I have finished the back of Nantucket, and the pattern and I are still in true love! I opted to add 1/2 inch to the length, and it looks to have come out just fine to me.
It isn’t really bumpy in the middle, that’s just the place I’m (lightly) blocking it! Patons’ merino softens up considerably after blocking, which made me happy.
This week I came into posession of two new knitting publications: Romantic Hand knits by Annie Modesitt, and the Vogue knitting 25th anniversary issue.
Romantic Hand knits
Romantic Hand knits is a pretty book, well photographed and with what would seem (on first glance) to be clear instructions. The book itself (thankfully) contains no “how to knit” section. The patterns are divided into three sections, basically for tops, bottoms, and accessories. The tops lean more toward warm weather knits. There is a nice looking kimono which I think would suit lots of people, a wrap sweater, and (my favorite)a nice off the shoulder lacy top (with unnecessary belting.)
There is also a cardigan knit in a fuzzy yarn, several cute tank tops, and two different lacy cardigans like this:
I’m not really feeling the lacy thing. It’s a little much for me, but I’m not a lacy girl. I prefer more tailored styles.
I do love the cover pattern:
I look good in skirts that are shaped that way, so it is a possibility. I’m also likely to make this scarf, which is made with Tilli Thomas disco lights, because… well, I like the sparkley.
There are also some lovely opera gloves, more skirts and dresses (some of which are lovely but not for me) and a pair of stockings. Oh, and two knitted hat patterns, and when I say hat I mean like fancy hats with brims. They are really pretty, but I don’t think I will make one. There are a few other patterns that I think are a bit over the top. The range of sizes is excellent, randing from 28″ to over 50″ in most patterns. The cover skirt is sized to fit hip sizes 30″ to 52″. The book is also notable for the interesting use of different mixtures of yarns. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but it is at least interesting.
I actually received this book several days ago, but I needed time to think about it. It was hard for me to look past the patterns I didn’t like, because I really didn’t like them… but again, I am a more tailored person. Now that I’ve had the book for a few days, I’ve decided that I feel mostly positive about it, but I do recommend checking the book out before buying, so that you can get a sense of whether the patterns will suit your personal style.
Sorry for the muddy review, but I’m not totally sure how I feel – we will see after I attempt a pattern!
Green apples - Stitchywitch Creates 
I love the look of the cables for the jacket.
The Romantic Handknits looks like a weird mix of pretty and over the top. lol I wonder what the opera gloves look like. I have a friend who would just die for a pair of pretty opera gloves.
Nantucket is looking perfect. I’ve really been looking forward to seeing it finished.
I’ve seen a couple of reviews of Romantic Handknits, but yours had the most pictures, which was really helpful. It looks interesting, but not all that wearable for me. If you look good in that type of skirt, go for it, because it’s really pretty (I’d look like an overstuffed sausage with legs).
I think lace can be tailored — but this is not an example of that. I don’t really find this stuff romantic, but then I remember the dress I bought for prom–very much in the loosely draped, best with no shoes style. It was pretty, but it was 1992 and grunge was already in (trying to fight down preppy)where I lived.
I agree with you in that I love the skirt from the cover. But once I looked through the entire book, there wasn’t enough there for me to make a purchase. I haven’t had a chance to look through the Vogue book yet, so I am interested to see what you thought of that one.
The Nantucket Jacket is looking lovely! … and thanks for the book review.
I think this is a good review, I also got the book and there is a lot of patterns that didn’t appeal to me, but there is few I love and that is why I’ve decided to keep the book,, I think its one that will grow on me, but seeing that I’m yearning for fall knitting, I’m not planning on knitting anything up from this book anytime soon
It’s funny, she’s a designer with a really strong sense of her own style, so you either really love her or fail to see any patterns that captivate your interest. I guess I’m in the latter category!
Nantucket is amazing as usual, you are so fast!!
I just got Romantic Knits yesterday, and I feel almost exactly as you do – I really like some of the patterns, and I really dislike others. It’s very much a mixed bag, but for me, overall, there were enough good patterns to justify a purchase. I love the cover skirt too, that off-the shoulder top (couldn’t agree more about the unnecessary belting) and the opera gloves.
My beef with the book is with the sizing. My bust measures 34″ (usually a pretty common, normal size) and I thought there were a number of instances where there was a gap from 32-36, or worse, from 30-36. In the 1st case, I’d make the 32, usually, but in the 2nd case, 30 can really be pushing it depending on the design. There was one item (I think that off the shoulder top) that went from 30 to 40″. Now in that case I would definitely go with the 30″, as a 40″ is going to fall right off. A lot of the designs are complex so it’d be a daunting task to redo the math to come up with the in-between sizes. I hate to sound negative, but I feel like she pays more attention to the larger end of the size spectrums than the smaller end.