Knits For Nerds - Review

Other Locations
Book Depository Link Ravelry Link

Now I have to point out before I get started into this that this I got from NetGalley with the proviso that I review it.  Freebies are good, this is a limited time copy that I got for the purposes of the review.  The netgalley copy works on my netbook as it uses Adobe Digital edition that I don't have on my laptop (Ubuntu)

I had spotted this in Hoggis Figgis on Dame Street before and had glanced through it but the price they were asking for it seemed a bit steep for the one or two patterns that attracted me at the time.  The patterns also seemed to me a little unpolished and after looking at Ravelry, I have to say that buying it would involve seeing more finished projects and then making a decision.

This is a book designed to appeal to, well, nerds.  Fantasy, SciFi, comics and Manga and general nerdishness is covered here.

Patterns (links for patterns and designers - only linked for first mention- are from Ravelry) :

First section is Fantasy:
Alchemy Scarf- designed by Toni Carr -  inspired by the Alchemists tattoos in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series, this has occasional metallic patterns scattered throughout the scarf, knit in metallic embroidery thread.  I couldn't really get the overall effect from the pictures. knit with 4.5mm needles with Patons Silk Bamboo and DMC Embroidery thread.  Ranked Intermediate.

Hobbit Feet slippers - designed by Toni Carr - hairy feet slippers knit with thick needles. The hair is attached afterwards.  Inspired by Lord of the Rings. Knit in Lion Brand Hometown and Patons Divine with 8mm needles, rated intermediate.

Summer Queen - designed by Rilana Riley-Munson - inspired by Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely and a nice shawl with a repeating panel of leaves. Knit Picks Comfy Fingering and 3.75mm needles, rated intermediate.

Dragon Rider Gloves - designed by Toni Carr - inspired by Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, lacework fingerless gloves. Araucania Nature Wool with 3.5mm needles, rated advanced.

Light of Eärendil Shrug - designed by Ashley Fay - inspired by Galadriel from Lord of the Rings, leaves, wide sleeve ends with star stitch, beading it is somewhat reminiscent of her pattern from Vampire Knits - Sidhe Shrug at the body and arms. Knit Picks Bare Shadow Lace Yarn, 4 & 5mm needles and rated advanced.

Baby Elf Beanie - designed by Toni Carr - a beanie with elf ears applied afterwards. Bernat Softee Chunky, 5mm needles, rated intermediate.

Mr Nancy's Hat - designed by Toni Carr - inspired by Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys, with accompanying Mr Nancy's Gloves (with yellow gloves from the other book in the series American Gods) - the hat is felted and if I was to knit the gloves I would add a longer cuff, they looked a little too short on the model. Hat in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, 5mm needles, intermediate. Gloves: Knit Picks Swish DK, 3.5mm needles, intermediate.

Secret Beaded Bag - designed by Toni Carr - a small beaded purse, probably suitable for dice or small bag. It looks like the beads are along the edge and on the drawstring, but the photographs don't make it very clear. Cushendale Worsted Weight, 5mm needles, Intermediate.

Next section is Science Fiction:

Horrible Gloves - designed by Toni Carr - inspired by Dr Horrible's Sing-along blog.  Buttoned fingerless gloves. Striped.  Knit Picks Swish DK, 3.5 mm needles, rated intermediate.

Cunning Scarf - designed by Toni Carr - inspired by the Jayne Cobb Hat. Knit in Knit Picks Swish DK, 5mm needles, rated easy.

Cunning Socks - designed by Laura Hohman - again inspired by the Jayne Cobb hat this is a pair of mismatched striped socks.  Knit Picks Swish DK with 2.75mm needles, intermediate.

Space Princess Hats - designed by Genevieve Miller - inspired by Star Wars and Princess Leia, the body is the same but the pattern allows for "hairsyle" variations. Knit Picks Gloss HW, 4.5mm needles, intermediate.

Padme's Battle Cape - designed by Linda J Dunn - the pattern is on the front of the book, inpired by Padme in Star Wars, knit in Berroco Comfort with 5.5mm needles, rated intermediate.  This is pretty basic.

Nest Generation Sweater - designed by Toni Carr - slash neck jumper inspired by Star Trek uniforms. Knit in Lion Brand Wool Ease with 4.5 and 5mm needles, rated intermediate.

