Judith Durant

I find this book practical yet inspiring!! It is practical because there are all sorts of techniques shown in the back (thank you for including using 2 circular needles and the magic loop methods) as well as tips all through the book. The instructions are clear and include both charts and written instructions for most patterns.
The inspiration comes in the variety and various levels of the designs. There are many choices at many levels and the patterns are written to take out the mistique of show more making lace. I look forward to starting a pattern but it will be hard to choose one! The Lacy Pig Buddy will be fun and the shawls, hats, scarves and mittens will be great for my charity knitting/crocheting while adding some class the gifts. I can hardly wait to get stated!! show less

We all like inspiration books and I think that this one falls into that category. There are fifty handwoven scarves in this book and they each contain a weaving draft and at least some instruction on how to copy them. However I think that the best part of this book is as a jumping off place for your own designs. Lots of ideas and beautiful photos of the finished scarves.

"Cable Left, Cable Right" is a feeble offering compared to the Mon Tricot knitting dictionaries I use when designing fancy knitting projects. Too few patterns, too many words, assembled in drab Storey Publishing colors. Ms Durant prefers charted patterns over written ones so watch out if you have an astigmatism.

If you want to knit cables, Mon Tricot knitting dictionaries can be found for nearly nothing in used book shops, library or community fundraising sales, or estate sales of people who show more knit. Even new online they are inexpensive. I think you will find them to be a much better value than this book.

I received a review copy of "Cable Left, Cable Right: 94 Knitted Cables" by Judith Durant (Storey) through NetGalley.com. show less

Interesting and useful, I think - I knit, but I've never done cables. I found several patterns here that I'd like to do (just need to think of a project they'd work on). The instructions seem clear - I prefer the written ones to the charts, but I can see the utility of the charts for a pattern with a long repeat. And I suspect I'll like the charts better when I'm more familiar with them. Besides the patterns, each accompanied with a knitted and nicely photographed swatch, there's several show more chapters of discussion of what cables are and how to use them, and tips and tricks for working with them, including one at the end on dealing with the fact that cables draw in the work - since they cross over, a piece with cables in it will be narrower than a piece with the same number of stitches and no cables. There are methods of dealing with that, and the author goes over them pretty thoroughly. I received a copy through NetGalley for review. show less