YarnPlay: Colorful Techniques and Projects for the Creative Knitter [Paperback]

Lisa Shobhana Mason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2006

MIX YARNS, COLORS AND TEXTURES TO CREATE BOLD AND BRIGHT HANDKNITS

Why spend hours knitting a boring one-shade sweater? Pile on the color and discover the joys of knitting with multiple hues in unexpected combinations. Choose from over 20 projects, including home décor items, hats, scarves, sweaters, vests and more.

Get ready to dive into a world of color. Inside YarnPlay you'll find:

• a basic guide to yarn, needles and knitting notions
• a guide to "playing with color" that shows you how to choose colors by drawing inspiration from everyday items like quilts, photos and magazines
• a wide variety of projects, both big and small, from a graphic afghan to armwarmers and washcloths
• stash-buster projects for using up all those odds and ends of yarn
• a helpful section filled with useful reference information such as a glossary of knitting terms, a knitting abbreviations key, a knitting needle conversion chart and a list of inspirational knitting books, magazines and websites

Can't you feel your knitting needles itching to get started? Pick up this book, then dig through your stash or visit your local yarn store and get started today.

Playing with yarn and color adds a whole new dimension to your handknits. Each of these patterns features multiple colors used in unexpected ways to create beautiful effects. Whether you like monochromatic shades or lots and lots of stripes or two bold tones side by side, you're bound to find pieces you'll love to knit for your home, yourself, or for a special friend, baby or family member. You'll also get a handy guide to yarn, tools and notions as well as tips for playing with color, a glossary of knitting terms, a knitting abbreviations key, a knitting needle conversion chart and a list of inspirational resources.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...her designs are stylish and charming, but her intuition really sings in her sweater designs -- they are artistic yet wearable. -- Knitty.com, Winter 2006

...it blends the right amount of basics with the tools to help any knitter create projects that are truly her own. -- Bust magazine, Oct/Nov 2006

About the Author

Lisa Shobhana Mason is an astrologer and avid knitter who teaches at yarn stores in the Austin area and runs the popular knitting blog My Life in Stitches. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581808410
• ISBN-13: 978-1581808414
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #473,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lisa Shobhana Mason is a designer, instructor, intuitive, and astrologer. She is the author of Yarnplay: Colorful Techniques + Projects For The Creative Knitter and Yarnplay At Home: Handknits For Colorful Living. She designed the Big Bad Baby Blanket in Deb Stoller's bestselling book 'Stitch N Bitch' and her designs appear in Vickie Howell's 'Not Another Teen Knitting Book.' She has been a guest on D.I.Y. network's Knitty Gritty. She has written horoscope columns for style. com and the websites for Vogue UK, Vogue Australia, and Vogue Espana, as well as several magazines.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars get this book, September 14, 2006

By 

M. Rice "Meg R." (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: YarnPlay: Colorful Techniques and Projects for the Creative Knitter (Paperback)

if you love knitting anything at all (sweaters, blankets, home decor, baby items, fingerless gloves) then you must get this book. lisa does an incredible job with color and design. just looking through this once i already knew there were several projects i planned to complete.

the layout of this book is really done well. everything is accessible and easy to read and understand. there are projects in here for all levels of knitters which makes it even more appealing. try an easy one and increase your skills and you'll want to tackle another one.

if you love color and appreciate fashion forward yet classic designs then this is the book for you.

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such Great Color!, September 27, 2006

By 

W. J. Bernard (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: YarnPlay: Colorful Techniques and Projects for the Creative Knitter (Paperback)

The thing I like best about this book is how the author uses color. People like me stick to the monochromatic, but her designs, as simple as they are, just sing because of all the beautiful color choices she makes. I appreciate the fact that she designs using a lot of different and available yarns, too. This is a great book for beginning and experienced knitters, and I especially love the men's sweater in the book. This one is the only one I have ever come across that I'd actually attempt to knit for my husband. It's simply designed, just like most men like their sweaters, and it's not big and bulky.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring!, April 9, 2007

By 

L. Kelly (Lakewood, CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: YarnPlay: Colorful Techniques and Projects for the Creative Knitter (Paperback)

I just picked up a copy of this book and find myself wanting to make almost every design in the book! The designs are simple, colorful, up-to-the minute, and one-of-a-kind. I love the way that the author mixes various yarns, colors, and textures in a single garment. Some designers do this with results which end up looking just plain tacky, but not this author! The cover sweater is one design I am fond of, but one I like even better is a striped sweater called "Everything but the Kitchen Sink." For this design, Ms. Mason recommends using "a minimum of 18 shades of yarn", and the gorgeous sample sweater is make with 35 different yarns. Ms. Mason presents lovely designs for hats, arm-warmers, sweaters, vests, and household items such as table runners and a bath mat.

Also, the book does a great job of presenting designs for a variety of skill levels. There are quite a few great designs requiring only the knit and purl stitch.

I highly recommend this book and will be looking for more books by Lisa Shobhana Mason!