i remember first learning to knit cables.

i was a bit put off at the idea of having to take some

of my nicely lined up stitches off of a proper needle for the time to make the twists.

i was a little intense about order back then, and this seemed unorderly to me.

i’ve come a long way, baby.

now i love the way cables look, the way they

change the knit fabric itself into something more.

heather zoppetti is so skilled at this

(and at telling those very same cables who’s the boss).

more than that, she’s incredibly good at designing in ‘the details’.

you know, ‘the details’: the little things

that make you know instantly that you absolutely have to have something

even if you couldn’t have said that just a minute before.

in her current book, ‘unexpected cables‘,

she divides the patterns up into three categories.

at a glance i figured chapter 3, titled ‘abstract’, would be my favorite.

upon my first read through

(yes, i reread knitting pattern books),

i found that there are patterns i love in both the ‘refined’

and the ‘lace’ (that’s cables and lace) chapters as well.

‘refined’ doesn’t tend to be my bent. not at all. so this surprised me.

do you know what the hardest part of a hat is to design?

the top. the tippy-top.

no matter how good the rest of the patterning is,

it can easily go wrong at the crown.  this is not the case in the ‘warwick tam’.

obviously the front is beautiful.

it’s beautiful, no?

but it’s the decreases that are always my deal breaker

ready?…so very intricate and well done. this kind of classic i like.

chapter 2 is titled ‘lace’.

that word makes me think of pretty things,

and sometimes things are overly fancy for my rough and tumble life,

but not so for these six beauties.

i mean, they are pretty, but also wearable in the real hours of my real days.

the one that feels like it most belongs in my world?

the ‘talmage pullover‘.

folded hems, extra long sleeves,

and a rounded neck that looks as comfortable as a t-shirt.

i’m sold. aren’t you?

then i turned to the last chapter, ‘abstract’.

this one also does not disappoint.

i like asymmetrical.

i like an edge left to roll organically.

i like unexpected cables (both in theory and in the reality of this book)

and i like my socks to fit right.

i know that sounds random. it’s not.

what’s the good of gorgeous socks if they crumple up near your toes inside your shoes

(a pet peeve of mine, can you tell)?so when i saw the ‘drumore’ socks i felt the same skepticism

that i feel about most socks. inside my head i said something like,

“those are nice, but will they fit well?”.

then i turned to page 86 and thought, ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’and ‘that is exactly the way i want my toes cozied up all winter’.

but, i’d expect no less from heather.

that’s why i was excited to review

this book for you.

because she’s good at what she does

and it shows in everything that she puts her hands to.

note: just a little of the knitty gritty.

i was given a copy of this book to review but,

you know me, a free book isn’t ever going to make me say that i like what i don’t.

i’m much too stubborn and pigheaded for things like that.

‘skilled’ taken from 28:15 of exodus.

also, i promised that i’d include

this info about ‘unexpected cables’ for you:

Unexpected Cables: Feminine Knitted Garments Featuring Modern Cable Knitting

By Heather Zoppetti

Interweave/F+W; $24.99

the end.