Mindful Knitting and Patty Lyons’ Knitting Bag of Tricks

The snow was still on the ground in Winwick over the weekend and it’s been the perfect opportunity to stay in and snuggle up with a new book.  I’m very fortunate to have had not one but two to snuggle up with as I was asked if I would like to review two brand new books – and as I know there is always something new to discover about knitting, I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity!

The two books are Mindful Knitting by Chloé Elizabeth Birch and Patty Lyons’ Knitting Bag of Tricks (Amazon links) and whilst quite different to each other, they still have a connection as Chloe’s book is about using knitting to calm your mind and Patty’s book contains “sanity saving hacks” which will hopefully keep you calm in a knitting crisis! 🙂

 

I must be honest and tell you that when I first opened Mindful Knitting, I thought it was going to be a pattern book much like many others that you see which tell you to be mindful about your knitting and offer a few simple patterns.  I think that telling someone to “be mindful” is not always helpful, especially if they are not in a place to be calm, but I was keen to see Chloé’s patterns as she designs for West Yorkshire Spinners like me, and her designs are always beautiful.  I have another connection to Chloé  as well as her Mum is my tech editor so despite my expectations of an instruction book telling me to breathe calmly whilst I wrestled with my knitting, I knew that the patterns themselves would be great.

And this is where I tell you that I was very wrong.  This is not like any other mindful knitting book that I’ve read and personal connections aside, I absolutely loved it.

Right from the introduction, Chloé talks about her own struggle with her mental health and an eating disorder and it becomes obvious very quickly that this is a book written by someone “on the inside”.  Chloé’s patterns are thoughtful, the colour choices are calming even just looking at the photos, and you can tell that they have been designed by someone who has been at the point where simply making the stitches in the beginning took effort and determination to fight her own demons.

The 35 projects in the book are split into three sections: Tranquil Surroundings, Self-healing and the Gratification of Giving, which work perfectly together – a calm space helps you to feel calm and begin the process of self-healing, and giving to others is always an excellent way of finding joy for yourself.  There are projects for all skill levels, from door hangings to shawls, blankets, fingerless mitts, clothing and a really nifty pattern for knitted hair scrunchies (these are definitely on my list to make!).  They’re also knitted in easily accessible, affordable yarns and often a project is broken down into small sections so that you are not overwhelmed with the whole process but still have an achievement to celebrate.

There are mindful thoughts from Chloé for each project, but they are thoughts from her own experience, written kindly and supportively, and I felt that Chloé’s passion for the projects and helping others shone through from the pages.

This book isn’t just for people who have anxieties or worries that they need to soothe with knitting; Chloé’s patterns even without the addition of her thoughtful text are lovely and this book would make a great addition to anyone’s knitting bookshelf.

 

Patty Lyons’ Knitting Bag of Tricks is not a pattern book and, as it says in the introduction, is not a “how to” knit book at all.  Instead the book looks at why we knit in the way we do (and remember, there are so many ways that we can make a stitch and no one “right” way) and offers some options that we might want to try instead.  It made me think of my Sock Stitch Calculation and how I would rather show someone how to work out for themselves what number of stitches to cast on for a sock than give them all the numbers in a pattern and expect them to try to guess which would be the right size.

The book is full of all kinds of useful “so that’s why it does that” moments.  The chapters cover the fundamentals of knitting, gauge, patterns, cast ons, increases and decreases, pesky problems and secret solutions (a definite lightbulb moment chapter!) and finishing – so pretty much all of the process of knitting anything!  It is fully illustrated with both how-to illustrations …

and cartoons by the artist Franklin Habit …

which help to illustrate the points that Patty makes in a calm and kind way.  I think many of us have met the “knitting police” at least once in our knitting careers but this book is absolutely not that; it shows you the reason why a stitch might sit on your needles in a particular way or why something might have happened …

Ugh, this happens to me when I’m knitting lace socks sometimes and now I know how to fix it – hooray!  And it’s easy; there’s nothing here that anyone couldn’t incorporate into their knitting, no matter how long they have been knitting.  I think it’s very easy when you first learn to think that the way you’ve been shown is the only way to knit but that’s not true, and you’re not letting anyone down by trying something new that might suit you better.

Patty gives lots of tips on small changes that could make a big difference such as this one below, where she talks about size and ease, something that can be quite off-putting if you’re not exactly the same size as the pattern sizes.  It really is like having a knowledgeable friend right there with you.

What I also liked very much about this book is the way that it is physically put together.  The spine has been created in such a way that the book opens right up so that you can see both pages at once and without having to break the spine to do it.

This is another book that would make a great addition to any knitter’s bookshelf and more than just a text book, I found it fun to read (I was waiting for my car in the garage and laughed out loud more than once, which I am sure was most disconcerting for the man behind the customer service desk!), and it had me thinking “I’ll try that next time” on several occasions.

 

It may be a getting a bit late to add either of these books to your Christmas list, but if they take your eye, I would definitely suggest at least having a look at the “look inside” option on Amazon so that you can see whether they might be something you’d add to a future wish list.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading both of them and have also got something from both – and you can’t ask for more, I don’t think!

 

The giveaway is now closed!  You can find the results of the draw here.

The publishers have very kindly given me an extra copy of Patty Lyons’ book to give away so I have an after-Christmas treat for someone!

To enter the giveaway, please tell me what your favourite item to knit is.  (I know that not everyone is obsessed with socks like me and that’s fine! 🙂 )

Entries to the giveaway will close at 8pm GMT on Tuesday 27 December 2022 and I will let you know the winners as soon as possible after that time (don’t worry if it takes me a day or two with it being Christmas – I won’t have forgotten! 🙂 ).  I am happy to post the prizes anywhere in the world so don’t feel that you can’t be part of this because you don’t live in the UK.  Don’t worry if you don’t have a Google or blog account to leave a comment, you can leave it as “anonymous” but don’t forget to put your name in the comment so that when I post the winner I’ll be able to identify you so that you can get in touch for your prize (and please do come back to check if you’re a winner)!  Oh, and also don’t worry that your comment doesn’t show straight away – the comments are set for me to check them before they upload to the blog to make sure that no spam gets through so they are all safely stored in my blog messages until I’ve seen them.  I’ll make sure they’re all uploaded on time!

Good luck!