A Gathering of Lace

I obviously needed to buy this book. Of course I need to knit some lacy gloves, a Shetland shawl, and MORE socks. Beautiful lacework. But putting the item titles in faint, transparent lettering behind the first page of instructions for each pattern just makes for a very confusing layout, graphically. I can barely read the silly things even after I found them.

I shied away from this book because I thought, oh, I really don't need another shawl book. But then I bothered to LOOK at it. Wow, all kinds of good stuff. Yes, great shawls but gloves, sweaters, vests. I love this book!

Beautiful designs, as one might expect from this author. Something for everyone, from the beginner trying a first lace project, to the master knitter interested in traditional designs. The projects also vary in the quantity of yarn needed, from simple projects needing only a few hundred yards, to elaborate shawls needing thousands of yards of cobweb weight lace yarn.

The patterns are sprinkled with knitting-related quotes from well-known authors and knitters. The final chapter includes lace projects (without patterns) from several well-known designers. The oddest is probably the lace coracle (a type of round boat).

As mentioned by others, the shadowy titles make it difficult to determine where each project begins, but the charts are well show more done and easy to follow. show less

The patterns in A Gathering of Lace are gorgeous, though some are a bit dated. I especially enjoyed the afterword, with contributions by several of the leading knitting designers.

Excellent book. A must-have for lace knitters. Meg Swansen collected a number of patterns from other designers, added her own, and published this lovely book.

Beautiful lace patterns, plenty of explanations & instructions for successful lace knitting.

Beautiful book, lovely patterns