BOOK REVIEW: Knits from a Painter's Palette by Maie Landra

For the past ten years, knitters have delighted in knitting with the yarns produced by Canadian company Koigu Wool Designs. Founder and designer Maie Landra is an artist who found her perfect medium, each skein is a miniature work of art. Every batch of Landra’s beautiful yarns produces slightly different results due to the handpainting process, meaning no projects will ever be identical. She believes that “the perfect dyelot must be alive with highlights and depth, not dead and lifeless” and to date has created more than 300 colourways. The designs in Knits from a Painter’s Palette: modular masterpieces in handpainted yarn celebrate the beauty of Koigu Painter’s Palette Premium Merino, known as KPPPM.

Landra is known for her use of modular or domino knitting and the majority of the patterns in Knits from a Painter’s Palette utilize this technique. This collection contains many favourites from the past ten years, including the famous Charlotte’s Web Shawl and Landra’s first design, the Oriental Jacket. Beginners will find projects such as Basic Squares Scarf, to assist in learning modular knitting techniques, and the Knit Yarn-Over Scarf. Experienced knitters may be inspired by the Spirit Skirt, which raised quite a stir when originally published in the Fall 2005 Vogue Knitting magazine, or the Magique Cloak.

While the majority of the patterns included are oversized, some pieces are quite form-fitting such as the Groovy Dress (image in upper right), Jazz Cardigan (image in upper left) or the Patchwork Pants. Several patterns are also provided in children’s sizing.

Koigu designs are very colourful and require a certain panache to carry off for everyday wear. At $13/skein, the larger projects requiring upwards of 40 skeins must be viewed as investment pieces, ones which are saved up for or purchased a few skeins at a time.

Knits from a Painter’s Palette is sure to please Koigu fanatics and neophytes alike.

Read the review at Armchair Interviews.


ISBN10: 1933027061
ISBN13: 9781933027067

Hardcover
128 Pages
Publisher: Sixth&Spring Books
Publication Date: January 28, 2007
Author Website: www.koigu.com


tags: books book reviews knitting Maie Landra Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino Koigu Wool Designs