Reviews

Be prepared for a little educational video cheesiness (think PBS, although the production is a good bit better than most of the PBS stuff I've seen). BUT - expect to see some gorgeous Russian Knitted Lace Shawls (vintage and modern) and learn what makes them Russian. The video covers the construction techniques used by the "Russian Ladies" as Sandy puts it, and explains ways to improve on these techniques - modernizing them. Lots of lace stitches and the construction are shown explicitly on the needles, and the re-charting of russian lace shawl patterns in Lace Shorthand is explained. Intense knitting segments are broken up by lighter reviews of threads, needles, patterns and projects.

Reviews

These shawls are wonderful. Debbie Macomber provides listing for yarns that are well within small budgets. I knit the first one and provided it to a dear friend that had recently lost her husband. It was gorgeous and she was thankful. The instructions are clear and should be easily comprehended by beginning knitters as well as the more advanced.

I'm a big fan of anything Debbie Macomber writes and this book is no exception. The patterns are easy to follow and turn out beautifully.

I'm a great fan of Debbie Macomber & can frequently be found at Debbie's A Good Yarn Shop in Port Orchard, WA. This book has some great patterns and those that are compatible with my beginner level of knitting. Reading Debbie's books is actually what got me interested in knitting-thanks Debbie & Leisure Arts.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who likes to knit and crochet. I am sharing it with members of my prayer shawl ministry. There are anecdotes and snipets for Debbie's other materials. It has peaked my desire to check out more of her items.

It came in time for me to get my project started and finished in time for Valentines Day. Thanks alot.

Reviews

Great book. Had originally seen it at local public library & needed copy for my craft library. Knit Ponchos, Wraps & Scarves

I flipped through this book at the store and found several items I would like to make. I prefer written directions so I had a problem with my first project the bead-fringe scarf. Luckily the chart was correct. I read through the reviews and saw others were having problems so I contacted www.krausebooks.com and they did email me corrected or clarified instructions/charts for about 10 of the projects. Pro's: Most of the projects are simple and attractive with good photos. Neg's: The directions/charts are wrong. You have to contact the publisher and request corrections they don't have an "errata page" to access at their site. I understand the occassional error will be overlooked but 10 in one book???

I really like this book. I've made 3 of the scarf patterns for BF Xmas gifts and 2 for myself. I love the Tapered Ruffles Scarf on page 123. It knits up quickly, make it in a lightweight soft yarn and it makes a unique gift. Also love the patterns with the I-cord fringes. I would definitely recommend this for a 'must have' in a knitter's library.

I am not into panchos, so I would not have even opened this book at the store. However my mother loves scarves and she picked it up at our local "big box" book store. We both loved it but there was only one copy. She is not computer savy so I decided to order this at amazon and let her buy the one in the store. It is great. I would say more wraps and scarfs rather than panchos. The patterns are not all simiple though some are. They are all interesteing and I would knit at least 85% of the patterns. I also think that the patterns are appropriate for a vast age group. This is a friendly "new" knitters book and if you like scarfs and wraps.

I love the projects in this book HOWEVER, BEWARE,there are a number of patterns that do not have the correct number of cast on stitches. For example on page 75 the white lace scarf says cast on 16 stitches but then the first row has 18 stitches. Similarly on page 79 the winter mountains scarf says cast on 36 stitches but there are at least 38 sts in the first row instructions or if you use the pattern diagram the first row includes 40 sts.

Reviews

I'm not big on ponchos or capelets, but thankfully this book has a good mix of designs. I like the lighter weight designs the best - the cashmere wrap (almost a blanket) and the lacy Shetland Triangle and Wrapped in Traditions design. I quite like the front cover design too. However, some of these designs are far too chunky and others look like cut off sweaters without arms. The designers have not gone for the obvious wrap, as in stole of shawl, but branched out into a whole new board game, and I like that - there are plenty of shawl knitting patterns elsewhere. I would not say that these designs are particularly feminine and with most knitting books - see before you buy to make sure you want to knit more than one.

The title says "....to knit and crochet." Since there are 24 styles, I thought 12 would be to crochet, NO. Only 1 pattern is to crochet. Since I don't know how to knit, I am disappointed. I may be able to recreate the knit patterns, but I shouldn't have to do that. They are still beautiful.

What I like about this book is that there is a wide assortment of designs, including lace, cables, rib, and color and they use a variety of yarn weights. The instructions state what kind of yarn the pattern uses as well as the yarn that the designers actually used to knit the pictured piece--this is especially useful if you are not good at guessing what yarn-weight something is made out of. Charts are also included as well as schematics. One word of warning is although the title states knit and crochet pieces, most are knit. Overall, excellent book.

I originally purchased this book because of a specific pattern. I figured it would be worth it to buy the book (instead of trying to find a back issue of the magazine it was published in) because I figured that there would be plenty of good patterns and I wasn't disappointed.

What a great pattern book this is! I have finished two of the wraps and am working on a third. The extra pictures are helpful in the process of the knitting and the variety of patterns are inspiring.