And that’s what I’ve been up to lately: all stealth knitting, all the time.
But that is coming to an end in a couple of days,and I am pleased to report that the second article about my creative process for my colorwork jacket is available for your reading pleasure over at Mason-Dixon Knitting. (In case you missed it, read Part One here.)
And I have a book for review/giveaway. This is one I’ve had for a while and it slipped through the cracks.
This is Nicky Epstein Enchanted Knits for Dolls: 25 Mystical, Magical Costumes for 18-Inch Dolls by, not surprisingly, Nicky Epstein.
You can view all the patterns on Ravelry, here.
Now, I don’t very often knit doll clothes, and I haven’t knit any of these patterns, so you can take my review with a grain of salt.
I read the reviews of this book on Amazon (linked from the title, above) and they were mixed. Mostly positive, but some people said the patterns were confusing. Looking on Ravelry, I don’t see many projects knit from the patterns, so it’s hard to get a feel for the patterns. It’s possible the negative reviews are because these are not beginner knits. They are small fiddly pieces with, in a lot of cases, a good deal of finishing work required.
What I can say is that the patterns are adorable! Some of my favorites:
Madame Vampire is knit from light fingering weight yarn held double. There are a lot of fine details in this outfit — sequins edging the front of the dress, a detachable collar. And there are instructions for creating the little crown.
The Whimsical Witch is knit from sock yarn, and uses a self-striping yarn for the skirt. There are even directions included for knitting little witchy shoes!
Gnome Girl is knit from sport weight cotton. You can see the level of detail here in the little vest and embroidered decorations.
I think this is a wonderful book for a relatively experienced knitter who has special little ones to knit for. Any child who has American Girl or similar dolls would be over the moon to receive one of these amazing outfits.
There’s still time to knit one as a holiday gift. So who’d like my review copy?
Leave a comment on this blog post by 11:00am Eastern Time Sunday, December 4 and I will chose a winner at random.
Loki is contemplating a magical outfit.