No Sheep For You

I was recently sent a review copy of No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo & Other Delights by Amy Singer.  Now at first sight, I was turned off by this book.  I thought the cover was terrible -- a supposedly naked woman knitting some big brightly colored rectangle on straight needles???  I don't think so.  I'm much happier to see a nice photo of a project from the book, or -- well, anything else on the cover.  So I probably wouldn't have picked this book up -- however -- upon opening the book I was pleasantly surprised!

The first thing that I noticed was that 15 or so pages were devoted to talking about the non-wool fibers used in the book.  Everything from silk to Seacell is discussed and I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff.  I love learning new things and much of this was new to me.  I also liked the second (mini) chapter which includes a chart that shows you the different characteristics (stretch, shrinkage, etc.) of the various fibers so that you can more easily substitute the right fiber for wool in patterns you already have.

Then there are the patterns.  Again -- pleasantly surprised!  There are some lovely sweaters -- stranded, garnsey, cabled for both men and women.  Bacardi and Morrigan are especially nice.  There is even a jacket and silk robe.  However, as you may know, I'm not much of a sweater knitter  :)  So I took a closer look at the smaller projects. . .

There are several accessories, but the book is not overwhelmed by them.  I especially liked the shawl (I'm a shawl loving gal though) which is knit in a lovely red silk.  The pattern is very simple, but it works well with the yarn.  I also thought the thrummed mittens were smart -- using silk for the thrums.  And there is a pretty beaded silk scarf I liked.  In addition there are socks, a bag, a hat and some other little things. 

If you can't hadle the itch of wool, or are (gasp!) allergic to it then this is a must have book.  And even if you aren't -- well, I say take a look!  There are some beautiful designs and good info on non-wool fibers too.

If you are in the Chicago area, Amy Singer will be at Loopy Yarns on the 4th for signing her book from 5:30-7:30pm. 

Comments

[Wendy]

I ordered that book after I saw a photo of Morrigan -- I must have that sweater!

But I'm with you -- I hate the cover. I'd never have considered the book based on it. But now I'm looking forward to seeing what other treasures may lurk inside it!

[Oiyi]

Nice review. I know we are not suppose to judge a book by it's cover, but we all do. Glad to know it's a good book inside.

[Nat]

How funny, although the cover has little to do with the book, i think it's very cute, and drew me to pick it up. It is a good book, and it was fun to meet Amy in person at Loopy.

[Leisel]

I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only one turned off by the cover. Incredibly tacky. Trying to make knitting sexy (in a very low-class manner) seems to be the theme of things lately, though... Domiknitrix, Knitting with Balls, etc. etc. I, for one, could have done without this theme to start with, and I'm so tired of it by now.

[kate]

ooh, I thought the cover was lousy, too! Kind of a pathetic attempt at a "sex sells" thing. Glad to hear the book is good inside--I have Big Girl Knits because the fitting information in it is so great, so I might get this book even though I'm not allergic to wool