This book has been a constant inspiration. The patterns are simple, attractive and have become a springboard for my own designs. Stephanie Japel gives just enough background for that which one needs to complete each pattern. Her designs are classic, original, and feminine. Featuring a given stitch-pattern with two "stripes" of 3-rows purl, 2-rows knit, 3-rows purl, brings a peppy look to her collection of mostly seamless, top-down knitted sweaters and cardigans.
Although still fairly new to knitting, strictly following a pattern is not practical or forseeable for me. Living in Europe with no access to the yarns used in this book except through the internet, I am more apt to visit the local yarn shop and adapt or design a pattern with the yarn of my choosing. However, the straighforward instructions and wonderful patterns are easily transferrable to my own emerging designs.
The photography and visual presentation are gorgeous, if sometimes not enough. Although Japel does elaborate on how to adapt her patterns for any measurement, it would have been interesting to present more of a range of figures. Some of the models were so thin as to have practically no curves at all.
Still this book is a great contribution to my growing knitting library, and I recommend it to any knitters interested in style and simplicity.