Trek Girl Dress - designed by Toni Carr - mini-dress uniform from Star Trek, knit in Knit Picks CotLin DK, 3.5mm needles, rated intermediate.

Troublesome Toy - designed by Toni Carr - inspired by Tribbles from Star Trek, knit in Knit Picks Suri Dream with 5mm needles, rated intermediate.

Robot of the Future - designed by Marilee Norris - inspired by Cybermen from Doctor Who, but made cuter. Caron Simply Soft Heather and Brites, 3.25mm needles, rated advanced.

Time Traveller Scarf - designed by Toni Carr - a garter stitch Dr Who inspired scarf.  Knit in Plymoth Encore Worsted with 5mm rated easy.  This is only 15 stitches wide but 10.5 foot.  You'd need to be careful with the first and last stitch for an even edge.  There are a lot of patterns for this scarf with a variety of degrees of accuracy.

Aim to Misbehave Brown Jacket - designed by Toni Carr - inspired by Firefly with lace edging to the sleeves and bottom of this coat this is one pattern that I really, really like and want to knit.  Knit in simply cotton sport with 3.5mm needles, rated advanced

Next section is Comics and Manga.

Starting with the Super Awesome Fantastic Mega Super Cute Manga Leg Warmers - by Toni Carr - to get that manga foot look with wide boot legs.  made in Plymouth Encore Worsted with 5 mm needles, rated as intermediate.

Tank Girl Socks - designed by Laura Hohman - brightly striped knee socks inspired by the Tank Girl comics and film.  Made in Knit Picks Stroll Sport Sock Yarn with 2.75mm needles, rated advanced.

Top this Fascinator - designed by Toni Carr - mini-top had inspired by Death from the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman.  Knit and then felted.  Knit in Cascade 220 with 5mm needles and rated as intermediate.

Creepy Filler Bunny by Toni Carr - inspired by Jhonen Vasquez, a pink felted bunny with weird stitched eyes.  Knit in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes with 4mm needles and rated as intermediate.

The Cat Woman Hat - designed by Callie Need - an oversized hat with cat ears. Knit in Lion Brand Jiffy with 6.5mm needles, rated as easy.  Not something I would knit.

Mystique by Toni Carr is a three piece adaptable piece that can be a sweater, a tube top, a halter top or a shrug.  Knit in Stitch Nation Full O'Sheep, with 5mm needles and rated as intermediate.

The last section is Other Stuff for Nerds

The Book Wizard is intended to carry an iPad or e-reader and has a strap, done in Gryffindor colours there's a suggestion you could also knit it in Slytherin colours (or Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw). Plymouth Encore Worsted with 5.5mm needles, rated intermediate.

Tie it on by Toni Carr is a tie with a double helix pattern travelling along it. Knit in Knit Picks Swish DK with 3.75mm needles and rated as easy.

Big Bang Guy's Sweater Vest designed by Toni Carr and Irene Basey - a v-necked tank top for men with cabling, I would regard it as unisex, inspired by the Big Bang Theory.  Knit in Lion Brand Wool Ease with 4.5mm needles and rated as advanced.

Big Bang Girl's Sweater Vest - designed by Toni Carr and Irene Basey -  based on Big Bang Theory's Penny's work uniform, this is a U necked fitted tank top. Knit in Lion Brand Wool Ease with 3.75 and 4.5mm needles, this is rated intermediate.  I think I would possibly knit one of these two, but honestly I have comparable patterns.

Real Genius Sweater by Toni Carr is an oversized sweater designed by Toni Carr which is an off-the-shoulder tunic/dress knit in Knit Picks Swish Bulky knit with 6.5mm needles and rated intermediate.  It's not something I'd knit for me.

Checkmate Laptop Bag - designed by Toni Carr.  A felted bag knit in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes with 5mm needles and rated intermediate, it's designed that you could use it both to carry your laptop and play games of chess on the checkerboard.

Mobius - designed by Toni Carr is a neck warmer Mobius with some added instructions to make a longer scarf.  Joined with a twist and then knit alternatively knit and purl rows.  Knit in Knit Picks Swish Worsted with 5mm needles and rated easy.

The book closes with abbreviations and clearly photographed with large needles techniques.

