Last week, I was luck to get in on a deal at Amazon.  They were offering the two-pack of Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan and Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson for only $10.98 (this deal is now sold-out).  Being a bit of a knitting book junkie, I couldn’t pass up this deal.  My books arrived on Friday, and I finally got a chance to sit down and look through them.  While these books are not newly published, I still will comment on them.

The first thing I noticed upon looking throught Knitting Nature was the size of the sweaters.  The book features a lot of oversized garments; in many of the patterns, the smallest pattern is a size 40 chest.  There is an interesting mix of designs in this book.  With the weird asymetrical edges on a few of the garments, I can’t imagine what body type they would be flattering on. However, a few of the patterns have ended up on my future projects list.  When I first flipped through the book, I couldn’t help but love the Ram’s Horn Pullover, below on the left.  This one is definitely on the must-knit list.  I also really like the Phyllo Yoked Pullover on the right.

There were several additional patterns that I enjoyed and would consider knitting.  The Serpentine Coat on the left would have to be shortened to a normal length cardigan.  The Honeycomb Henley has a bit too much ease on the model, but would be cute if it fit closer to the body.

Finally, I can’t explain it, but I am attracted to the Cowl Pullover.  Each time I flip through the book I stop to look some more.  I doubt that I’d ever knit it or wear it, but something about it calls to me.

Of course, as it seems to happen in my world, I seem to not love the popular patterns from this book.  Browsing the knitalong, it seems very few people are knitting anything from this set of patterns.

In the Last Minute Knitting Gifts book, I did not find as many patterns that I enjoyed.  I think the Sweater and Sock minis is adorable, but who doesn’t love knitting in miniature?  The Hourglass Sweater is a nice, basic raglan sweater.  Overall, I don’t see myself knitting from this book very often, but I’ll keep it on the shelf.