I would really like to put together a post about great knitting reference books.  The Knitter’s Handbook by Montse Stanley is often mentioned in blogs, and Elizabeth Zimmerman is a queen of good knitting instruction, but what about the other gems?  I’m thinking about categories like patterns, general instruction, and design.  For patterns I’ve heard that Alice Starmore’s book of Fair Isle knitting is amazing, and Barbara Walker has some lovely books of knitting patterns.  I haven’t personally looked at them and used them, yet.  I once got The Principles of Knitting : Methods and Techniques of Hand Knitting through interlibrary loan, but it is out of print and I’m unwilling to pay 170 dollars to own my own copy right now, even though it’s completely badass.  I really want to get this book on design, but it’s close enough to my birthday that I guess I should wait…. (ahem, ahem friends and family).  It looks to be very useful and informative.

Even though most things you would want to learn about knitting can be found online when you need them, I still crave holding a book in my hand and perusing it at a leisurely pace. I’d like to put up a post about some of the favorite knitting reference books that knitters like, with a short description of each.  At least for my own use, I’d like to have them in one place, and a blog seems to be a good spot.

So, if you have favorites in the areas of general instruction, patterns, or design, please leave a comment or email me.  I would love to learn more!