No Sheep For You Review

I originally saw the No Sheep For You book at Stitches West and instantly knew I should add it to my very small knitting book collection. Although I'm not one of the very unfortunate people that is allergic to wool, I do appreciate the non-wool fiber options that are currently available, and I also appreciate the great designs this book has to offer. Marrying non-wool fibers and great designs into this book was a brilliant idea.

The first 3 chapters (about 25 pages) is an introduction covering information about the non-wool knitting fibers currently available, the differences between them, and understanding them for yourself. This section had so much great information in it, and it really helped me understand where fibers come from and how they may or may not work in my next knitting project.

The meat of the book is obviously the patterns and there are twenty of them ranging from simple to complex. There is a great variety in patterns and surprisingly there were even a few for men. As everyone I'm sure knows, the author is Amy R. Singer and she has contributed a beautiful shawl pattern, but I was surprised to see such other amazing contributing designers such as Barbara Gregory, Sivia Harding, Amy Swenson and Jenna Wilson, just to name a few.

I can't say I like all the patterns in this book, because I don't, but a few of them really stood out and if I were to choose a few that I would definitely knit, these are probably my favorites.




From left to right, top to bottom:
Bacardi, Tuscany, The Bag, Cables and O's, Morrigan

I was surprised that the book inspired me to take the patterns I didn't particularly care for though, and think of ways to change them to suit my needs. I definitely can't afford to knit a bathrobe out of silk, but maybe I can find an different fiber that would produce just as beautiful an object at an affordable price. There's also a cardigan that has wonderful lines, but I didn't like the decorative design feature of the fleur-de-lis, so obviously if I knit it, I'll omit that particular design. I also love the Bacardi cardigan, but I could never pull off that color palette, so won't it be fun trying to find colors that suit me but that also blend together? There was even a cardigan for a man that my husband might even wear, but only after I change the neckline.

I think this book is perfect for those of you who are allergic to wool and I urge you to add this to your knitting library. And as for the rest of us, who couldn't use a knitting book that opens our eyes to the world of non-wool fibers and provides some beautiful patterns as well? Won't it be fun for us to knit these non-wool patterns into wool fibers?

Final note: I know I promised this review awhile ago, but my original post didn't get saved and rewriting this just never seemed a priority. I've never written a book review or anything like this before, so please don't be too harsh. This was extremely difficult for me to do and so I've definitely stepped out of my comfort zone.