As a end-of-semester present to myself for doing so well and not stressing out, I bought myself a knitting book. Not just any book though, but one written by those blog goddesses Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne from masondixonknitting.com.
I have wanted this book ever since Ann and Kay announced that they had signed a book deal. Released last March, this book has managed to make it to the top of the “must have knit book,” alongside other bloggers like Stephanie Perl-McPhee, and Wendy Johnson. And, oddly enough, there are actually patterns that I want to make1 so badly that I’ve been eying my stash to see what kind of cotton I’ve got hiding in there.
Mason Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters’ Guide – Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes and Pictures
Such a long title for a knitting book! I even left off the last portion of the title, just to save space. However, this book is worth it, and worth every penny (I think).
Kay and Ann met online in a Rowan Yarns online forum2, and their friendship snowballed from forum messages to email messages, to finally a co-blog authorship. Long before they had ever met in person, they had won an eBay auction of old Rowan magazines, and had co-ownership of a piece of knitting history. Their online friendship blossomed, and they met in person for the first time at a sew-up bee for the Afghans for Afghans knit square drive that they sponsored on their blog. They took charity knitting to an all new level, and inspired people all over the world to send in knit squares to be joined together in a blanket.
The book is filled with stories and anecdotes that blog readers will appreciate. For all the questions I ever had about the two of them, this book answered.
The only part that irritated me a little is that it was hard to tell which one of them had written the introduction to each chapter. I suppose it’s to be expected, though, because it wouldn’t quite make sense if the book was written in the same pen-pal format that the blog is.
Over all, if you read their blog, you have no excuse for not buying their book.
Must Knit Patterns
Kay and Ann are famous for three things: dishcloths, buttonhole bags, and log cabin knitting. While the buttonhole bag isn’t in the book3, the other two patterns are, and with such variations.
I am looking forward to knitting a log cabin blanket, but I can’t possibly hope to create anything as good as Cara over at January One. If you think log cabin sounds boring, you should check out the photos Cara has documenting her creation of a blanket done entirely in shades of green.
Their dishcloths are so simple, I think about making one every time I see a picture, even though we don’t use dishcloths in my house. And the rug patterns which are based off the dishcloths, genius. Now I want to buy old tee shirts to make them into rag rugs.
I’m so very sorry that I can’t find any photos to post that wouldn’t break some copyright rules. I suppose I’ll just have to start knitting some of the patterns up, so that I can feature them here.
Conclusion
This book is a must-have if you’re a knitter. Simple patterns, clear instructions, and photos to make you drool over each and every project make the book as addictive as crack cocaine. I can’t stop myself from flipping through the pages, and rereading passages. That it is hardcover makes the book even more special, and the amount of detail in the styling is fantastic. Not that anyone buys knitting books for that, right?
Ahem. So, if you’re a knitter, and this book isn’t on your book shelf, you are completely missing out.
Thank you! That’s so nice of you. I’ve started back knitting the squares, so hopefully the blanket will be done soon.