Conclusion: while a few of the patterns made me think twice about the book, overall it didn't impress me enough to make me want to buy it immediately.  There are 1-2 patterns that made me think about knitting them and maybe 2-3 more I'd possibly knit but I really would like to see them knit and finished a bit better before committing to the book.  I also think that a lot of the nerdishness comes from a generation younger than me.  The font was a little awkward to read on the netbook, I'd say it would be quite hard on a smaller screen.  In some ways it was good but in other ways I felt that there was some wasted potential in the book.  Many of the patterns were a bit predictable and there were a lot of similar patterns available already.

I'd borrow it or look carefully at it before buying, it might be your sort of thing but you would need to be sure.  It's not bad but there isn't enough there to make me buy right now.

entreKnits review

EntreKnits from Interweave Knits

PC Version
Mac Version

Ravelry Link

 Impressions: This is an enhanced ebook.  Well designed.  You can flick through the book page by page or use the index to go to what you're looking for.  There are portions of the pages that are interactive, videos, and some horizontal scrolling on some pages so if basically it's like chapters that you then can go down rather than having to flick through something you're not quite interested in to get to a more interesting chapter.  Also usefully, if you're navigating by arrow, when you go left or right it brings you to the top of the next page.  You can resize the pages, useful when I was looking at my small screen netbook for this review.

It starts with a section on storage, where you can open the items to see what they're like, and click through to the company's website, usefully using the default browser on your machine.

Next up is a yarn review, the initial page is the swatches, done in diamonds, and you can scroll through or click whichever one catches your fancy, the quick reviews talks about usefulness for entrelac knitting.

Now a Book review, where they look at some books, patterns and dvds with some modular/entrelac designs

Now the meat starts; Annie Modesitt talks about maths and kniting and about befriending maths, this will probably be a chapter I return to again.

next up is a pattern, the Turn About Wrap

The next section is Entrelac - Meg Swansen gives a guide to blemish-free blocks; and talks about knitting backward, while Eunny Jang shows in a video how it's done.  A pattern called Cochin Shrug is next  (photograph to left) 

Then they have some links to some Interweave Knits entrelac and other modular knitting

Quilt Inspired is the next section; starting with the Sweet Hexagon Cowl, an oversized pieced cowl where they're all linked as you go.  The Lancaster Blanket is a blanket inspired by quilts, made modular. 

Modular is the next section where Jenna Wilson (the Girl from Auntie) looks at the history of modular knitting and patents
Soap Bubble hat by Norah Gaughan comes next, an oversized hat
Vivian Hoxbro looks at 3D Domino knitting and provides a pattern for a folded domino bracelet

The penultimate page has resources where you can find all the websites in one place.
To finish (and I almost overlooked it! due to the last page) Knitter and photographer Maryse Roudier takes some images and knits them, a very interesting section of inspiration

Overall I think it's an interesting magazine with a lot of samples of the kind of different modular and entrelac forms, it's a good introduction to the methods and some of the big-name designers in the field.

 Colour/Black & White: All colour 

 Target Audience: Intermediate to advanced knitters

 Comments on patterns:
The Turn about Wrap creates a square wrap out of three triangular units with an two-colour iCord edging

Cochin Shrug is an interesting shrug made from various sized blocks.

The Sweet Hexagon Cowl is an interesting draped cowl, not really what I need in a cowl (I need something a little tighter for under my motorbike jacket), tempting though!

Lancaster Blanket (pictured right) is a patchwork-style piece, it would be a good introduction to the concept of constructing a patchwork style blanket using patchwork patterns.

Soap Bubble Hat is an oversized hat using bubbleshapes and designed by Norah Gaughan.  Very oversized, if you're fond of that style it might appeal but it's not my type of thing.

Vivian Hoxbro provides a Folded domino bracelet.  A different pattern, not really my style but an interesting method of design.

 Buy/Borrow: it's a bit of an ARGH! Because my primary machine is Ubuntu this is a little awkward to access, and part of the reason it took me a while to get around to reviewing it, which would probably be a barrier to my actually considering buying it, but I do like it and would have bought it if I could have easily accessed it.  (It requires Adobe Air to be installed - if you can get it working on your machine you should be able to get the Windows version to work, my computer is just not playing ball.)

 Where found: Interweave Knits gave me a free copy for review, weeks ago.

The Cover Photograph is from Interweave Knits Website and the two pattern photographs are from Ravely and copyright their originators.