Classic knitting books

Today's "Shelf Awareness", an online newsletter about bookselling, listed the most sought-after out-of-print books of 2007, according to Bookfinder.com. Out of the ten titles, TWO were about our favorite craft. They were in the company of Madonna's Sex, a children's book, and a history of helicopters (?!).

These were the knitting books people truly wanted with their rank on the list:

No. 6. The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt (1988). Ultimate indispensable hand knitting resource.

No. 8. Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore (1997). History and how-to about the Irish technique.

(Note: No. 4 was a 1984 book by Nora Roberts called Promise Me Tomorrow which the list-maker notes she refuses to reissue. I wonder why.)

I'm curious. How many of you own these knitting classics and/or why are they classics?

PW confirms it: we're still cool

Was there ever any doubt? Of course, we're cool. However, it's nice to have Publisher's Weekly, the Bible of the book world, agree. Even though the article is titled "Sew, What's New", there's alot about knitting in it. (I have to admit that I didn't appreciate the cover's subtitle: "A quaint revival extends its appeal." "Quaint"?!?! We're not quaint, we're cutting-edge.)

Claiming that it all began with Uma Thurman's knitting obssession (excuse me, I was knitting before Uma was born), PW points out that the trend has engendered a Knitting Olympics, a bestselling romance series, and countless knitting clubs. (They forgot to mention Romancing the Yarn but I intend to write to correct their oversight. LOL)

Melanie Falick, knitting author and editor, says, "In this big, insecure world, where everything moves so fast and most of our lives are spent in a virtual reality, we can find balance by slowing down and using our hands to create."

Evidently, the popularity of today's needle crafts has taken the spotlight away from what's known as the "hard crafts" like woodworking. Who knew?

As we knitters have become more proficient, we've begun to demand more diversity in our craft books. "It's the funky stuff that keeps people interested," one editor says. Publishers are looking for more niche books and using high-end photography to tempt us to buy their products.

Yarn stores see a trend away from bulky yarns (tell that to the fashion designer who commissioned a special set of knitting needles the size of broomsticks to knit his chunky sweaters on) and toward thinner yarns used to make garments and lace.

PW talks about the communities crafters create. Aha, they're catching on that we're a friendly, chatty group of folks. They also mention the rise of "craft celebrities" (like our own The Wendy) who write books and blogs and run charity events.

Here are a few of the books mentioned in the article as catering to us sophisticated, funky, niche knitters:

Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter;
Sensual Knits (Sensual Crochet will follow.);
The Museum of Kitschy Stitches: A Gallery of Notorious Knits-"hideous knitted creations. from ugly sweaters to atrocious 1970s knit shorts";
Anti-craft: Knitting, Beading and Stitching for the Slightly Sinister, which includes a pattern for a duct tape corset (ouch!);
Knitted Icons-featuring 25 celebrity doll patterns, including Gandhi, Madonna and Elvis.

Okay, call me boring but none of those titles makes me want to run right out to the bookstore (although I'm kind of curious about what, besides the long striped scarf, one would make for Harry Potter).

How about you guys? Anything there tempt you? Or do you have a better book you'd like to recommend?