Not blogging, that is. The only defense I can offer is that I haven't been knitting much and the small amount I have done is something I can't blog about.
Even when I'm not actually knitting much, I still like to read about knitting. At the moment I'm perusing Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers
. When I heard the queen of embellishment had dedicated an entire book to flowers, I wanted to have a look. I wasn't having any luck finding it in bookstores, but I recently came across it at my library. Up until now, I would have sworn that crochet was the far superior craft for sculpting flowers. However, Nicky's book has me convinced that knitted versions can be just as varied and beautiful. She has divided the book into five chapters, each dedicated to a different method of construction. The first has flowers created from stitches and shaping. In the second individual petals or pieces are created and then put together. The third uses simple cord twisted into various shapes. The last two chapters utilize felting. In the first of these, flowers are knitted then felted. In the second, flower shapes are cut out of previously felted knit fabric. Amongst all the individual flower patterns are a few flower-covered projects. At least some of which I know I've seen in Vogue Knitting. I couldn't say how many of the rest are actually exclusive to the book. All in all, the book is exceedingly creative with its highly focused subject matter. If I get the urge to stick a flower on something, I'll know just where to go -- back to the library to check this book out again. While its really lovely, I can't say it's one I'll be adding to my personal collection.
tags: knitting
