mosaic and lace knitting book cover

I love new-to-me knitting books. What a treat it was to discover Barbara Benson’s Mosaic & Lace Knits: 20 Innovative Patterns Combining Slip-Stitch Colorwork and Lace Techniques! In it she fuses lace and mosaic techniques to create patterns that have the lovely drape and lightness of lace and also the excitement of color.

I’ve had some experience knitting mosaic designs before, but still I found myself utterly absorbed by the book’s in-depth description of the mosaic technique. Barbara’s writing style is easy and conversational, yet full of great tips. She explains the mosaic charts made popular by Barbara Walker. Then she tells us why she deviates from that convention, adding the “return row” to accommodate her use of lace stitches. (I confess that when I come across Walker’s style of chart, where every charted row represents two rows of knitting, I always re-chart it to include all rows; I find it more fun and relaxing.)

One of the sections I learned the most from is the discussion of carrying yarns up the edges in a way where the edges match each other. I’ve made several striped shawls over the years and the difference between the right and left edges has always bugged me. Barbara solved the problem brilliantly.

The book’s 20 patterns include a nice variety of projects, from mittens to scarves to shawls, hats and more.

Love Child shawl

When I review a book I like to make a project from it to assess the author’s pattern writing. I made the “Love Child” shawl above (which I’ll post about in the future). I was very happy with the clarity of the instructions. Each pattern includes photos that show the entire project and also detailed close-ups.

The next project I want to make is the “Pinwheel Market Bag”:

Mosaic & lace market bag

 

“Sailing Diamonds” is one of several fun hats:

Mosaic & Lace hat

The book’s back matter includes a variety of useful cast-ons and bind-offs, seaming techniques, and a well-done table of abbreviations. All very helpful!

The Giveaway

I really like Mosaic & Lace Knits and I’m giving you a chance to win an autographed copy of your own. Many of the patterns are perfect for summer knitting, as the lace gives them lightness. That’s why I’m calling this the “Summer Solstice Giveaway”. The drawing will be open until midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 20th. We’ll celebrate the Summer Solstice on June 21st with a random drawing of the winning name.

To enter the random drawing, simply leave a comment here on this post. Please include your contact information in your comment so I can let you know if you’re the winner. (One comment per person, please, with only one comment and email address per person.)

I can mail this book anywhere in the world as long as there are no postal or delivery restrictions.

Resources:

Mosaic & Lace Knits: 20 Innovative Patterns Combining Slip-Stitch Colorwork and Lace Techniques by Barbara Benson. You can find more of Barbara’s patterns on her Ravelry designer page

Publisher: Stackpole Books.   March 31, 2017. 128 pages

Available in paperback and Kindle

Errata for the book can be found here