It's new craft book season again-woohoo! I am a total craftbook junkie (big surprise) and I just received this book last week and haven't been able to put it down. Now, I'm not a big knitter . .more of an almost big knitter. In my head, somewhere in the future, all I do is knit and crochet. I can see it clear as day, but it's not where I am right now. I do go to yarn shops often, read knitting blogs and magazines all the time, and knit an occasional pair of booties and hat a few times a year. But I love knitting as a craft very much. I also love the crazy arty line that gets blurred between art and craft and what knitters bring to that. Enter KnitKnit
In the into, regarding her knitting zine KnitKnit, which is also the title of this book, Sabrina Gschwandtner writes ". . .KnitKnit became the name of a zine, a new art project, and a way of exploring the link between knitting and fine art practices like sculpture and performance." Wow, I am so into that. I will say here that I have never heard of the KnitKnit zine and only recognize about 2 of the 27 artists profiled in this book, which makes it all the more thrilling to me to have so much new info to be inspired by and research.
This is a beautiful book--big and heavy with a wonderful matte finish cover and gorgeous photos, but what really gets me is the lengthy and detailed artist profiles. Reading about the artist's past, education, successes and thoughts about fiber and knitting as a medium is what I keep going back too. They aren't short profiles, we really learn a lot about these people, and they range in age, nationally, gender and experience. Each artist profile is followed by a knitted project with directions and some are totally out there--really fun and incredible. Like knitted boxing gloves, a slipcover for a chair, a metal and mohair belt, and a huge fiber glass teddy bear. Huge. But, the book is also full of more accessible projects as well, it's definitely a book you can knit from--a very arty one. Maybe not the first book I would personally pick up to knit from but the patterns aren't why I like this book so much.
I keep going back to the profiles. It's fascinating to learn the arty back-stories of Joelle Hoverson and Erica Knight, 2 names I already know and admire, and new names to me like Aimee Hagerty Johnson and Cat Mazza. This history of how an artist got to where she is now and the process of creating is a treasure-and to get it in this great format, with knitting patterns to boot, is a huge bonus. I really dig it.
