Wendy D. Johnson

Wendy D. Johnson designs beautiful socks, and to the joy of Kitchener-stitch-avoidance knitters everywhere, every pattern in this book is knit toe-up. Her lace and cable designs are very good, and I also really liked the design some of her more complex color-work patterns. The book includes two designs sized for men's socks (one cable and one argyle), and two designs sized for children (one lace, and one with a row of cute, stranded-colorwork critters at the top). The remaining 18 patterns show more are for women — there are 21 women's patterns in all with one pattern presented as a thigh-high and as a knee-high, and two more patterns for mid-calf socks offering a knee-high option.

Johnson includes notes at the front of each section with special instructions for each knitting style (lace, cables and colorwork), and her conversational style makes the design process feel fun and approachable. She also offers some good sock-knitting tips in the front of the book with more details on essential techniques at the end of the patterns. (It's definitely not an instructional book, though — it's a great pattern book for knitters with a little experience in sock-knitting. People who want to learn to knit socks would do better with Ann Budd's "Getting Started Knitting Socks.")

Overall, a great design book, and one I'll put on my wish list for great patterns like these:
• Lacy "rosebud socks" (on the cover)
• "Laurel socks," a leaf-and-lace combo
• "Dainty anklets," the other cover sock, which I'd be happy to give any of my nieces
• "Manly Aran socks," which I may size down for myself, in addition to giving as gifts
• "Diamonds and cables socks," a lacy twist on fisherman knits with eyelets added to the traditional diamond motif and an eye-catching thick-and-thin cable down the front
• "Sanquhar socks," a black-and-white stranded pattern based on traditional knitting from the town of Sanquhar, Scotland
• "Norwegian rose socks," another stranded knit with a striking stylized rose as the central motif on both front and back show less

Wendy D. Johnson is one of the luminaries of the knitting world. Her blog has more than 3 million visitors per month, a testament to the power of her prose. Wendy Knits: My Never-Ending Adventures in Yarn is her eagerly awaited first book which combines Wendy’s reflections on a life lived with yarn and twenty of her knitting patterns.

Wendy’s writing is conversational, you feel like she’s sitting next to you telling her stories. The patterns are interspersed throughout the book show more beginning with the simplest projects (a dishcloth) and culminating in a steeked Scandinavian pullover. Regular readers of her blog may find some of the content familiar but here readers receive more than just glimpses into Wendy’s knitting life. For example, her chapter on “knitting for charity” explains how Wendy began the charity “Knit-alongs”, a feature of her blog, and why she is a passionate supporter of pet rescue organizations. Her passion for the cause is evident and I suspect that many a catnip mouse will be knit after reading Wendy Knits.

A knitter can easily knit their way through this book and beginning knitters will find projects which increase gradually in difficulty; however, the strength of this book is the insight it provides into the creative process of an incredibly prolific knitter. The only complaint about Wendy Knits is that the book has been produced in black and white. Colour photos would have really enhanced the value of this book and made the projects even more appealing. show less

The first time I looked at this book, the font annoyed me for some reason, and I didn't bother to look at it further. I finally decided I should go ahead and check it out from the library and see what I think, since I used to enjoy reading her blog.

It's a pleasant enough read, and the patterns would be good basic ones for a new knitter. I was particularly amused by her story about two Swedish girls commenting on her knitting. But the book doesn't grab me enough that I want to get my own show more copy. The text is more about her development as a knitter than about knitting in general, and I've found that books about an individual's interest in knitting don't do much for me. (In contrast, while Stephanie Pearl-McPhee certainly talks a lot about her own experiences in her books, she's usually making a broader point, whether about knitting or about life. I don't come away from one of her books thinking "I've just read about the Yarn Harlot's knitting life", whereas with this book I come away thinking "Okay, I've just read about Wendy Johnson's knitting life".) show less

This book is a fantastic sock-knitting resource! First, the layout is dead gorgeous - as are the photos. Second, it starts off simply to warm up any beginning toe-up knitters, introducing plain socks and socks with simple (but stunning) patterns. Also a lot of the socks look great in either solid or variegated yarn, certainly a difficult feat! There's lace patterns, textured patterns, cabled patterns - a fabulous array of patterns for any style and construction preference! I really love this show more book. show less