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Review/Giveaway: Continuous Cables

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continuous cables book giveaway

Carolyn is getting this one!

This week’s giveaway, Continuous Cables by Melissa Leapman, is not a new book (it was published in 2008) but it’s a great one for learning how cables work and how to use them effectively and in different ways in projects.

Instead of dealing with straight, ropey cables like we are used to, her cables twist and turn to make circles, rings, swirls, cirlicues and Celtic-inspired designs on pillows, sweaters, blankets, baby projects and more. (Check out all the projects on Ravelry. Mine is the hardcover version and actually has a different cover.)

In addition, there is a stitch dictionary with more than 80 panels and motifs you can add to your projects or just play with in swatches.

There are a couple of beginner patterns in the book but I would say its better suited to people who have comfort with traditional cables and are ready to branch out into new twisty territory.

If you’d like a chance to win this book, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, February 19. Please only United States residents on this one — this book is heavy!

I’d love to know about your experience with cables, or with knitting more generally. Do you consider yourself a beginner, an expert or somewhere in between? Personally, I know enough to know I still have a lot to learn!

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!  Looking for more Cable-styled knitting patterns? Check out these Cable Knit Patterns on Etsy

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Comments

  1. Still have so much to learn! There is always new techniques coming out. I consider my skills to be intermediate and I love cables!

  2. My experience with cables isn’t very good, nor is it vast. They tend to be too tight for some reason and I haven’t been able to make them loose enough. I have to sort of pull really hard to get those stitches made. I’m definitely a beginner at cables and I would love to learn how to do them because I want to get more experience at making socks and using delicate cable patterns. It’s very challenging.

  4. I am like you I know enough to know I can still learn more. I have been knitting for years and the new patterns coming out are things I like to try before my hand get to bad to knit.. Thank you for the chance to win this book.

  5. I am always learning new techniques and ideas with cables. Love the look they give knitted items.

  6. I love cables. My very first item I knit was with lots of cables. I consider myself still a beginner…
    Still learning and conquering!

  7. I have been knitting a very long time-since my father taught me as a teenager! I have done a lot of different stitches, including cables-would love to experiment with new ideas!

  8. I’m a cable newbie and made my first cabled headband/ear warmer for my niece. My goal is to learn as many cables as possible for 2017.

  11. I love cables and have intermediate skills knitting them. I wish I could learn to understand them better so I could write cable patterns.

  12. I probably have advanced beginner skills and love cables! I would like to attempt advanced cables such as in this wonderful book!

  13. My grandmother taught me to knit & purl 55 years ago when I was only 6 yrs old.. Never made anything but just practiced when I stayed with her. I became disabled and picked up a pair of needles a couple years ago and I was amazed that I cast on and began knitting by total recall. I find that amazing considering how I no longer remember what I ate for dinner last nite but I remember how to knit. Since that time I am totally self taught. Am madly in love with cables. Would love to do an Irish pattern but I feel like I am all thumbs when I am doing them. I am not a smooth cable-maker but I never give up. They are well worth the effort!!!!!!

  14. I have knit cables several times and enjoy making cabled items. My knitting skills are intermediate. There are lots of new techniques to learn.

  15. I’ve only made 3 cable projects so far, but cables are so much fun! A lady in a coffee shop taught me how to do cables without using a cable needle and that really helped my speed. I know there is so much more for me to learn and this book would be a wonderful help. Thanks so much for the chance to win! 🙂

  16. There’s so much still to learn so I’d have to say I’m an intermediate newbie. : )) I love cables for the challenge (as I REALLY have to pay attention!) and the beautiful designs you can create with them.

  17. I would really love this book. I have learned to do “ordinary” cables but all these different types of cables, well I had no idea there were so many and the design on the front of this book is really beautiful. How I would love to be able to make something like that.

  18. I knitted a cable sweater for my boyfriend (now husband) when I was a teenager, almost 50 years ago. I would love to expand my knowledge of cables to such interesting shapes and designs, now that I am retired and have time to knit again.

  19. I love cables and I’m enjoying Ms Leapman’s square for the Knitterati Afghan. I’d love to have a copy of this book. 🙂

  20. I still consider myself a beginner even though I have made a few cabled projects because they were all accessories so didn’t require much staying power – but I would love to try some of the projects in this wonderful book!

  21. I love all kinds of knitting from lace, to cables, to plain stockinette or garter. I consider myself an expert. Would love to receive this book, and learn new ways to use cables.

  22. Hi, would love a chance at this book. I have a skill level of in between when it comes to cables. I love that it looks so complicated, but is a lot easier to do then I once thought. Happy knitting!

  23. I love cables. My very first knitting project was a fisherman sweater with lots of cables. A combination of ignorance and over-ambition. The sweater came out with some flaws, but very wearable. I still have it and love it.

  24. I’ve been exploring some interesting cables in a blanket I’m working on. I was just thinking I’d really like a book of motifs to figure out how to design my own cables. I’d love a chance at this book. Thanks!

  26. I’m not a cable newbie but I love the celtic knot look and I hadn’t seen this particular book until you posted this. Thanks for the chance to win!

Have you read?

Book Review: Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit & Crochet Blankets

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.

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