Jinx
by Lexie Barnes
$80
Dimensions: 17"w X 11"h X 5"d
Shown in Pacifica print/brown
Fabric: water-resistant taffeta with ballistic nylon interior

As the proud owner of a Lexie Barnes Lady B knitting bag, I confess that I already LOVE Lexie Barnes' designs.

Now Lexie Barnes has a new range of exclusive fabrics and some new designs like the Jinx bag.

Perfect for a knitting project, this bag can hold your yarn (I had 10 balls of kidsilk haze in it), needles, tools, pattern and your wallet, phone and keys with a bit of room to spare. It has two zippered pockets and stays shut with a hidden magnet.

More Big Girl Knits: 25 designs full of color & texture for curvy women
by Jillian Moreno & Amy R Singer
Potter Craft
$30.00, hardcover
SR=40-67

We wrote this book, so we can't review it. Instead, here is a fact sheet of what we included, with our hopes that you'll like this book very much.

25 patterns, this time focusing on color and texture [like fair isle, cabling, intarsia] in ways that won't make Big Girls look like upholstered sofas

patterns that are a little easier on the brain this time, so perhaps you won't need as much caffeine as you did for the first book

the "Plain Vanilla Customized-by-you" pattern that Jillian has been teaching in classes across the US and Canada

Knitspeak: An A to Z Guide to the Language of Knitting Patterns
by Andrea Berman Price
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
$17.95, hardcover

When my grandma taught me to knit, I was 6. Too young to read the average pattern. When I next picked up my needles in college, grandma lived 10 hours away and I didn't know any other knitters. I cannot tell you how much I would have loved to have this book back then.

The newbie questions we've all asked [or will ask, if we haven't yet] and many not-so-newbie ones, too, are clearly explained in this adorable, intelligent book. [Is it bad that I also love it because it's small and pink?] Words and knitting terms are clearly defined, with pictures if necessary. Handy checklists and charts make it virtually impossible not to find the answer you're looking for.

A super gift for new knitters. And for us too, when it's late at night and we're just not getting it. Good reference books make me happy.

AS

Knitube
by Namaste
$49
Dimensions: 26" long, 6" diameter
Shown in peacock, graphite
Fabric: water-resistant taffeta with ballistic nylon interior

This is, without question, the most unique knitting bag we've ever seen. If you like to cram tons of stuff in a big space, this might not be for you. But if you like your storage lean and tidy, take a good look at this innovative bag.

First off, everyone thinks it's a yoga mat bag. Sure, it's shaped like it holds a rolled-up yoga mat, but nuh-uh. It's all about the knitting.

The Knitube has two sections. Each is accessed from one of the flat ends of the big tube -- just zip open one end or the other. Gear, needles, supplies, whatever...that goes in the end that's full of pockets. The other end holds yarn and closes with a drawstring. We think it would be great for taking on a trip to bring all the stuff you'll need! Or roll up your sweater in progress on the needles and store it for transport. Hey, no wrinkles!

The bag is has a wide strap that you wear across your body, making you look kind of like Robin Hood. You can knit from it while you wear it, even!

It's made of what feels like smooth nylon, so you can wipe it clean if goop gets on it. And the lining fabrics are way fun.

JM, AS

Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together
by Larissa & Martin Brown
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
$22.50, hardcover
SR= 36-48 [one sweater pattern -- the rest are accessories]

This book surprised me. I hadn't really known what to expect based on the title, but I do know and like the work of Larissa Brown -- in fact, she was a columnist for Knitty for quite a while.

Super Stitches Knitting: Knitting Essentials Plus a Dictionary of More Than 300 Stitch Patterns
by Karen Hemingway
Watson Guptill
$19.95

I don’t think about perspective a lot when it comes to knitting, though I probably should. Knitting perspective hit home when I opened this stitch guide.

All of the stitches are illustrated by knitting that is shot further away, nearly arms length, than is usual for stitch guides. Usually photos are close, close enough to see how the stitches are created, so close sometimes you don’t even need the directions. Seeing stitches further away gives you a better idea of how your project will actually look. This perspective also shows more repeats of a pattern than most books, letting you see how the pattern flows.

Don’t lose out on the knitting forest because of the trees!

JM

Things I Learned From Knitting (Whether I Wanted To or Not)
by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Storey Publishing
$10.95

How the hell is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee still so funny? In her latest book, she uses sayings like “You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear” and “Two heads are better than one” and makes them truly funny with her jazz-style knitting riffs about how and why we knit.

After 5 books, the Harlot still can hit the right nerve every time. It's like she’s hiding in all of our stashes and lurking at all of our knit nights, and it’s fantastic.

JM

Anticraft: Knitting, Beading and Stitching for the Slightly Sinister
by Renee Rigdon  and Zabet Stewart
North Light Books
$22.99

A handbook for the goth lifestyle, Anticraft is a webzine and now a book founded by sinister sisters at heart Renee Rigdon and Zabet Stewart.

