Book Review: More Lovely Knitted Lace

Brooke Nico is skilled at taking simple shapes and reinterpreting them in the framework of lace knitting projects. Her books Lovely Knitted Lace and More Lovely Knitted Lace start with basic geometric shapes, add lace and turn them into shawls, tops, cowls and other garments.

The basic format of both books is much the same, involving four basic shapes converted into 16 projects. Both books use rectangles, squares, triangles and circles as their starting point, but that doesn’t mean the books are repetitive; there’s lots to do within these shapes to make them interesting. (Check out the projects for the original and the new book on Ravelry.)

The books both cover the basic skills you need to know in order to complete the projects, from her favorite cast on (the knit cast on) to how to make yarn overs in different situations, make nupps and short rows and bind off. I’m a little surprised there’s nothing about blocking here; she mentions it but doesn’t explain how to do it.

There are lots of really lovely patterns in here. A few that I would love to knit include the Arbor Triangular Shawl, worked in medium weight yarn with diamond and leaf patterns; the Montauk Sweater, a basic top-down raglan with a bit of lace on the raglan seams, down the sides and at the cuffs and turtleneck; and the Troika Wrap, a wavy lace rectangle that can be worn as a shrug, scarf or cowl.

I’d swear there’s a picture in the introduction of a design that isn’t in the book, but these are pretty patterns using a variety of yarn weights, amounts of lace and shaping techniques. The patterns for the lace are written out and charted, so it’s great for newer lace knitters or others intimidated by charts.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 16 patterns, no skill level given (garments that are sized offer three or six options). Published April 2016 by Lark Books. Suggested retail $19.95.

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

Have you read?