Book Review of "Shades of Winter"

I’ve spent most of my life living in New England and I miss it desperately.  Now I live in the land of sunshine and oranges, and I still think of snowy winters, such as the storm Nemo that just passed through last week.  I longed to be there.  It’s not just the storms that I love.  It’s  true, I loved sitting by the window watching for the first snowflake to fall.  Is that it, I would wonder?  Is that the flake that starts the storm they just announced?  How many times in my life, I watched for that the first flake.  But it wasn’t just the snow that I loved.  I wanted to dress for it.  The gloves, hats, beautiful sweaters, they all made the season feel like an event.  I felt cradled in warm, comfort, and beauty.

I have to thank my friends at F&W Media who gifted me this book for the review.  This book reminds me of winters in New England, but in an elegant, youthful way.  Still, I think anyone would love wearing the Shades of Winter clothing in this book.  I like the way it’s broken down, too.  Yes, it’s true that you could knit the clothing in any color that you chose, and I do tend to lean towards the lime greens of the world.  But I feel, like if I changed it, I would not have been doing the patterns justice.  They are stunning, and I do mean stunning!  Pick a shade of natural wool, gray, or beige.  Or just pick any item of clothing for winter, and you  will find yourself in this book.  No, it doesn’t matter what level of knitting you can do.  Are you advanced?  Then you might like a shawl that is written in a five part chart form.  I admit, I am going to try this one.  But what if you’re a beginner and you feel daunted by the chart?  Do you still want to knit a shawl?  This book has one for you.  On the last page, it has a garter stitch shawl.  I don’t think, it could have been written any easier.  Guess what?  It is another pattern that I will do.  It does not matter what your skill set is.  You will find something, I admit, several things that you will want to cast on immediately.

Buy this book for yourself.  Then, when your done, buy a copy for your friends, for your mother, for the teenager next door that just learned how to knit.  It does make a fabulous gift, but it also makes a wonderful addition to your own library.  Several ways to purchase the book are the links as follows:

Barnes and Nobels:   http://bit.ly/VGnusw,
Amazon:   http://amzn.to/V4dVnj
Interweave:  http://bit.ly/ZhJlVt.