THE DAILY CHUM

Folk Style by Mags Kandis
Interweave Press, 2007
$16.47 @ Amazon

Oh, guys. I’ve been trying to review this for y’all for days now. But every time I pick it up with the intention of reviewing it, I get completely sucked into the possibilities contained therein and lose the ability to form a coherent thought. All the colors and the projects and the ideas start going a mile a minute, and I have a lot of trouble shutting the brain off long enough to say more than “Ugg, ogg, *droooool*, buy this.”

I’m a big fan of the “Style” books that Interweave’s been putting out, in general. Scarf Style, with it’s Lady Elinor and Leaf Lace, for instance. I could curl up with the Interweave photographers and have little yarny babies, and life would be good.

Folk Style is no exception to the Rule of Fabulous that they’ve got going on. It’s definitely part of the series, with the same sort of layout and way of presenting the projects, and in the way that the projects are all designed by with-it designers who obviously know their stuff. (We’re talking Annie Modesitt, Ann Budd, Leigh Radford, Kristin Nicholas, Veronik Avery…a whole crop of designer fabulousness all in one place.)

The “Designer’s Notebook” section, always a favorite of mine in this whole series, talks about global fusion knitting — bringing the world into your design and color inspiration, and how to choose yarns and patterning that reflects the world at large, even if you happen to be knitting in rural Iowa. (Ahem.) There are some great tips in there about swatching and photocopying to see how things will look, and lots of stuff on creativity and inspiration and experimentation — all topics that would make a fabulous book all by themselves, in fact.

The projects in the rest of the book are equally as fabulous. From the kidsilk haze-like scarf in the beginning that uses simple miters (which I’m already trying to modify into a blanket in not-mohair since me + mohair = hivey, weepy mess.), to a tribal baby-carrier (!!!!), to a Mexican-inspired floor pillow, to fair-isle socks….the book brings in all those global elements Kandis talks about in the “Designer’s Notebook” section in practical ways that are just uberfabulous. Kate Gilbert (yes, of the Clapotis craze…) has a paisley shawl in here that would be a great first-time shawl pattern, too. And while it kind of had me blinking a bit when I first flipped through the book, there’s even a set of knitted mukluks.

Knitted. Mukluks, people.

I’m not sure what else I can say without devolving into that guttural groaning and a little bit of drooling, but really — this book = The Cool. Go reserve your copy and get ready to have the Global start influencing your stitches.

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