Literary Knits

I love to knit. Recently I discovered two new types of knitting that might interest other knitters in Marquette. One is called arm knitting. Rather than using needles with yarn to create scarves, hats and lap throws, the knitter uses his/her own arms to “knit” yarn into an item. The other type, yarnbombing, is more fine art. For those knitters and readers of this column who don’t know this type of knitting, yarnbombing is a term for graffiti knitting. Visualize a tree trunk wrapped in lights at Christmas; that’s the same colorful look presented when one knits graffiti for that same tree, or a light pole, sign post, or whatever item needs a bit of color in today’s stark, urban environments like Houston, TX where it began. Knitters do similar knitting when we create clothing or accessories; we create colorful decoration for our loved ones or ourselves.

Try out Literary knits: 30 patterns inspired by favorite books, written by Nikol Lohr, who blends her love of classic literature and knitting to create some fresh new projects. The book’s patterns are designed  for intermediate knitters, but the detail is explained with excellent photographs if a knitter needs help to complete. Among the lovely patterns are two different mitten patterns based on what might have been knitted by Marmee for Jo or Meg from the book Little Women, a cloche hat inspired by the ladies of The Great Gatsby, shawl patterns influenced by those worn by Emma and Jane Eyre and many other projects for the entire family.

 ~Vicki