Learn to Knit Cables on Looms

Hello and welcome to my blog. I have been given the opportunity to review a booklet called Learn to Knit Cables on Looms by Isela Phelps.

Now just to get it out of the way, I loved this book. So this review will be a bit predisposed towards that view of the book. :) No drama to be found here.

Why did I love this book? Glad you asked. There are several reasons.
-Starts with super basic easy instructions. Not just for cables. Someone could pick up this book and learn all the basics of loom knitting. An excellent reference for those of us who are beyond the basics. It covers every technique referenced in a pattern. No looking stuff up on the internet for me.
-For those familiar with Isela and her books, you'll know that her husband runs Decor Accents inc. A maker of fine quality knitting looms. But did she use this book as an opportunity to hawk their wares? No she made this book and these patterns accessible even to those who are not fortunate enough to own a DA loom. She used all Knifty Knitter looms. Which I would say most loom knitters have in their collection as at least their starting point. These looms (at least in my area) are available at all my craft stores and at Wal-mart for a decent price. And I appreciate this fact.
-Also ditto for the yarn. All yarn I can get at my local craft store. Too often, knitting books have expensive speciality yarn that I can't afford so I have to substitute yarn and it ends up not looking quite right. For once, I was able to use the exact yarn called for in a pattern.
- Now although she does use these readily available tools and yarn, she explains the techniques and patterns so well, that I could see myself adapting them to my DA looms and different yarn. I could see making a pair of socks on my Wonderloom and throwing a cable down the side, because I now know how.
-speaking of patterns. The ones in this book are great. A nice variety. Small to big, different uses.
-Oh and she stuck a copy of the Errata in the booklet so I didn't have to go looking for it or actually no know there was one and completely screw the pattern up.

Problems with the booklet...well, I couldn't think of any reasonable ones. They all involved some sort of variation on the "I'm a greedy/lazy git and I want more" patterns. Whether it was having patterns with different yarns, or different looms or just more patterns in general.

Because I made one of the patterns. The Adestan slipper socks (I haven't finished the last 3 repeats and toe of the second one). Oh and I should have used a lighter yarn so you could see the cables, but I already had this in my stash. Yes you heard right I made something from my stash. That is the sort of thing this book has inspired. Crazy stash-busting socks.

And Miss Isela even took the time to answer several of my questions. I'd like to share those with you now. I'll pause so you can grab your knitting and some tea. Go on...There we go.
What was your first cabled project?
My first cabled project was a needle knit bag. I took a class at my local yarn shop and my good friend Miriam (from MimKnits) was the teacher. She taught the class different types of cables and she incorporated them into a cute bag.

If your first cabled project wasn't loomed, what was your first loomed cable project?
My first loomed cable project was a bag too. At the time, I was huge into bag making (now they are all downstairs in a closet!).
I have a tote down in the basement with all mine. I understand.

What is your writing style/process?
I usually start all my projects on a sketch notepad (I have many of them around the house). I sit down and try to draw out what I have in my head. Once it is drawn out, I think of the different elements such as stitches, shaping that the item should take. Next in the process comes the knitting. I sit down and start knitting, as I knit, I write the *important steps that I do along the way. My notebook has arrows and drawings all over the place. If there is math involved, I drag my calculator out along with my quadrille notebook and I sketch out the idea on that notebook. After the entire project is knitted, I sit down and type out what I wrote on my notebook. Usually, the typed information gets re-written a few times before I achieve something concise and to the point. I try to write out my patterns in the same style as needle knit patterns are written out.

What is your favorite pattern from the book?
My favorite item is the shawl. It brings back many memories about my Grandma. She always wears a shawl and cables are one of her favorite stitch patterns to use on her knits too.

What would be your best piece of advice for someone who is interested in designing?
Go for it! We are all designers in one way or another. Every time you deviate from a pattern to try to make it “fit” your needs, you are delving into the designing arena. Take it slow, don’t rush the process, and enjoy every part of it. When writing things out, less is sometimes better, be concise and to the point. Find a pattern that you have worked on and see how that designer wrote out the instructions and try to follow that style.

If you were a yarn, what would you be and what colorway?
I would be sock yarn and I would like to be a “dye your own” and be given to ScoutJ from ScoutJ.com to color me into something artistic and wonderful.
Oh yes, I use her computer backgrounds all the time. She takes amazing photographs and has awe-inspiring colorways.

I would like to thank Isela Phelps for this opportunity and tell everyone that looms that is interested in cables to get this book. Even if you don't like the patterns, the instructions on how to do cables on looms is worth it.