Wednesday, December 13, 2006

A Japanese knitting book for cat lovers


Here's one of the most charming knitting books I have ever had the pleasure to, um, look at the pictures of. It's in Japanese, but experienced knitters shouldn't have a problem working the patterns from the charts. The book is called Zakka & Wear. "Zakka" roughly means knickknacks--things with no conceivable use that you display in your house but have to dust periodically. There are a few zakka projects inside (pillows), but the Wear part of the book was what forced me to hand over my yen to the bookstore.



The pictures are totally clear and make me want to drop my current WIPs and immediately start knitting...cats. I know I promised no cat pictures, but really, these cat pictures are eminently knittable, so they don't count. It's my blog and I say so.


Cat haters should avoid this book like the plague, but the rest of you will enjoy every single page.



You can buy the book here.

14 comments:

MiniLaura said...

I sooooo want that vest. I want it so much that it hurts.

fleegle said...

Sooo, order the book :)

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, that hat is just too adorable! I won't normally purchase a book for just one pattern these days, but I may have to break my rule for this one. Thanks for the link on where to buy.

Cindy G said...

Those are really charming. The one on the dress reminds me just a bit of Edward Gorey's cats

Anonymous said...

Oh, I finally got the chance to see the pages from the book. I love it and intarsia! I agree with restless about the hat...fabulous.

nekosan said...

Squeee!

OMG! Must own! (In fact, i ordered two, because i have a knitterly friend who's also very into cats.)

thank you so much, you evil enabler!

fleegle said...

I am not an enabler. I am a pusher!

veritas said...

oh. my. LORD.


i need it. i NEED that. oh that is wonderful wonderful wonderful.

knitting.
japan.
cats.

is there anything else i need to make me happy? no. no there is not.
you are my new friend. :)

Anonymous said...

Has anyone knit the hat from this book yet? I would love to know how it is turning out...Is it difficult...Thanks for the link fleegle...Thinking I need to purchase it...

fleegle said...

If anyone has completed the hat, they haven't told me. It doesn't look terribly difficult. If you are an absolute beginner, well, this might not be the best first project, though.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Fleegle...not a brand new knitter, but not an expert either (the thought of your dragon shawl sends me into palpatations, but it is sooo pretty). More questioning the Japanese to English translation and how that is going...Love your blog

fleegle said...

Ah, eveything is charted. A reasonably experienced knitter could fake it. I am redesigning the mohair vest shown above in Knitware. It will look almost the same, I hope! I use the book more for inspiration than concrete instructions.

Shirley Lim said...

Ooh! I love the book =) Thanks for the link.
Love the cap and bag! Got to grab a copy of it!

EverOne said...

It's out of print now. I was wondering if someone who bought it could share the bag, vest and hat patterns with me for personal use only...Thanks!