Customer Reviews

Unexpected Knitting

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Debbie New takes knitting forever out of the realm of craft and into that of high art. This is NOT your Grandma's knitting! With fiber and needles she conjures up artworks on scales ranging from statuesque to small. There are pieces both functional and beautiful, and while the book might be intimidating to beginner or intermediate knitters, it will be a source of inspiration and a delightful addition to the coffee table.

I made a 'scribble lace' capelet based on one of the techniques and it never fails to turn heads. While I am just an advanced beginner, I certainly aspire to one day be able to create magic with fiber like Debbie.

Highly recommended!

Just when I thought I had enough knitting books on my book shelf. This is an amazing and very inspirational book on knitting. New approaches knitting from two angles, one being very free-form and the other, scientific. The free-form approach is very liberating, especially since it doesn't require the usual "let's knit a swatch first, and then get to the fun stuff later." Knitting a swatch can be a real drag. And even if you do knit a swatch and measure carefully, there is still that thought lurking at the back of the mind, is this going to come out right???? and more importantly, is it going to fit? Knitting can become more of a chore, than something fun and creative. New shows how one can just jump in and start knitting, adjusting along the way to make things fit to size. This makes knitting and the whole creative process fun and flowing, with marvelous, colorful results. As a side note, I have never seen such happy kids photographed before in a knitting book. These kids look genuinely elated, which is understandable since they are wearing very colorful and beautiful pieces of works.

Her scientific approach makes me feel like I almost need a math or science degree to follow, however after careful reading, it is very interesting and ingenious. Much how things in nature are ordered, New shows how knitting is very similar. This will certainly appeal to the mathematician or scientist who knits as well.

The book also showcases some of New's works of art, such as knitted scultures among other things.

Two thumbs up. This book will surely inspire and be a source to turn to when one wants to release creative energies.

This book was beyond my expectations. I've been a knitter for over 30 years now, but I never thought one could knit such pieces. They are works of art more than knitted pieces. This book is a joy to look at, over and over and over again. It helps thinking outside the box and that there is more to knitting as one would believe. Great book!

Debbie New is the most innovative knitter since Elizabeth Zimmerman, and Unexpected Knitting is a book that provides inspiration and new directions (literally! she designs at all angles) to even experienced needlers. New has an organic sense of her projects; she knows her materials and is willing to experiment. She has the gift also of being able to explain clearly, in words and in charts, exactly how she has produced her groundbreaking designs. Not all her designs or techniques will appeal to all knitters, but there is some new insight to be gained in every project she describes, and everyone will find something wonderful among the sweaters, jackets, and art pieces beautifully displayed and explained in this volume.

This is not a book for a true beginner, but for anyone with a grasp of the basics, it will extend horizons tremendously. This is something genuinely new and genuinely exciting in the world of knitting. Buy it!

It is true that I'm unlikely to make exactly these patters and these colours, although I'm certainy going to give her incredibly easy take on socks a go. But what I find so amazing about this book is the way in which Debbie New has brought (I'm guessing) her scientific and mathematical background into her knitting, taken it in directions it hasn't been before, and then simplified things so I can join her on the journey.

I loved Loop d' Loop. I love this book for the same reasons. Passion shines through in all of New's writing; genius in the patterns (I mean the units and techniques here, not necessaily all of the finished items which are not all to my taste, but then why should they be?) It propels me to the needles and some wool and experimenting. Not only that, but it makes me think "I could do something with that" which a lot of books don't do.

Aside from all of that, it's big, it's hardbound, it's beautifully typeset and the photos are gorgeous. Well worth every cent.

Fans of pattern-less, swatchless knitting should have a look at this book.

The author shows how to create flat and 3-dimensional angles and shapes and using increases and decreases. The idea is that you would knit assorted shapes (circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, triangles, snaky twisting strips, cones, spheres), binding off and picking up at random. Then you would fit these shapes into the outline of a sweater (the kind that is seamed under the arms and sides) and knit into the spaces to fill up the grid, joining with the existing shapes as you go along (e.g. with a knit-2-together to link stitches). Hems and necks can be picked up and knit in the round after seaming.

She builds up almost all of the sweaters this way with variations. The log cabin sweater is done with rectangular strips. Swirl knitting uses circles, ovals and snaky strips.

There are a few more innovative techniques. Notable are scribble lace, which is plain knitting done by alternating a thin yarn or thread with a very thick one, and virtual knitting, which is really nalbinding (an ancient technique that looks like knitting, but you do it with a needle, one stitch at a time) over a temporary backing, which is cut away and removed later. Cellular automaton takes the scientific principle of following simple rules to form complex patterns and applies it to colour or texture knitting. Ourobus knitting is mitered circles which are folded origami-like to create sweaters. Labyrinth knitting is a sweater knit as one long strip with carefully places angles and corners, sewn up to make the sweater form (again, the kind that is seamed under the arms and sides).

