A Stash of One's Own

Author: Clara Parkes
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1683351622
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Book Description
In this anthology from the author of The Yarn Whisperer, twenty-one devoted knitters examine a subject that is irresistible to us all: the yarn stash. Anyone with a passion has a stash, whether it is a collection of books or enough yarn to exceed several life expectancies. With her trademark wit, Clara Parkes brings together fascinating stories from all facets of stash-keeping and knitting life—from KonMari minimalist to joyous collector, designer to dyer, spinner to social worker, scholar to sheep farmer. Whether the yarn stash is muse, memento, creative companion, career guide, or lifeline in tough times, these deeply engaging stories take a fascinating look at why we collect, what we cherish, and how we let go. Contributors include New York Times–bestselling authors Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Debbie Stoller, Meg Swansen and Franklin Habit, Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner, Adrienne Martini, and a host of others. Named one of the top ten lifestyle books for fall 2017 by Publisher’s Weekly.

Knitlandia

Author: Clara Parkes
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1613129394
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Book Description
The renowned knitter and author of The Yarn Whisperer spins tales of a creative life enriched by world travel in this New York Times–bestselling memoir. In Knitlandia, Parkes invite readers and devoted crafters on excursions to be savored, through seventeen of her most memorable journeys across the globe. Her knitting adventures span from the fjords of Iceland to a cozy yarn shop in Paris’s thirteenth arrondissement. Also known for her PBS television appearances and hugely popular line of small-batch handcrafted yarns, Parkes weaves her personal blend of wisdom and humor into this eloquently volume that is part personal travel narrative and part cultural history, touching the heart of what it means to live creatively.

The Knitter's Book of Yarn

Author: Clara Parkes
Publisher: Potter Craft
ISBN: 0307586987
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
Not all yarns are alike. Some make our hearts and hands sing, some get the job done without much fanfare, and some cause nothing but frustration and disappointment. The gorgeous pair of socks that emerged from their first bath twice as long as when they went in. The delicate baby sweater that started pilling before it even came off the needles. The stunning colorwork scarf that you can’t wear because the yarn feels like sandpaper against your neck. If only there were a way to read a skein and know how it would behave and what it wanted to become before you invested your time, energy, and money in it. Now there is! With The Knitter’s Book of Yarn, you’ll learn how to unleash your inner yarn whisperer. In these pages, Clara Parkes provides in-depth insight into a vast selection of yarns, giving you the inside stories behind the most common fiber types, preparations, spins, and ply combinations used by large-scale manufacturers and importers, medium-sized companies, boutique dye shops, community spinneries, and old-fashioned sheep farms. And, because we learn best by doing, Parkes went to some of the most creative and inquisitive design minds of the knitting world to provide a wide assortment of patterns created to highlight the qualities (and minimize the drawbacks) of specific types of yarns. The Knitter’s Book of Yarn will teach you everything you need to know about yarn: How it’s made, who makes it, how it gets to you, and what it longs to become. The next time you pick up a skein, you won’t have to wonder what to do with it. You’ll just know–the way any yarn whisperer would.

Vanishing Fleece

Author: Clara Parkes
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1683356829
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Book Description
The renowned knitter shares her year-long adventure through America’s colorful, fascinating—and slowly disappearing—wool industry. Join Clara Parkes as she ventures across the country to meet the shepherds, dyers, and countless workers without whom our knitting needles would be empty, our mills idle, and our feet woefully cold. Along the way, she encounters a flock of Saxon Merino sheep in upstate New York, tours a scouring plant in Texas, visits a steamy Maine dyehouse, helps sort freshly shorn wool on a working farm, and learns how wool fleece is measured, baled, shipped, and turned into skeins. In pursuit of the perfect yarn, Parkes describes a brush with the dangers of opening a bale (they can explode), and her adventures from Maine to Wisconsin (“the most knitterly state”) and back again. By the end of the book, you’ll be ready to set aside the backyard chickens and add a flock of sheep instead.

The Yarn Whisperer

Author: Clara Parkes
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 9781617690020
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Stockinette, ribbing, cables, even the humble yarn over can instantly evoke places, times, people, conversations, all those poignant moments that we've tucked away in our memory banks. Over time, those stitches form a map of our lives. --From the preface In The Yarn Whisperer: Reflections on a Life in Knitting, renowned knitter and author Clara Parkes ponders the roles knitting plays in her life via 22 captivating, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny essays. Recounting tales of childhood and adulthood, family, friends, adventure, privacy, disappointment, love, and celebration, she hits upon the universal truths that drive knitters to create and explores the ways in which knitting can be looked at as a metaphor for so many other things. Put simply, "No matter how perfect any one sweater may be, it's only human to crave another. And another, and another."

For the Love of Knitting

Author: Kari Cornell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781610603881
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
One surviving cotton sock tells us that the Egyptians were knitting as long ago as the first millennium AD. Tenderly preserved shawls and sweaters bespeak our great-grandmothers handiwork. And colorful strands of yarn escaping from a basket in the corner show that the tradition lives on with us. That tradition, celebrated in the stories and essays in this book, knits together a world of warmth and memory, wisdom and camaraderie. These writings--sometimes amusing, sometimes moving, always entertaining--comprise a charming scrapbook reflecting the myriad cultural and historical aspects of knitting. Ranging from the days of World War II to our own time, they include offerings by Jamaica Kincaid, Melanie Falick, Elizabeth Zimmermann, Meg Swansen, Susan Gordon Lydon, Pam Allen, Lela Nargi, Perri Klass, Teva Durham, and many others. Artwork by Solveig Hisdal, fiber artists Debbie New and Karen Searle, and photographer Chris Hartlove, along with historical photographs, vintage advertising, and pattern booklets, brings the color and textures of these stories to vibrant life. Whether you ply knitting needles yourself or simply appreciate the art, this collection will enfold you in all the softness, warmth, and beauty of knitting today and yesterday.

