational knitted socks.”
    So often I have yarn and an idea, but little patience to pencil it out. These make it easy!
    I also own the book you’re giving away, but I’d like a 2nd copy for a very good friend.
    Merry Christmas Terrye!

  3. I don’t have one yet! I have recently gotten back into knitting (learned the basics as a child) and am still getting the hang of things. I finished a very simple scarf this week and am working my way up to making myself some pretty socks to wear. I’ve been a crafter for many years but have always stuck to the basics with knitting/crochet and it’s time to move on and up – there are so many gorgeous fibers and patterns out there now!

  6. My favorite knitting guide is my mother. Whenever I am stuck with a stitch, I call her up on Skype and she shows me exactly how to do it!

  7. I recently started knitting and have been looking up info and questions online. I don’t have any books or anything so I’d love to have something to look through instead of searching a bunch of sites to get an answer!

  10. so far i have liked the knitting answer book, that little one that is fat and fits in bags, though i have ran across numerous q’s it didnt answer

  11. I use Google for my knitting guide. I also always copy the pattern and any special instructions from the book or magazine so I can keep it with the knitting.

  14. As a knitting beginner, I’ve been mostly relying on youtube videos, they are great! This book looks like a great knitting guide and I would love to win it and have a proper guide book! Thanks for the chance!

  15. I have to admit to using the computer first before consulting a book most of the time (youtube or knittinghelp), but I know Lily has SUPER awesome tips. What she comes up with amazes me and I’ve been looking forward to her books coming out for awhile now! I’d love a chance to win this! :O)

  16. How about some love for Ravelry, and all the wonderful people on the Internet who have taken the time to post and photograph lessons, tips, techniques and a couple failures. I lose books. I misplace notecards like stitch markers. But I’ll never lose my laptop access to the many who have come before me.

    This may sound a little goofy, seeing that you’ve offered up a knitting book and all. I said I lose books; I didn’t say that I don’t read them. I do. Like crazy. I’m just a tad too much of a pack-rat to find things as immediately as I need them.
    Thank you for making this available.

  17. Please enter me – I would love to win this wonderful book, I have seen Lily Chin on Knitty Gritty and she is so very knowledgeable! So far I have been checking knittinghelp.com for most of my questions.
    Thanks!

  19. My best knitting guides are my friends – the ones who are experienced at knitting and can help me with anything because I am still a new knitter.

  20. Merry Christmas
    I have an OLD Better Homes and Garden issue from my Grandma – but the ladies at the yarn store are my fave
    Cheers
    Catie

  22. The Complete Book of Knitting and Crocheting by Marguerite Maddox was given to me by my aunt back in the 1970s. The copy I have is a paperback. The first edition was published in 1953. But it’s the one I turn to most often when I need help. Admittedly, I am an intermediate knitter. I guess I could use an update.

  24. If there’s something I need to look up I always turn to the internet.. I would be sooo lost without the internet..

  25. My favorite knitting guides are knittinghelp.com videos and Klutz Learn to knit book/kit. That combo is what I used to learn how to knit.

    melodyj(at)gmail(dot)com

  26. My favorite knitting guides for tips are online knitting groups and also my local “in-person” knitting group.

  27. I too love knittinghelp.com, and my wonderful LYS. I would love to win this book! Thank you for a great giveaway!

  28. If picking the brain of my very knitting-wise neighbor fails, I’ve gotten some great help from the Twitter-verse as well as of course my favorite website of all time (well duh, Ravelry!). Sadly my LYS was an early tragedy of the economy, and closed early this year.

  29. Whenever I need some help, I head over to Ravelry.com. There is always someone else who has had the same difficulties as me. Or if I have a specific question, I post it in a discussion forum and I get a ton of responses.

    Thanks for the wonderful giveaway.

  30. I usually go to the internet to see if there is a video somewhere to show me what’s up. sometimes I’m stuck trying to figure it out for myself. This would be a great resource for me. Thanks for the opportunity to win!

  31. The book I consult in a pinch is Montse Stanley’s KNITTER’S HANDBOOK, but I’m more likely to go online to TECHknitter or one of the help sites if I don’t have a solution in my noggin from 60 years of knitting experience. I also pick up lots of tips from the projects on Ravelry and the forums.

  33. I’m a beginning knitter, so my favorite “guide” is my mother. I also use knittinghelp.com for videos and my Learn to Knit book.

  34. My fav at the moment is Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

  35. I have two favourite items- Yarn Stash Wonders ( David & Charles) which allows me to use up the odd balls of wool I have accumulated and ‘Mary Thomas Knitting Patterns’ published the year I was born. I would dearly love to win this book- I CAN make room for it!!

  39. I go to youtube or knittinghelp.com for information that I need guides. I like to visualize what the knitter is explaining on any new techinques to learn.

  41. Surprisingly my knitting guides are a co-worker and a classmate. I don’t know either of them too well, but when it comes to knitting, they know basically everything! We talk stitches, needles, and patterns all the time. They are much better at knitting than I am since I’m only a beginner, but, they are helping me out a lot!

  42. I have lots of notes for tips and tricks that I have accumulated from the internet. I keep them all on my computer (and on a backup disk – just in case….) and refer to them a lot.

  43. I have knit the Koigu “Charlotte’s Web” shawl a few times and I appreicate the chart that Uli created. I don’t know how I would have gotten through that shawl the first time without it. It was such a help.

  44. About.com or ravelry are really good Internet sights. The knitters bible and The knitting answer book is really good too.

  49. My grandmother.She has the most beautiful patterns dating back to when she was a girl as well as most recent books that family and friends give her

Have you read?

Book Review: Viking Knits

Beautiful people and beautiful sweaters combine in Lasse L. Matberg’s Viking Knits. The book includes more than 40 Scandinavian inspired knits for men, women and children featuring textured stitches and colorwork.

Matberg is known as The Viking and has worked as a chef, naval officer, fitness instructor and model, as well as being on a couple of reality TV shows. He comes from a long line of makers and his book was first published in Norwegian in 2021 and has since come out in an English version.

The book is divided into sections including everyday sweaters, knits for the great outdoors, stylish knitwear, Norse sweaters and accessories. Some of the patterns use the same designs in different versions for men, women and children. I counted seven projects rated for beginners, 19 for intermediate knitters and 17 for experienced knitters. The more difficult patterns tend to have allover colorwork or stitch patterning.

The pattern stitches and colorwork are shown in charts, with a little bit of text to tell you how to make the garment. Most of the book is sweaters, but there are also hats (sometimes coordinating with sweaters), scarves and a couple of sitting mats.

You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry. Some of my favorites are the more basic ones, such as the Power Sweater, a close-fitting (sized for men) ribbed sweater; the Heart Sweater, a raglan with allover lice stitch; and the Midsummer Sweater, with textured stripes and a henley neckline. I also like the Breeze designs (there are versions for men, women and children) that have colorwork diamonds on them.

Sizing on the garments varies, but there are six sizes for the men’s patterns (noted as small through XXL and then Lasse sized), six for women (XS to XL) and three for children (age 2-4, 6-8 and 10-12).

The yarns used in the book aren’t available in the United States but you can find suppliers here if you want to use the same yarns. Otherwise the book gives a lot of details about yarn content and gauge so you should be able to find good substitutes wherever you live.

If you have Norwegian or Scandinavian heritage or just like the look of cozy textured or colorful sweaters, this book is a lot of fun, and the eye candy is pretty great, too.

About the book: 192 pages, hardcover, 43 patterns. Published in English in 2023 by Search Press. Suggested retail price $29.95.

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