Hip Knit Hats by Cathy Carron

I've recently become a fan of knitting hats. They are so fast and easy. I like to call them my instant gratification projects. I discovered this book, Hip Knit Hats, when my mom checked the book out from the library. I really liked two particular patterns from the book a beret and a pattern called Nina. I've made 4 hats from these two patterns, 3 berets and one Nina.

Over the weekend I looked through the book again while visiting a Barnes and Nobles. I decided I must have this book. And wouldn't you know it, Knit Picks is having a book sale through August 8th! So the book is officially on its way.

The hats in this book are a mixture of classic and funky modern. While I may not knit every single pattern in the book, I will knit up more than half of them at least. Most of the hats call for bulky weight yarn and size 10 to 10.5 circulars and DPNs. The instructions are pretty easy to follow. The two patterns that I have been knitting up start at the top of the hat, the crown, and you increase into the body of the hat. There's also a hat for everyone in this book. Kids will love the funky hats and there are even hats that guys would enjoy wearing. There are also a few hats that call for novelty yarn such as the Fun Fur yarn.

If you love knitting hats and don't have this book, you should definitely look into buying it.

Wrapped in Comfort by Alison Jeppson Hyde

I am a huge fan of this book! The first shawl I ever knitted was the Bigfoot shawl from this book. The instructions are straight forward and very easy to follow. Alison does a great job of explaining the steps for each shawl. There is also a section in the beginning of the books that talks about technique and shawl construction. There is a pattern or two for every experience level. One of the things I really love about this books is that there is a story included for each pattern.


It's a rare event that I find a knitting book that I can honestly say that I really like each pattern in the book. But this is one of those books. My personal goal is to knit at least one of every shawl in the book. These shawls knit up pretty quickly and they are just lovely. I love how my Bigfoot shawl turned out!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to knit lace shawls. It doesn't matter your experience level, from new lace knitters to experienced lace knitters, there is something for everyone in this book! You can check out more pictures of projects from this book in the Wrapped in Comfort group on Ravelry. An added bonus, Alison is also a member of this group!