Books

I have a deep and abiding love for books. They have transported me through space and time, and they have taught me to understand the extraordinary range of human emotion.

They have also taught me just about everything I know about fiber. So rather than give you a conventional bibliography, I've decided to write a long, idiosyncratic essay about the fiber books I've grown to love. Most of the ones published in the '60's and'70's are out of print, but I think you'll be able to find many of them at your library or through inter-library loan.

KAFFE FASSETT

I have to begin with Kaffe Fassett, of course. He has influenced me more than any other artist. Although my work is nothing like his, I am indebted to him not only for teaching me about color, but for teaching me that it is perfectly acceptable to talk about loving my work.

He has written a series of books with "Glorious" in the title: Glorious Knitting (Clarkson Potter, l985), Glorious Needlepoint (Clarkson Potter, 1987), Glorious Inspirations (Clarkson Potter, l99l), Glorious Color (Century, l988), and Glorious Interiors (Little Brown and Company, l995).

When I first read Glorious Interiors, I was overwhelmed by it. So much stuff in such little space! But now it's my favorite of his books, as I've learned to appreciate its life and vitality and creative energy.

I also think it marks a definitive change in his work. While his earlier books (as well as his videos) have a lot of brillant work in them, the work is always tasteful. If you look at what he's wearing in his photos and in the videos, you'll see that the colors are pretty subdued--brown, faded blacks, and dark navy blues. But in the photos I've seen since Glorious Interiors, he's always wearing red, and usually with purple and royal blue. In one photo, he was also wearing gaily striped socks (royal blue and pink, I think).

My guess is that he somehow had a very close encounter with death, and has decided that life is simply too short to be hemmed in by good taste.

CROCHET

My most important crochet book is A New Look at Crochet, by Elyse and Mike Sommer (Crown, l975). This is the book that got me interested in crocheting again. Crochet is a marvelously flexible medium, something I didn't realize when I was following the shell pattern to make a baby afghan. But the Sommers show how you can make just about anything by crocheting, from a life-size human sculpture to a delicate necklace. This book is no longer in print, but I have seen copies in libraries and I got mine at a used book sale. If you're interested in doing anything in crochet besides following patterns, this is the book to read.

My crocheting "bible" is Crocheting in Plain English, by Maggie Righetti (St. Martin's Press, l988). She starts at the very beginning and works us through learning how to do a variety of stitches (as opposed to following a pattern). She also does a superb job of explaining how to crochet clothing to fit a specific person. And her sense of humor is delightful.

Then there's The Crochet Workbook, by Sylvia Cosh and James Walters. This is a book about how to crochet beautiful and elegant free-form projects. I had the great delight of studying with Sylvia and James for two days at the Crochet Guild of America's Summer Conference in l995. They are quite possibly the most original crocheters working today, and they are two of the best teachers I have ever met. (This is quite a compliment from me, since I was a teacher for over l3 years.) Once again, my work is nothing like theirs, but I walked away from that weekend with enough inspiration to last me for a year. If you ever get the chance to take a class or workshop with them, do it!

I also have a number of other crochet books from the '60's and '70's, part of my well-loved collection of hippie books. Even the ones from the staid, proper sources, like Good Housekeeping and Woman's Day, have some great, wildly colorful work in them. I find these books at used book sales, often for a dollar or less. And my libraries have some wonderful books from that era as well.

I urge you to start looking everywhere you go for these gems from hippiedom. You probably won't want to follow most of the patterns, but the photos and the way the authors talk about crocheting can provide you with so much inspiration that you'll want to go off on your own experimental path.

OFF-LOOM WEAVING

Off-loom weaving is a way people found to weave in the sixties and seventies that didn't require a large and complicated loom. Some books include crocheting and sprang and knotting/macrame and even knitting as off-loom techniques, while others concentrate on weaving on cardboard and/or frame looms.

As a group, these books are very exciting, because they are filled with the energy that comes from expanding an old and established way of working. Some of the work is less than thrilling, but just about everything is lively and vital.

I recommend Needleweaving...Easy as Embroidery, by Esther Warner Dendel (Farm Journal/Doubleday, l972) to get started. Esther Dendel clearly loves what she's doing, and she gives very clear instructions on how to get started. Her book has the weakest examples of work, probably because most of them were done by her students. But, so what? Who among us does brillant work the first (or second or third...) time around?

Then there's this delightful little book, Off-Loom Weaving, by Marion H. Bernstein (Sterling, l97l). I first found it in the children's section of the library, but it is really a fairly sophisticated book--I think it got there because of its small size. The cover shows two woven dolls that are quite strange, and the text has two photos by Ed Rossbach (I'm assuming the work is his as well--it looks like it might be). This isn't the book for technique, although she does give some decent explanations, but for stretching your idea of what can be woven.

The Off-Loom Weaving Book, by Rose Nauman and Raymond Hull )Scribner's, l973), on the other hand, is an excellent book for technique. The explanations are clear, and the authors concentrate on traditional weaving techniques. There's not a lot of experimental excitement here, but this book will provide a solid technical grounding for your to take off on your own.

Weaving Off-Loom, by Dona Z. Meilach and Lee Erlin Snow (Henry Regnery,l973), is my favorite. Dona Meilach published a number of crafts books in the seventies, and all are top-notch. She and Lee Snow give some good, basic instructions for a number of techniques, but the power of this book (as well as Meilach's others) comes from the work shown. Unfortunately, color printing was very expensive then, so there is only a small color section, but almost all the work is extremely well done, and some of it is absolutely thrilling.

Weaving Without a Loom, by Sarita R. Rainey (Davis,l966), was written for school teachers. The instructions are clear and often inventive, and the work, much of it by children, is delightful. The book I have was the seventh printing, so I think you have a good chance of finding a copy.

Beyond Weaving, by Marsha Chamberlain and Candace Crockett (Watson-Guptil, l974), is the kind of book you'd expect from a publisher of how-to art books. It has very thorough instructions and a number of very fine pieces of work. There's something very academic about the writing that puts me off a bit, but I'm still very pleased that I found it.

I think off-loom weaving offers tremendous flexibility for those of us who love to work with yarn. The cardboard and frame looms offer us the use of the grid, and some of the other techniques can really stretch our technical competence. I go back to these books again and again, not only for specific information, but for the inspiration that only explorers of new territory can give.