Monday, June 04, 2007

Knitting Books--What's on the Horizon?

So I've been away the past three weekends. First there was the trip to PA to check on my cow and christen a new one (such is the way of farm life--that picture of Norah the cow commemorates what was probably our final encounter before she's sold).

Then I spent a long Memorial Day weekend in Portland, OR, watching my little brother graduate from Lewis & Clark Law School. P.'s response to J.'s graduation? "Lawyers are bad guys!" Don't know where he picked that up, especially since my brother, who concentrated on environmental law and wants to work for a nonprofit, is most certainly one of the good guys.

Scarcely had I set foot back in Boston before I was off to NYC on Thursday night for BookExpo America, the largest book publishing event in the US. I was there to make contacts for the work that I do, but I also managed to pick up a lot of information about what new books are being published through this fall and winter. So what's new in knitting books?

Apparently knitting for men (and by men) is the new trend, with at least three books focusing on patterns for men (and an emphasis on books men won't be embarrassed to buy). One of these is Debbie Stoller's next Stitch 'n' Bitch volume.

Another theme? Amigurumi, the Japanese dolls and figurines. Sterling has a crocheted Amigurumi book coming out in September, and Chronicle has just launched a new series of Japanese crafts. The first two volumes are Amigurumi (both knitted and crocheted) and Lacy Crochet, a book of accessories for the home.

Follow-ups to popular books are also in the works, with Fiona Ellis's Inspired Fair Isle Knits, Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Nursery, and the next two volumes of Interweave's series, Folk Style and Bag Style. Judith Durant also returns with another volume of One Skein Wonders. Vogue's Stitchionary is back with a fourth volume, this one on crochet. Can you tell crochet is big? Not being a big crocheter myself, the only volume I'm really looking forward to is a collection of crocheted edges (can't remember who's publishing that one, but it looks like it could have uses even for us knitters). Vogue is also coming out with a sock pattern/instruction book that could be promising.

Retro knits are also big, with Sterling doing a pair of books, Toilet Roll Covers and Tea Cozies, some of which actually avoid looking (too) kitschy.

As for newcomers, Yahaira Ferreira (of www.pureknits.com) is coming out with Sensual Knits, which appears to feature classic patterns with fitted shapes and lovely details (and really expensive yarns). The people behind www.theanticraft.com also have a book coming out in November. I got the t-shirt, but not the book, at BEA. I'm also interested in Kat Coyle's Boho Baby Knits and Jane Gottelier's Artwork Blue, both being published in November by Potter Craft.

As usual, it looks like there are some exciting things on the horizon just in time for fall knitting!

8 Comments:

Blogger Carrie said...

Thanks for the overview--I love to hear about new knitting books!

11:59 AM  
Blogger Ina said...

Thanks for the book preview. So many books, so little time!

8:19 PM  
Blogger Theresa said...

Thanks for the update and preview!

2:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh man. This just shows how out of it I am.

8:25 AM  
Blogger Thea said...

Must knit me a toilet roll cover, and soon...... (how do you get the paper out from under, a big button hole?)

8:42 AM  
Blogger Terri Lynn said...

So glad your back!

Cool and to the point!

Thea - the paper roll cover is to keep the toilet paper handy and prettily covered up on the top of you toilet tank until needed! LOL This dates me, my mom would never cover anything in the bathroom except the floor with a rug only to be used after getting out of the tub! Everything else was neatly put away!

10:33 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

This article is mind blowing I read it and enjoyed. I always find this type of article to learn and gather

book publicity

5:44 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Dear Norah:

My name is Phyllis Peters, and I am an author whose upmarket, comedic novel, Untethered: A Caregiver’s Tale, is about a group underrepresented in humor: caregivers. I write with some expertise in this field. As I change my parents’ Depends, flee screaming from Social Security officers, and enjoy my own ongoing nervous breakdown, I would consider it a thrilling diversion to have you review my work.

With over 30 million, mostly baby-boomer adults in the US alone currently giving care, Untethered: A Caregiver’s Tale naturally plays to a built-in audience and to anyone who loves a fun but thoughtful read. Tom is a workaday administrator and proud boomer. His recent divorce has just ended in marriage to Mel—a sexy, younger French colleague—as he begins caring for his aging and increasingly difficult parents. When his formerly upstanding dad gets arrested for assault with an old dial phone, Tom tries to persuade his parents to sign over their power of attorney, to stop driving, or to take up a comparatively safe hobby like genital tattooing.

Denial, however, becomes Tom’s most powerful adversary. With Mel’s desire for children proving a game changer, with his pot-smoking, French great-grandmother-in-law moving in, and with his elderly neighbors challenging his very sense of self, Tom escapes into magical thinking. Buying into local lore sends him searching for real buried treasure, but meaningful, emotional treasure proves much more elusive.

Untethered: A Caregiver’s Tale is full-length fiction as comic relief. It is the modern family at its funniest and most vulnerable, offering cathartic fun aimed not at the caregiven, but in praise of the caregiver.

My fiction and articles have appeared in literary journals, online publications, and magazines such as The Pinch, The Ampersand Review, and Munich Found. I have also written screenplays, formerly represented by the Warden McKinley and Michael H. Sommer Literary Agencies.

At your convenience, I would like to have my PR agency forward you the materials of your choice (complete manuscript, sample chapters, jacket blurb, and press kit available). Please also visit the Untethered website at www.untetheredcaregiver.com. The site will steer you to our Indiegogo campaign, which outlines the book’s direct involvement in raising money toward Alzheimer’s research.

I look forward to your response. Thank you for your time and your imagination.

Sincerely,

Phyllis Peters

7:25 PM  

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