Sue Stratford owns and runs The Knitting Hut, a yarn and needle supplier, and she finds the yarns she stocks there and her customers a constant source of inspiration. She teaches knitting and crochet workshops as well as offering advice to customers, and loves sharing her skills with others. She always has countless knitting projects on the go. Sue lives in Milton Keynes with her husband and five children.
Oct 13 You can use this seasonal book in two ways – give it as a
present to any knitter or buy it for yourself and make one or more
sweaters for Christmas gifts. The average handknit takes about 60
hours to knit – so get started now in time for Christmas. There are
ideas for all the family, but I am not certain how many men would
be persuaded to wear a Christmas pudding sweater in public! Giles
Brandreth certainly. These are that type of sweater, bold festive
designs that you either love or hate. There is a good how to
section, basic sweater patterns in small, medium, large and extra
large, plus children’s sizes from 5-12 years. The sizing chart is
given at the back of the book. There are 6 sweater designs with
excellent coloured, fold-out charts. All the designs use intarsia
or fair-isle type where you strand the yarn across the back. When
you have knitted the sweater, you can store the chart in the handy
flap at the back. Clear photos, excellent instructions, but for me,
these are all children’s designs.
*Karen Platt Yarnsandfabrics.co.uk/crafts*
Dec 13 This book is well aimed at all those who like a bit of
kitsch in their Christmas outfits. Containing a series of jumpers
that can be knitted for adults and children alike (yes, you can
have a whole matching family), it works on the basis that you have
a basic knitting pattern in several sizes and motifs, which you
then knit using the intarsia or Fair Isle technique and incorporate
into the pattern. Chosen to promote Christmas Jumper Day with Save
the Children, the Snowman motif is an instant favourite and one
that you might have seen publicized recently. However, there is a
selection of images, from reindeers to Father Christmas and also a
Winter Tree or Nordic Fair Isle, which are a little less
‘in-your-face’ and are actually quite tasteful designs. From a
knitter’s point-of-view, having each size pattern on a different
page is a real bonus, so as to avoid mixing up sizes when making
the jumper and finding you’ve made an XL front and a child’s back
(not that we’ve ever done that….) . The stitches used are pretty
straightforward, but you would need to be comfortable with colour
work before embarking on one of these jumpers. It might be better
to start with one of the smaller motifs (there’s a robin as part of
the Snowman jumper) and practice getting the tension right before
launching into the jumper. Also, the pattern for each motif fits
into the pattern for the jumper, so if you are so enthusiastic that
you knit all the patterns in the book, there is scope for
developing your own designs within that space. Overall, a great
book for Christmas knitters.
*Workshop On The Web*
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