Volumes present fresh look at knitting

If you describe yourself as a “hip young thing” – regardless of your real age – take a look at these two books: “Funky Knits” by Carol Meldrum and Julie Marchington, and “Second-Time Cool: The Art of Chopping Up a Sweater,” by Anna-Stina Linden Ivarsson, Katarina Brieditis and Katarina Evans.

“Funky Knits,” published by Interweave Press, like most books about knitting, has all the how-tos – “the knitty gritty” – you’ll need to know about taking up the craft. But that’s where its resemblance to other knitting books ends because the format and projects are aimed at the young and newly knit-wise.

Easy projects in the book include wristbands, iPod covers and key chains. But the most appealing are the clever sweater designs. The Distressed Hole Sweater has runs and holes knit into it as part of the design, which gives it a lively “who cares” ambience and a certain offhand notice-me nonchalance that is sure to attract attention.

The Safety-pin Sweater design also has holes knit into it, but the holes are held together with safety pins. This deliberately rag-bag approach to sweater design channels piercing, Goth and Harry Potter striped whimsy all in one fell swoop. You gotta love it.

I am neither young nor hip, but I love those designs. They encourage one to depart from the it’s-gotta-be-perfect mode of knitting and to see the creative possibilities in what might otherwise be considered “mistakes.”

Patterns for hats, socks, afghans, bags and other useful stuff also are included in the book. It even has directions for an LBD – little black dress – trimmed with knitted lace.

“Second-Time Cool,” published by Annick Books and distributed in the United States by Firefly Books, has as its main message “reuse and recycle” – old sweaters, that is. The book shows readers how to felt and cut up old wool sweaters to make into bags, slippers, hats, skirts and mittens. Readers also will learn a bit about the history of knitwear and be dazzled by photos of designs by fashion designer John Galliano, whose work served as a point of departure for “Second-Time Cool.”

A nice feature of the designs in the book is that some of the pieces made from the old sweaters are modified with knitting and crocheting. They also are embellished with beading, embroidery, tassels, pompoms and “notching” – deliberate slashes in the garment. Follow the suggestions and ideas offered in “Second-Time Cool,” or be inspired by them, and you can be sure, the authors write, that no else will have clothes exactly like yours.

While most of the designs in the book will appeal mainly to twentysomethings and teenagers, the ideas behind the designs are intriguing and will appeal to anyone with a flair for the artistic.

But if you’d rather read about knitting than actually knit anything, try “Knitting: A Novel” by Australian writer Anne Bartlett. Published by Houghton Mifflin Co., the book measures about 5 inches by 7 inches, making it handy to slip into a pocket, suitcase or knitting bag.

The story revolves around Sandra, a recently widowed teacher, and her unlikely friendship with Martha, a gifted knitter, self-taught artist and a longtime widow.

“Sandra was a word gobbler … All her life she had stuffed words into herself. Her whole body was pinched and pinned with words,” Bartlett writes.

Martha is the exact opposite. She says, “If you have words, you have rules, and the rules have to be obeyed. But this way, when you look at the drawings, the pattern gets into your heart somehow.”

When the two women begin a professional collaboration, they set into motion a process that allows them to explore the nature of healing, and to search for life’s meaning within themselves and the community at large.

This is a small book with large themes – of creating and connecting, the need for meaningful work and the strong threads of kindness and compassion that have the power to bind humanity together.

Check local libraries and bookstores to learn where to borrow or buy these books.

Call Ardeana Hamlin at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.