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Books
If
you want to order any of these titles (or High Whorling, also by Priscilla
Gibson-Roberts), please see our ordering page.
If you do not see the title you are looking for, please check
the contact page.
| 
Order |
Arctic Lace: Knitting projects and stories
inspired by Alaska’s native knitters
by Donna Druchunas publication
date: October 2006 | | The approximately
250 Native Alaskan members of the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers’ Co-operative
harvest the ultra-fine, ultra-soft underdown of musk-oxen, known as qiviut,
and use the resulting yarn to knit lace garments whose designs are inspired by
traditional designs and culture. Author Donna Druchunas has traveled to Alaska
and brought back her experiences with these knitters and their wonderful textiles.
For more about Donna and what she’s up to, see her site at www.sheeptoshawl.com.
For further information about qiviut (or to order your own soft, lightweight
garments), visit www.qiviut.com.
To read more reactions to Arctic Lace, see our reviewer
comments page. |
| 
Order |
Spinning in the Old Way: How (and why) to
make your own yarn with a high-whorl handspindle by Priscilla
A. Gibson-Roberts publication date: May 2006 | |
Spinning in the Old Way is a wonderful introduction to
the craft of spinning. It presents a simple, easy-to-master skill-set that requires
only four tools to create your own yarn: a high-whorl (or other) spindle, a yard
of commercial or other ready-made yarn, fiber, and practice. This
is a perfect book for knitting enthusiasts who are interested in creating their
own yarn, but do not necessarily want to dedicate space or money to a spinning
wheel. Spinning in the Old Way teaches you to create beautiful yarn without
either complication. | |
| | Note
to owners of Priscilla Gibson-Roberts’ previously published book, High
Whorling: While Spinning in the Old Way is neither a reissue nor
a new edition of High Whorling, the essential content is similar. The text
has been completely reworked, and all the illustrations are new. Owners of High
Whorling may want to check out Spinning in the Old Way from their local
libraries before deciding whether to purchase this book. |
| 
Order |
Knitting in the Old Way: Designs and techniques
from ethnic sweaters by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts & Deborah
Robson
paperback ISBN 0-9668289-6-8, 312 pages, $27.95
hardcover
ISBN 0-9668289-2-5, 312 pages, $39.95
available through yarn shops and bookstores
“Reading this wonderful book is like taking a master class with two
of the most knowledgeable, gifted, and generous teachers in the modern knitting
community.”
—Melanie Falick, author of Weekend Knitting,
Kids Knitting, and Knitting in America; co-author of Knitting
for Baby
| | Originally published in 1985
in a significantly smaller edition, Knitting in the Old Way presents a
way of knitting rather than a finite set of patterns. It empowers today’s
knitters to produce both everyday and heirloom-quality sweaters without relying
on line-by-line patterns. It teaches us to read the fabric on our needles instead
of the fine print. The book is bound with sewn signatures (for durability and
to open flat) and has a sturdy, paper-over-boards cover. | 
“Knitting in the old way” means knitting by thinking, not by following.
| |
Knitting in the Old Way guides you to discover a way of knitting. It unfolds
a process that connects you to centuries of textile wisdom and helps you invent
and create designs of your own. | |
“Knitting in the old way” involves working each sweater from a plan
based on proportions, instead of from a line-by-line pattern. | | Questions
and Answers about Knitting in the Old Way | | Summary
table of contents and description of Knitting in the Old Way |
| 
Order |
Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy: A short-row
technique for heel and toe by
Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts
ISBN 0-9668289-4-1, paperback, 112 pages, $14.95
available through yarn shops and bookstores | |
“Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy is recommended for any knitter who
finds traditional knitting patterns too confining, to anyone who wants to design
socks, and most of all, to anyone who wants to simplify—and enjoy—the
entire process of knitting socks.”
—Cast
On
Here’s an elegantly simple way to make socks. Finally,
a way to shape heels and toes that you can memorize and apply to any sock! These
socks fit well and are comfortable. The technique encourages playful sock-knitting,
with great stripe and pattern games to explore. And when you’ve worn the
heels or toes of your favorite socks to within a breath of vanishing, you can
easily knit new heels or toes, with matching yarn or a contrasting pattern to
continue the experiment. This book’s simplicity could be misleading: there
are gazillions of socks in here, waiting to emerge from your needles. |
| Summary table
of contents and description of Simple Socks |
 |
Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy: A short-row
technique for heel and toe by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts
out of print, although copies are still available through yarn stores only
ISBN 0-9668289-1-7, hardcover, 112 pages, $24 | | |
Please see the description of the paperback
for more information. The contents of the two editions are essentially the same.
The layouts differ slightly and the paperback has a more extensive index. |
| In development: |
| 
Knitting Cowichan Sweaters
(working title)
by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts
planned release
date: 2008-2009 A truly unique North American knitting tradition developed
among the Salish people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their bulky-knit, natural-colored
sweaters display dramatic designs and many innovative construction techniques.
Learn how to apply new ideas to your own knitting, how to appreciate the “real
thing” in a particular folk tradition, how to recognize mass-produced designs,
and what we all lose when the market requires faster, watered-down production.
We’ll bet you’ll end up loving your own knitting more—and wanting
an authentic Cowichan sweater, too! The original edition of this book was published
in 1989 as Salish Indian Sweaters. The new version will contain more patterns
and will look at what’s happening with current design trends. |
| After that: | | We
have lots of ideas, and some manuscripts in the works. Check here later to see
what’s developing! | |
