Kaffe Fassett is an extremely talented artist known for his exuberant use of color in such varied media as painting, needlepoint, quilting, mosaic and knitting. His studio partner, Brandon Mably, is also a talented designer of fabric and knitwear. Their latest book dubs them "the Color Guys," and with a book as packed with gorgeous photographs, lovely knitwear and other colorful inspiration, the name certainly fits.
This book contains tips and coaching from Fassett and Mably on how to use color, but relies on the individual knitter to seek out color and yarns she likes and be bold in using them in her knitting. While full patterns are included for the knitted items in the book -- throws, scarves, pillow covers, some hats, wristwarmers and legwarmers -- the point of this book isn't so much expecting the knitter to slavishly follow the pattern but rather use the patterns, color combinations and shapes as a jumping-off point for her own creativity. There are four sections, each divided by a color grouping (e.g. rich jewel tones, muted stonewashed hues) and all of the projects and photos in that section play off the color grouping. Some of the knitted items are shown in multiple colorways or in different sections knit up in different colors to enable the more conservative knitter to better gauge how a change in palette will affect the design as a whole.
The patterns are all knit in Rowan yarns, one of the top designer yarn companies, and the yarns range from fine (fingering weight)all the way through very chunky, helpful for using up bits of one's yarn stash. The techniques include stranded colorwork, intarsia and easier striping or colorblock methods. Newbies to Fasset's and Mably's work may be put off by the quantities of yarns called for in the individual patterns, but really, there is no reason why one has to purchase every skein for every project; you will have just as much fun using odds and ends from your own yarn closet, particularly smaller leftover balls for bits of colors or thin stripes.
Even if you aren't a knitter, you will find this book so packed full of color, gorgeous items (knitted and otherwise) and inspiration, that it may become a well-thumbed coffee table book, perfect for brightening a gray day with delicious bursts of color.