Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines: Patterns, Stories, Pictures, True Confessions, Tricky Bits, Whole New Worlds and Familiar Ones, Too by Kay Gardiner, Ann Shayne

From the Publisher

Dear Fellow Knitter,

Welcome! Come on in. Have a seat—we’ve been waiting for you.

Ever since our first book, Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters’ Guide, we’ve been exploring techniques and ideas that we once thought were the sort of thing that only brilliant knitters could do.

Our conclusion: We are all brilliant knitters!

None of this is rocket science! If you can knit a garter stitch scarf, you’ve figured out the hard part. Now it’s time for the fun to start. You hold in your hands the result of our odyssey. It’s a new collection of 30 delicious projects that we hope will take you on your own knitting adventures.

Decorating Yourself: A collection of beautiful things to make for your most demanding (and forgiving) client.

The Fairest Isle of All: A simple, quick introduction to a sort of knitting you may not have considered, with surprising, modern projects.

Covering the Small Human: Pint-sized knits, including baby hats, dreamy dresses, and a cool pullover for the ultimate challenge: the Older Child.

Occasional Knitting: Projects for the special occasions in life—holidays, housewarmings, picnics.

The Sophisticated Kitchen: New uses for one of our favorite yarns: kitchen cotton.

We have filled this book with luscious photographs, stories, tips, rules, and hints. You’ll read how we arrived at these projects and the discoveries we have made along the way, and you will discover shocking things about us.

At all times, we have kept in mind Mason-Dixon Knitting Rule Number 1 : Knitting is spoze to be fun.Fasten your seatbelt—it’s going to be a fabulous ride!

Love,
Kay and Ann

Publishers Weekly

Building on the success of their Web site and blog (masondixonknitting.com), Gardiner and Shayne wind their way through patterns for adults, children and homes, including patterns by other knitwear designers such as Bonne Marie Burns. Helpful and humorous sidebars discuss the pitfalls of the sweater coat (including "bathrobe syndrome"), the beauty of Shetland wool, how to make a stitch marker out of citrus peel or tin foil, and the "Holy Crap" moment, where a pattern breakthrough occurs. Gardiner and Shayne alternate personal anecdotes throughout, with an especially enjoyable piece by Shayne about participating in the Tennessee State Fair knitting contest. With pattern names like "Stephen Colbert's socks" and "Golightly Kitchen Gloves," Gardiner and Shayne demonstrate that the secret of knitting is that "the longer you knit, the more fun it gets." (Sept.)

Nanette Donohue - Library Journal

The women behind Mason-Dixon Knitting(both the blog and the book) are back with a follow-up, which focuses on knitting beyond the basics. The patterns are loosely grouped into five categories, including Fair Isle, knits for children, and special-occasion knitting, and many are designed by guest contributors well known to knitters. Like any other pattern book, there is the occasional misfire, but the authors' enthusiasm for the topic and cheery interludes make this a worthwhile purchase. This book is more than a collection of patterns-it's a lot like knitting with a couple of fun, chatty friends. Recommended for libraries where Mason-Dixon Knitting was popular.

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