Melanie Falick - Weekend Knitting: 50 Unique Projects and Ideas

AN STC CRAFT BESTSELLER

Knitting is more popular today than it has been in decades. The latest generation of knitters thrives on quick projects that are creative and relaxing and balance out their fast-paced lives. Knitting has become a lifestyle choicea low-tech antidote in a high-tech culture.

For Weekend Knitting, bestselling author Melanie Falick brings together a treasure trove of unique and innovative projects, many of which can be completed in a single weekend. She rounds out the collection of projects with quotes about knitting, creativity, and balanced living from such diverse sources as Virginia Woolf, Pablo Picasso, and Saint Francis of Assisi, plus special features on fun and stress-reducing activities like watching a knitting-themed film festival, reading books with knitting characters, giving a soothing hand massage, and making decadent, French-style hot chocolate from scratch.

Contributed by an international team of top designers, including Debbie Bliss, Jo Sharp, Deborah Newton, Kristin Nicholas, Pam Allen, and Nicky Epstein, the projects in Weekend Knitting range from soft chenille washcloths, whimsical egg cozies, colorful backgammon and checkerboards, and lace chair seats to cozy socks and mittens, fluffy mohair shawls, sophisticated hemp baby sweaters, curly-toed booties, a felted farmers market bag, and a luxurious cashmere pullover. All of the instructions are written in a clear, detailed format that assures satisfying results for the beginner to advanced knitter.

Weekend Knitting is beautifully and simply photographed by Ericka McConnell to evoke the perfect weekend most knitters long fora calm pause for lovely scenery, fresh air, good friends, delicious food, and plenty of free time for knitting.

Published in 2009 by
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
An imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Originally published in hardcover in 2003
by Stewart, Tabori & Chang

Text copyright 2003 Melanie Falick

Photographs copyright 2003 Ericka McConnell

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Falick, Melanie
Weekend knitting: 50 unique projects and ideas / Melanie Falick;
photographs by Ericka McConnell
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-58479-769-2
1. Knitting-Patterns. l. Title
TT820.F17 2003
746.4320432-dc21
2003054388

DESIGNED BY SUSI OBERHELMAN

The text of this book was composed in Bauer Bodoni and Avenir

115 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
www.hnabooks.com

For Ben

CHAPTER 1
Home and Hearth

CHAPTER 2
Body and Soul

CHAPTER 3
The Charm of Children

I often tell new knitters that knitting is nothing more than two stitchesknit and purland one is just the reverse of the other, so you could even say it is just one stitch. This statement usually makes them feel confident that they can learn. But the truth is that knitting can be so much more. Knitting, if you choose, can be at the heart of a fulfilling and creative way of living.

When you make time to knit, you make time for your own creativity, sitting still, and letting your mind wander. You experience the joyand prideof making something with your hands, feeling soft fibers, and watching beautiful colors run through your fingers. You meet new friends, many of whom see you through your knitting projects as well as lifes ups and downs.

Although many of us squeeze in knitting time during the week, it is usually on the weekend that we can embrace our love for knitting most fully. If were lucky, we can devote whole days to it. And if we choose small projectsor knit very quicklywe can finish a project in a single weekend. While instant gratification isnt always required, it is, at times, a satisfying counterpoint to much of what goes on in our typically busy lives. What fun it is to cast on for a scarf on Saturday morning and wrap it around our necks by Sunday night! Or to cast on for a bonnet while visiting friends whove just had a new babyand then present them with the bonnet before the end of the stay.

While I was writing this book, I stopped and knitted my four-year-old son a pair of mittens. He requested that I make them and, in truth, I was reluctant at first because I was so busy. But once I started I realized that knitting was exactly what I needed. As I relaxed into the rhythm of the stitches, my mind stopped racing. As I focused on a single task, out of nowhere I seemed to come up with new ways of looking at other challenges. When the mittens were done after knitting for two short evenings, I felt a sense of completion. And, of course, each time I saw my son wearing his mittens, I knew it was my stitches and the love I knitted into them that were keeping his hands warm.

You can complete most of the projects in this book in a few weekends or less. Some may take a bit longer but were included because they fit into my idea of an idyllic weekend, one filled with fresh air, beautiful scenery, good friends, delicious food, laughter, and time to knit. While its sometimes hard to pull together all of these elements at one time, it is often possible to achieve a few at once and to appreciate them when they happen. Weekend Knitting isnt just about Saturday and Sunday, just like knitting isnt just about two stitches. Both are a state of mind, a way to live.

CINDY TAYLOR

I knitted my first washcloth when a pattern for a round one sparked my interest. I didnt really think about using the washcloth. I just wanted to make something round, a shape Id never tried to knit. Since then I have become a knitted-washcloth convert. At the end of a hectic day, I lather it up with soap, wash my face, and feel, at least for a moment, that I am doing something special for myself. Its amazing how something so seemingly inconsequential can actually have a profound effect (it nearly always compels me to take a deep, relaxing breath).

The flower shape of the cushy cotton chenille washcloths shown here is achieved in what you could call a reverse-bloom style: First you knit the five petals (blooms) in garter stitch, then you attach them to each other by knitting them together in the round; to finish, you work in Stockinette stitch, with gradual decreases, to the center.