This a craft/life manual for those of us that sat in the back of the classroom. It has projects using knitting, beading, crochet, and sewing, all with a sense of drama and a sense of humor. But this is a book you should cozy up with. It’s smart and funny and worth reading every page, every comic and recipe. All of your senses will be delighted.

JM

Knitting for Baby: 30 Heirloom Projects with Complete How-to-Knit Instructions
by Melanie Falick, Kristin Nicholas
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
$15.95

This book came out when Knitty did, back in 2002. So perhaps you've not noticed it in your LYS.

So yay on STC for re-releasing it, this time in paperback form! The hardcover sold 40,000 copies, and now that it's more affordable, more of us can grab ourselves a copy.

Combining the talents of two knitting superstars, Kristin Nicholas and Melanie Falick, this book is full of very knittable, very wearable and insanely appealing kids' knitwear. Even a sweater for mommy.

There's a big learn-to-knit component in the book, but don't skip over this one: it features 60 fabulous illustrations by Kristin Nicholas throughout the book, not dumbed down in the least, and cleverly placed near patterns where they might be helpful.

AS

Jan Messent's Knitted Gardens
by Jan Messent
Search Press
$25.95

I’m so glad the Jan Messent knitting books are getting re-released. Each is a microscopic triumph of knitting wonder.

The first one (I think) back is Knitted Gardens. Using US #3 (3.25mm) needles, she creates and encourages you, intrepid knitter, to create a minute knitted garden complete with 3-d cottages, cold frames, green house, people, and of course plants and flowers.

Now she doesn’t just throw you in to garden knitting willy nilly -- she has you practice on a formal garden afghan, a garden pillow, a cottage pillow, a garden bedspread, and my favorite, knitted seed packets.

JM

Ethnic Knitting: Discovery: The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and The Andes
by Donna Druchunas
Nomad Press
$21.95
SR= custom

Ready to knit a traditional Scandinavian or Andean sweater without a ‘looks just like everyone else’s follow the exact pattern’ pattern, but not quite ready to figure it all out on your own?

This book is a knitting coach, giving you just the right info to succeed at your own traditional sweater and encouraging you every step of the way. Using charts and fill-in-the-blank worksheets, you will create a unique sweater in the traditional style of your choosing, based on the shapes you like, the motifs you like, your favorite type of yarn and your own measurements. A sweater by you and for you.  Yay you!

JM

Pattern Tamers
$15.00 per set
various colors and patterns available

Sometimes simplest things can be the most clever.

You know how, when you're following along in a written pattern, your eye wanders all over the place and you lose precious knitting time trying to figure out where you left off reading?

Well, get these handy dealies and you won't have that problem any more. Each set of Pattern Tamers includes a shorty, a medium-length and a longy. But what are they? They're ribbon-covered magnetic strips. They go where you want them on your pattern and they stay put. Put the long one vertically beside the column you're reading. Use one of the shorter ones to direct your eye to the paragraph you're knitting from. Or put whatever length suits on the chart you're following.

Simple, really nicely made and affordable. Clever.

AS

Tonya Bag
by Offhand Designs
$190
Dimensions: 14"H x 15.5"W x 5 "D, 24" straps
Shown in Punch Bloom

This bag was meant for Stephannie to review, but when it came in, I just couldn't not use it. It's absolutely gorgeous.

As with all Offhand Designs bags, it's made from lush velvet, lined in constrasting faille [a very thick, finely ribbed fabric with a subtle shimmer]. The inside of this bag is screaming, beautiful pink! The Tonya style has two outer pockets, and I loved those for quick-access items like a cell phone and car keys.

The top of the bag is arched and keeps its shape thanks to a rigid frame inside the fabric. Rigid, but not heavy! It also has a neato spring hinge that allows the bag to open and stay open, or stay closed when you're done. One zippered interior pocket, plus several other pockets inside the bag of different sizes hold smaller items tidily.

Whether you use this as a purse, or as your knitting bag + daily essentials, you'll turn heads and love it.

Yes, I did give the bag to Stephannie, by the way, as you can see from the pictures.

And she loves it as much as I do.

AS

WooLee Winder
by Robert Lee & Son
$185 [WooLee Winder + 1 bobbin]
extra bobbins: $31/ea

I will try anything to make my fiber go faster. I knit on Turbos and taught myself continental-style to knit precious seconds faster. Why wouldn't I want t use something that would allow me to spin faster? The WooLee Winder claims to do just that. It also claims to make your spinning more consistent because you don't have to stop and change hooks while spinning.

I'll admit I was a tich secptical – I have heard folks rant on both sides of the fence for the WW. There seems to be no middle ground.

It is true that you can't fine tune your spinning to a minute degree, but I don't spin that way. You have to remember to oil the the bobbin shaft on your wheel and travel screw on the WooLee Winder, more frequently than you might think.

The WooLee Winder replaces the bobbin flyer on your wheel. The WooLee Winder flyer has an eyelet attached to a traveling screw that causes the eyelet to (duh) move up and down parallel to the bobbin, winding on yarn like a sewing machine bobbin winder. This eliminates the need to stop and start while you’re spinning to move your yarn from hook to hook as you fill your bobbin.

