Norah Gaughan

When I first heard that Norah Gaughan was publishing a book of knitting patterns, I was very excited. Her patterns have always delighted me for they tend to incorporate her love of science, as well as interesting knitting shapes and construction. Knitting Nature: 39 designs inspired by patterns in nature did not disappoint, within moments of opening I had found countless patterns I wanted to start knitting immediately.

Knitting Nature takes its inspiration from the book The Self Made Tapestry show more by Philip Ball. Gaughan found it in a bookstore and as she explains “it was filled with patterns and shapes that I knew would relate to the shapes I wanted to use in my knitting.” The patterns in Knitting Nature, as the title implies, draw their inspiration from the natural principles. Gaughan explains it best in an interview found on the Berrocco.com website: “I was definitely approaching nature from a physics point of view. Rather than looking to the things we associate with nature (like leaves, flowers, and trees), I found in natural objects the examples of physical principles.”

The patterns are unique and look incredibly challenging; however, as Gaughan states in her introduction, “I like things to look complicated, but have an underlying simplicity.” The patterns in Knitting Nature are organized by their underlying shapes: hexagons, pentagons, spirals, phyllotaxis, fractals, and waves.

Knitting Nature includes a wide range of patterns, from skirts to sweaters to accessories. The designs themselves range from fairly basic scarves to very unique outfits, sure to provide something for every taste. An added bonus is the truly stunning photography by Thayer Allyson Gowdy. Knitting Nature is a recommended addition for any knitting library.

Norah Gaughan, is the design director for Berrocco Yarns and has been working in the design industry for more than 20 years. An internationally known knitwear designer, her work has been featured in all the major knitting publications. Knitting Nature is her first book. show less

This knitting pattern book has some really pretty garment designs. There are a couple that I would like to make for myself and there is one I want to make for my spouse as a gift. Several are not my taste, but the ones that are are beautiful. I love the cables. Mix of charts and written instructions.

Comfort Crocheted Afghans Three Heirloom Blankets for Home and Family is a sampler book with three beautiful afghan crochet patterns that are taken from a book called Comfort Knitting and Crochet Afghans, which contains 50 patterns.

My favorite in this set is the Fish Ripples ghan which looks like a fun pattern. It's the one pictured in the center on the cover. The patterns themselves are clearly written and have bright photos. These patterns do not look too complicated and I think they would show more be good for beginners to dive in to. I think that for a low price, you are getting three simple, nice crochet afghan patterns, but there is nothing here that really stands out to me. I feel like you can get patterns like these online for free. However, as this is a sampler, this surely makes me want to purchase a copy of the full book, Comfort Knitting and Crochet Afghans.

Special thanks to Open Road Integrated Media and NetGalley for my review copy.

Disclaimer:
This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any type of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers and authors, such as this one, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I received my free copy of this book via NetGalley. show less

Comfort Knitting & Crochet is a book of 50 or so afghan designs, using mainly worsted weight Comfort (acrylic/nylon) yarn. There's a great variety of designs, from pieced or paneled afghans to one piece designs. Some are written as baby blankets (which can always be done with different colors for lapghans for adults, which is what I usually do for baby blanket designs). Some are pretty standard type afghan designs that you've probably seen before, but most are pretty unique designs for all show more skill levels. show less