i've been remiss...

My good friend S (hi, S!) works at Random House, and she's gifted me recently with a couple of really interesting titles from their vast, vast offerings. I told her I would blog about each of them, and things have gotten in the way every time. Namely, exhaustion. But now that I've had a few days off, and am feeling close to normal again (thanks, Christmas!), I think it is time to give it a go. First up, Mother-Daughter Knits: 30 Designs to Flatter and Fit by Sally Melville and her daughter, Caddy Melville Ledbetter.

I'd coveted this book for a while, mainly based on the cover sweater, and the few pages I'd seen on Knitpicks.com. I also like the idea of a mother-daughter team working together to create a collection, and I knew that with Sally Melville involved, at least the patterns would be well-done.



The first part of the book consists of a really well-written section on sizing to fit and flatter, and a lot of the information is useful whether or not you make any of the garments in the book.

Then you get the pattern collection. Considered as a whole, I think the collection hangs together pretty well, but it doesn't seem very curated either. What I mean is that it seems like a knitting 'jam session'. You can see the different ideas each designer has, and the other patterns that are building off the fundamental ideas, and the interplay of each person's aesthetic on the other. It's really interesting, but like any good jam session, you may have a few great performances that shouldn't make it into the final piece because they don't fit. I think that would be my only beef with the collection. Someone should have said, well, the knitted headband is great, but it doesn't really go with the rest of the book. Who really can't figure out how to create a garter stitch headband? There are a few things I would have culled out as being too weird or basic, and encouraged the designers to take the idea and stretch it a bit to come up with something even better. The collection starts out with a few of these awkward pieces, and gradually builds to some really fine pieces. Here are a couple of the weird ones:


First, there were a whole range of buttony-y type accessories, including these leg warmers, wristlets, and spats, if you can believe that. Ech. I even like leg warmers, but I wouldn't waste all those buttons on them, you know? One of these type would have been plenty.

There was also the garter stitch headband that I mentioned, and a corsage headband and corset belt, both of which seem pretty strange choices. And then there is this:

It is a cardigan that closes with a scarf, which apparently, you can then tie around your neck. Personally I think that would choke me as I was moving around, and I'm not sure about the whole idea of this garment. Without the tie, it seems ok.

I also found myself liking both some of what Sally did and some of Caddy's work, not necessarily more of one or the other, and definitely not all of either. That's what I mean by a jam session. I think I remember reading in the intro how they both went away, came up with some ideas, came back together, developed them together, and sort of tied everything together. But normally with musicians, like I said, you have someone like an engineer or producer who says yes, that's good, no, that one doesn't fit with the collection. Basically, this collection needs better accessories that go with the awesome garments. Here were my favorites:


That last one I think would be really good to make for my mom. My favorite of the whole collection did turn out to be one of the cover sweaters, just not the one I thought. I originally liked the green sweater worn by Caddy, but after I saw it in the book, I wasn't too thrilled with it. However, Sally's sweater is really gorgeous:



The front is all gauzy and light, and the back is more structured and lacy. I really like it, and out of all the projects I like, I want this one the most. I could wear it to work all the time, and it isn't super trendy like some of the other pieces.

Anyway, although the collection is a bit uneven, it is still a really interesting idea for a book, and I hope that we see more collaborative efforts in the mix. I like how the ideas influenced each other, and most of the garments are really lovely. Finally, the information in the introduction is really valuable, even if you never make any of the projects. I would definitely recommend this book, although you might want to take a look at it in the library or at a friend's house to see if it is really for you or not.