I love spinning with my WW. It’s smoother than a Marvin Gaye love song. Not only is my spinning more consistent because I can get into a rhythm, but I can fit more yarn on a bobbin. Don’t get me started on plying -- it goes FAST. I could never keep up when I had to change hooks; with a WooLee Winder you don’t have to stop until your bobbin is full. Bliss.

JM [tested on a Schacht Matchless]

I'm a very new spinner and I admit I had little success with the WooLee Winder at first, but I soon learned why. In my learn-to-spin classes with Maggie Casey, she made me remove the WW and use the default flyer until I was producing reasonably good beginner yarn. On my 2nd day in class, I put the WW back on and understood why I'd had trouble in the beginning.

Adjusting tension becomes more crucial on the WW. A minute adjustment to tighten or loosen can instantly solve an uptake problem. Once I'd learned more about tension and its effects on making yarn, I could take advantage of the assistance the WooLee Winder provided.

As Jillian says, spinning with it is bliss. It fills a beautiful, symmetrical bobbin and allows newbie me to keep spinning when I find my groove.

I liked my review-sample WW so much that, after I bought a Schacht Ladybug at SOAR, I walked over to the WW booth and bought one that would fit the Ladybug. I can't imagine spinning without it.

AS [tested on an Ashford Joy & Schacht Ladybug]

Start Spinning: Everything You Need to Know to Make Great Yarn
by Maggie Casey
Interweave Press
$21.95

Before I even start talking about the book I have to confess, Maggie Casey taught me to spin many years ago (it might be 13) at the Estes Park Wool festival. This past year she taught Amy Singer (yes our beloved Amy) to spin at SOAR.

I have no idea how many people she’s taught to spin over the years but I guess it’s in the thousands. So saying that she knows what she’s talking about is sort of beyond the point.

Maggie explains the hows and whys from fiber to yarn. The brilliant thing about this book are Maggie’s hands. They are everywhere. On nearly every page is a close-up photo of Maggie demonstrating every aspect of spinning. It’s one thing to describe spinning from the fold, but it becomes so clear when there are 5 photographs visually walking you through it.

The entire book has this kind of visual detail. The only thing missing is to have her hands actually come out of the book to help guide your spinning.

JM

Intertwined: The Art of Handspun Yarn, Modern Patterns and Creative Spinning
by Lexi Boeger
Quarry Books
$29.99, hardcover

Lexi Boeger is the best type of fiber artist, while some keep all of their creative skills, tricks, practices a secret, Lexi believes in sharing all. Not just sharing but teaching everything she knows – how to create the most unique and exceptional handspun art yarns and what to make with them. In this books she does it with photograph and drawings and a whole lot of ‘just try, it will be fantastic’ talk.

She profiles other art yarn spinners, has a bunch of patterns, but mostly it’s the yarn and technique – 30 different yarns and techniques that she shares, and it’s fantastic.

JM

A Fine Fleece: Knitting with Handspun Yarns
by Lisa Lloyd
Potter Craft
$30.00, hardcover
SR=36-51

A perfectly timed book. Just when the knitting world starts making or searching out handspun yarn, poof this book appears, explaining the ins and outs of knitting with handspun and giving us nearly 30 modern classic designs to knit.

The front of this book explains handspun yarn -- the progression from fleece to final skein, including  carding, dyeing and spinning. The author spends a thorough moment  on sheep breed and the type of yarn each's wool makes. All of this she explains in the context of knitting with the yarn – what it means to knit with handspun. If you spin or not, it’s a fascinating read.

Creative Spinning
by Alison Daykin and Jane Deane
Natural Dyeing
by Jackie Crook
Lark Books
$14.95, each

Part recipe book, part creative inspiration at its visual finest, these two books approach fiber arts in a unique way.

The inspirational photography in the books is breathtaking. The colors are vibrant the texture so deep and true that you can practically count the scales on the wool fibers. I would buy these books for the photography alone.

But there’s also how to. Both take a cookbook-style approach to their topic, which is new to me, especially for a spinning book.

Creative Spinning has the basic how-tos of spinning including wheel and spindle spinning. Short but clear instruction on specialty or novelty types of yarns like tufted, core spun, diamond and others are easy to refer back to. There’s even a special section on silk techniques. The recipe section is divided into types of fiber being spun, then a specific set of recipes is given to spin 4 oz of wool. For example: under Long Wool & Luster there is a yarn called Sunbeam which calls for 2 0z of  Lincoln fiber in grey and 2 oz in yellow – then spinning and plying directions are given with a certain specificity.

Sensual Crochet:
Luxurious Yarns, Alluring Designs
by Amy Swenson
Sterling
$17.95
SR= 30-62

Alabama Stitch Book
by Natalie Chanin, Stacie Stukin
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
$35.00, hardcover

2" ceramic buttons
by Incomparable

handmade in south africa, providing
employment to south african women

machine washable,
but don't put 'em in the dryer

screen-printed metal dogtag zipper pull
by aPassionForFashion
$7.00

many different words and colors to pick from.
dress up your latest FO
and get the last word in.