I first learned about Cecelia Campochiaro’s fabulous book, Sequence Knitting: Simple Methods for Creating Complex Fabrics from the Woolful Podcast. And, like Ashley, being a techie, I was intrigued. Though I have decided to slow down on buying knitting patterns (um, well someday I will that is…) this was a must have buy. It appealed to me on every level.

Firstly, it is not, necessarily, a knitting pattern book. It has some patterns for knitting objects, but not many given its enormous size (and weight I might add). It is also not exactly a stitch pattern book, which usually disappoint me because they lack the breadth and thoroughness I expect. This book does not disappoint.

So if it isn’t those books, what is it? This is a book about the creation of fabric though pattern and repetition. Though it is not technically a stitch pattern book, it has the depth and thoroughness I have been looking for. Edward Tufte is probably Cecelia’s nearest neighbor—except she approaches her subject with considerable humility.

She says in interviews that she felt there was a gap in the literature and that she felt she needed the information her book contains. If she did, we might as well, and I could not agree more. This is the book I’ve been looking for and could not find.

The result is an encyclopedic array of interesting fabrics that can easily be created from knits and purls. I can only hope that she goes on to cover other topics as thoroughly because I’ll be the first to line up to own her next book—no matter what aspect of fiber work she chooses to catalogue and debunk with understated brilliance and, no doubt, beautiful photography.

The arrival of my copy, which I ordered from Hen Haus Boutique in Petaluma, CA, coincided with a charity campaign at work—to knit baby and premie hats for babies born with heart disorders for the American Heart Association. What better way to work my way through the book—especially for the patterns designed to be knit in the round! Babies get hats and I get to learn more techniques—a better than average win-win!

So instead of casting on a new project, I’m sequence knitting a series of them and for a good cause. What could be better?