Knitknit: Profiles and Projects from Knitting's New Wave [Hardcover]

This book is simply gorgeous. The photography and design are like no other knitting book I have seen. Simply flipping through its lush pages set off all kinds of sparks of inspiration.

The content is a bit like "Knitting in America," it's a compilation of knitters' profiles, but what distinguishes this book is its inclusion of groundbreaking, interdisciplinary, unusual and artistic approaches to knitting.

Some of the patterns are fun and easy - like the car antennae cosy by Knitta (an intriguing group of graffiti knitters from Texas) while others are clearly conceptual - like Dave Cole's gigantic fiberglass teddy bear (so interesting to see how it was actually knitted!) - while others scream make me now - my favorites include Norah Gaughan's shoulder bag, Risto Bimbiloski's Paris Jacket, Lisa Anne Auerbach's geodesic-shaped hat, Teva Durham's chair cover, and Tina Marrin's knitted boots (highly fashionable!) I already started Anna Bell's asymmetrical cardigan.

It's going to take me a year just to knit all the things I want to knit from this book, but I'll keep returning to it after that for continued inspiration.

Gschwandtner introduces us to the great and good designers of knitting. Not the godfathers like Fassett and Walker, but more a sort of 'new breed' of designer, the ones shaped by the convergence of the internet, science and art.

Some persons we might have already met before in other knitting magazines (like Norah Gaughn) or on the various online blogs (Anna Bell) or in museums. Each knit artist speaks about his influences, his beginnings, and offers the reader the gift of a knitting pattern.

If you are looking for the conventional knitting patterns don't come here, this is knitting as avant garde: a 20 ft teddy bear knitted from some strange pipe cleaner material, or a knitted forest for example. The cloest thing to 'conventional' is 'Birdie' an asymmetrical jacket by Anna Bell, which is really stricking.

The photos are clear, bright and neatly set out.

I'd say that this book is more for the coffee table, or to recharge the batteries when you're running low. You might want to 'try' before you 'buy' so to speak.

Pros: Designers all, the great, the good and the quirky. Some designers are in here that I haven't even heard of before (Catherine Lowe, with her 35 page knitting patterns) and other designers that I've seen around the internet, but never really investigated the scope of their work (Dave Cole's ginormous American flag done with earthmovers). There are the populist designers - Norah Gaughn, Teva Durham and Erica Knight - and other designers that you might not necessarily know, but you might know their patterns (the Knitta Please posse). The book is lavishly photographed, the interviews are interesting, and the patterns are inspiational.

Cons: The patterns are quirky, some of the designers probably shouldn't be in there (in terms of influence on knitters or knitting), and it's a book that would be more for the coffee table than the patterns actually being used.

The book gets 3 stars out of 5 : lovely book to look at, and a good coffee book to have. You can flick through it and be inspired. One the other hand, I can see the reader getting tired of the concept over time.

If you're looking for a book of typical knitting patterns (toys, cardigans, jumpers, etc.) leave it alone. But if you want to see the people who are trying to find and define a new sort of aesthetic, this book is for you.

I found this book really inspiring. It presents an alternative view of knitting to the dated, frumpy image usually associated with the art. It shows what those at the cutting edge are producing and offers some exciting projects. I'm unlikely to contemplate knitting myself into a wall but what this book is good at is showing what's possible (pretty much anything!). The thing I most enjoyed about this book is the insight into the various artists' creative processes and ways of working. It's beautifully presented with great photos and fanzine-type styling.