Some people, when they think about colorwork knitting, immediately think of ugly Christmas sweaters festooned with giant reindeer or snowman motifs. While that is a part of the colorwork knitting tradition, in reality what you can do with colorwork is much more vibrant, interesting and fun.

That's the lesson behind Mary Scott Huff's The New Stranded Colorwork. This book includes 17 patterns for men, women and children that are anything but traditional (OK, there is a sweater with pine trees on it, but still). You'll find projects adorned with crows, bees, fish and flowers. There's even a project that's an homage to the dead parrot sketch from "Monty Python's Flying Circus."

In addition, you'll learn all about how to perform stranded knitting techniques, including the dreaded steeks. This book is a good choice for people with some experience with stranded knitting or for the adventurous knitter who's ready to jump into the technique head-first.

As with Rowan yarn, which we talked about yesterday, there are a lot of knitters who are big fans of Japanese yarn firm Noro, known for beautiful handcrafted yarns with amazing color variations.

Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton is one of those knitters, and she's actually written several books full of patterns using the yarns. For her latest, Noro, she was finally able to travel to Japan and meet some of the people who help make her favorite yarn.

In addition to providing some history of the yarn and insight into the production process, the book includes dozens of patterns for sweaters, tops, hats, scarves, dog sweaters, bags and more, all of which highlight the qualities of the Noro yarns. More than half of the patterns are for intermediate or advanced knitters, which makes this a great book for knitters with a little skill looking for some fun, colorful projects.

With the sour economy this year, lots of people have been cutting back on extras. Knitting books probably fall under the category of extras for most people, so I'm wondering how many knitting books you might have bought this year.

I'm not sure if I bought more or fewer books than normal; I'm lucky enough to be able to call knitting books a business expense, so I don't worry that much about it when I feel like I must have a new title.

If, on the other hand, your purchasing of knitting books has taken a dramatic turn in either direction and you want to talk about why, please share in the comments below.

There are many, many fans of the British yarn company Rowan Yarns, which has now been providing quality yarns and beautiful patterns to knitters around the world for 30 years.


To celebrate that anniversary, the company has produced Rowan's Greatest Knits, edited by Kate Buller, featuring 30 patterns from the company's magazines as well as plenty of pictures of other garments illustrating Rowan style through the years.


The patterns are from some top designers including Kaffe Fassett, Kim Hargreaves, Martin Storey, Louisa Harding and Erika Knight. Some of the patterns are published just as they originally were in the Rowan magazine, while others have been updated with new yarn choices and color options.


Whether you're a longtime fan of Rowan or just learning about the company, you're sure to find interesting, colorful, classic designs that will stand the test of time here (as well as a few that look like they belong in a time capsule, but that's fun, too).