Andean folk knits

I used to be a knitter. I love detail so the more intricate the pattern, the more fun I had. I played with colour, texture, and lacework, and made up a lot of my own patterns. Apparently knitting was one of the things I did too much of and my hands have protested as a result. I no longer knit but one of my daughters does so I still have reasons besides sentiment to look at knitting books and this one is a gem.

Andean folk knits is written by Marcia Lewandowski who used to live and work in Bolivia. She and her family were there for eight years doing community and agricultural development work with the Mennonite Central Committee near the end of the 20th century. During her time in Bolivia, Marcia learned a lot about local knitting both there and in the surrounding countries. She shares that knowledge with us and works in a wonderful combination of ancient and recent history, culture, and geography lessons as well. That makes it a useful resource for the soon-to-be tourist who would like local crafts information as well as an introduction to the area.

Instead of just getting patterns for specific articles, I learned who the different articles were traditionally used by, why certain fibres were used for certain projects, what regional variations might be seen, and how I might adapt the pattern for my preferences. I learned what to look for and what to look out for when selecting yarn for the various projects. Everything is well illustrated and accompanied by notes on basic techniques to accompany the patterns.

If I were still buying knitting books, this is one I would get. There are a few projects I am trying to talk my daughter into making for me so maybe I should buy a copy for her shelf instead of mine...

Andean folk knits : great designs from Peru, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador & Bolivia by Marcia Lewandowski. Published in 2005 by Lark Books (a division of Sterling Publishing). ISBN: 978-1-57990-953-6.