Stitch 'n Bitch

Author: Debbie Stoller
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
ISBN: 0761174958
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Book Description
It’s the essential guide for chicks with sticks—because knit happens. From the tools of the trade to the knitty-gritty of techniques and patterns, all with easy-to-follow step-by-step illustrated techniques. Stockinette stitch, rib stitch, seed stitch. Increasing and decreasing. All the bells and whistles: fringes, tassels, cables, intarsia, crab stitch, and Fair Isle. Plus the stitch doctor’s own special bag of tricks and how to hook up with other knitters. After the how-tos come the why-to: forty hop, stylish patterns, as good for beginners as they are for purely pros. Featuring: Coney Island fireworks scarf Punk rock backpack Crickets technicolor techno-cozies Pippi knee-stockings Big bad baby blanket To-dye-for sweater Princess Snowball cat bed Queen of Hearts bikini

A Life in Stitches

Author: Rachael Herron
Publisher: HGA Publishing
ISBN: 1940785626
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 183

Book Description
A hilarious, heartfelt romp that will bring you home to yourself. You don’t have to be a knitter to fall in love with this book—any person who’s ever made anything with their hands will dive joyfully into these pages and come back up renewed and ready to create. Tenth Anniversary Edition - This beloved bestseller is newly updated with fresh stories and extra devotion to the happiness found in everyday tools. Internationally bestselling author Rachael Herron shows that when life unravels, there’s usually a way to knit it back together again, and if there’s not, there’s still hope to be found in the simple tools of the craft. Honest, funny, and full of warmth, Herron’s tales, each inspired by something she knitted, will speak to anyone who’s ever loved (or lost). From her very first sweater (a hilarious disaster) to the yellow afghan that caused a breakup (and, ultimately, a breakthrough), every chapter has a moving story behind it. This beautifully candid collection about crafting the art of happiness through joy and grief is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Gilbert and Glennon Doyle. Click BUY now! Rachael Herron is the author of more than two dozen books, including thriller (under R.H. Herron), mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing. She received her MFA in writing from Mills College, Oakland, and she teaches writing extension workshops at both UC Berkeley and Stanford. She is a proud member of the NaNoWriMo Writer’s Board. An AmeriKiwi, she’s currently living in New Zealand.

The Knitter's Book of Socks

Author: Clara Parkes
Publisher: Potter Craft
ISBN: 0307586812
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Book Description
A sock is a work of wonder. No other knitted garment has as many structural demands or endures as much wear and tear. The humble sock must defy gravity, suffer the confines of our shoes, and endure being trampled on all day long. All too often, the root cause of a sock's triumph or failure is the yarn itself. In The Knitter’s Book of Socks, Clara Parkes shows you how to knit socks from yarn up, following the sock yarn life cycle from its foundations to its final moments on a proud foot. By understanding a sock's basic needs—elasticity, strength, and moisture management—you’ll learn how to play with these tools like building blocks, confidently combining fiber, twist, ply, pattern, and clever stitch tricks to construct your perfect pair of socks. To help put these principles into practice, The Knitter’s Book of Socks also offers 20 fresh, original patterns from today’s sock-design luminaries, including Cookie A, Cat Bordhi, Ann Budd, Nancy Bush, Anne Hanson, and Melissa Morgan-Oakes. The socks presented here run the gamut from simple knit-and-purl combinations suitable for beginners to innovative designs with lush colorwork, swirling cables, and delicate lace. Understanding the elements of yarn is the first step on every successful sock knitting journey. With this book as your guide, you’ll learn how to make any sock yarn shine and love every pair of socks you knit.

The Power of Knitting

Author: Loretta Napoleoni
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593087194
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Book Description
Purl and stitch: Empowering, healing, and reconnecting us to each other and ourselves In a fractured world plagued by anxiety and loneliness, knitting is coming to the rescue of people from all walks of life. Economist and lifelong knitter Loretta Napoleoni unveils the hidden power of the purl and stitch mantra: an essential tool for the survival of our species, a means for women to influence history, a soothing activity to calm us, and a powerful metaphor of life. This book is a voyage through our history following the yarn of social, economic and political changes - from ancient Egypt and Peru to modern Mongolia, from the spinning bees of the American Revolution to the knitting spies of World War II, and from the hippies' rejection of consumerism to yarnbombing protests against climate change. For the author it is also a personal journey of discovery and salvation, drawing on the wisdom her grandmother passed along as they knit together. Revealing recent discoveries in neuroscience, The Power of Knitting offers proof of the healing powers of knitting on our bodies and minds. Breaking through societal barriers, even nursing broken hearts, and helping to advance cutting-edge science, knitting is still a valuable instrument for navigating our daily lives. As a bonus, the book includes patterns for ten simple yet iconic projects that reflect the creative, empowering spirit of knitting, with complete instructions.