The irony is that anyone who knits without patterns or swatches would probably know how to form basic shapes already. The idea of placing your shapes into a sweater grid, then knitting in between the spaces is novel, but since you are already a skilled and adventurous knitter, you hardly need a whole book to tell you how. Really, this book is for people who want to try swatchless, pattern-less knitting, but need some help to start.

This book is phenomenal. The creativity is unbounded. If you want to see knitting taken where you never would have imagined, this is your book. If you're novice looking for a book to take you a step further, this might be a bit of a shocking step.

Ms. New's imagination and authority in her subject is unquestionable. It is with good reason that this book is more one of general descriptions, plans, ideas and inspiration than of specific, stitch-by-stitch directions. However, her general descriptions could have used a little more flesh to them. I am an advanced knitter who can usually visualize the product before I cast on the first stitch, but some of her directions left me saying, "Huh?" That said, I am confident that if I hold the faith and cast on a few of those stitches, she has provided enough information to guide me to where I need to be. More examples of work in progress would have been very helpful.

Yes, this is eye-candy and inspiration of the first order. Just be aware that this is not a book of hand-held, mindless knitting, but one that requires you invest a lot of yourself in order to knit most of the items.

Wasn't sure quite how to take this book, based on the other reviews, and then I saw a set of Debbie New's postcards on a different knitting site and decided it had to be something worth seeing. VERY glad I bought it and also glad I got the hardcover version--I'll be in it for a long time.

Point: That is not Debbie New on the cover. Debbie New has grandchildren. Presumably, that person on the cover is one of them.

Point: The book contains some patterns that are from my pov, useless. I don't knit with patterns. I wish people who design really interesting knits didn't feel obliged to waste pages on patterns. I'd rather have more pictures. However, even Kaffe had to include patterns...

Disagreement: Gaffer tape works better than duct tape; it doesn't ooze and it comes in better colors. Harder to find, and more expensive, though.

Everybody's picked up on Debbie's scribble lace, and few people do it really well. The descriptions and examples I've seen in later books have nothing on the examples in Unexpected Knitting. Don't let yourself think you understand the concept just because you saw it somewhere else. That'd be like thinking you understand stained glass and turning down a trip to the Art Institute or Chartres because there's colored glass in the windows of the funeral parlor that hosted the viewing when your grandfather died.

Massively interesting mitred squares and other shapes; ornaments, a touch of 3D knitting and knitting with non-traditional materials (as if the duct tape mention didn't get your attention enough). Lots of new approaches to knitting garments in one piece that expand beyond EZ's baby surprise jacket.

So: If you knit exactly to patterns and match brands and colors, you might find UK a bit over the top. If you've caught yourself thinking, "It's 2006, for crying out loud, and I live in a warm climate and I have enough sweaters to last for the rest of my life but I still want to knit;" if you've knit a couple of Fassett knock-offs; I've you've discovered what you can do with Nepalese silk and you want more than that, buy this book. It's worth it.

BTW, I think it ought to be possible to do the labyrinth knitting the other way--lots of shorter rows instead of only a few very very long rows. Stay tuned. Maybe that will be MY next book.

Responding to some other reviews: Only a portion of the book is about swatch-less knitting, although it's all about knitting free of row-by-row patterns. I've done a boatload of pattern-free knitting. I found UE much much more of a springboard to new things that I AM knitting every day now, and I'm sure I'll be back for more inspiration if and when I tap out of the path I'm on. I will probably never knit another "recipe" pattern again, let alone use pattern books "familiarly." If you're at any similar stage in your own knitting, you owe it to yourself to have this book on the shelf.

And in an unrelated thought: I knit very quickly. My mother was taught to knit by English (nation) instructors; everyone knits at the speed of light. Typical "American" knitting speeds are unthinkable in that culture. Many people CAN knit much faster, once they realize speed is possible. UE is that same form of "something else is possible." There are more things in Heaven and Earth than what you know, Horatio...

Only a mathematical genius like Debbie New could come up with the wonderful and amazing options for knitting in new ways. Also fabu is the gallery of work by Ms New. I am working on a scribble lace garment using 6# fishing line and a heavy thick/thin wool (similar to Point 5 by Colinette). I think it will be amazing when complete. I spend hours looking over this book, imagining my next project.

Debbie New's artistic abilities are incredible! While so many knitting books are "recipe" books with prescribed patterns, Debbie New's book invites creativity with new techniques and ideas. This book would be a wonderful addition to any knitter's library. For the experienced knitter, it offers new ideas and perspectives! For the new knitter, it encourages creativity and thinking outside of the box!

This book has added depth, dimension and freedom for artistic expression to my love of knitting! I don't need another book with traditional patterns. Debbie New embraces the art of knitting. Her artistic expression is to be applauded and appreciated!

Debbie New invites us to embrace the art of knitting! As a knitter of over 30 years, nothing could be more exciting! Thank you, Debbie!