Peh-Shun Nee-Tuh

Last week, my mom came into the city to take me to lunch in K-town. We were meeting my cousin at the restaurant and got there a bit early, so she asked to check out the Korean import bookstore next door. I realized this was a good chance to see if they carried knitting books and I lucked out:

The title is in the green circle. It says "Fashion Knit" only it's phonetically Korean, so it reads more like, "Peh-Shun Nee-Tuh." Isn't the cardi on the cover yummy?

The knits are actually really nice. There was a book in the store that was basically a translated version of one of Zoe Mellor's baby knits books and another one featured kind of hideous clothes.

But I fell in love with this purple swingy thing, aka "Poncho-Style Pullover":

I have never knit with Noro before, but I think it might be perfect for this. There's also a pattern for a matching beret.

I also don't really go for novelty yarns, but I might be persuaded by this:

It calls itself a "Vest with Rabbit Tails." Hmm. I think I'm going to have to forgo the rabbit tails. I have no desire to remind people of snack cakes.

Here's the ultra-posh "Chanel-style Jacket and Muffler":

Yes, Korean people refer to scarves as "mufflers." My mother says all the Asian people picked up lots of words from the British when they were trying to colonize, but I'm not quite sure the "muffler" is a British term. Anyone?

More than anything else in this book, the reason I bought it is this li'l number:

It's very creatively named "Double-Buttoned Long Coat." I'm not sure what would be an appropriate yarn. I think Noro might be too multi-colored for this. But it's so pretty. And will take me seven years to knit. That's a conservative estimate. Whatever, one can dream.

This one looks like an advertisement, but it's not:

I love the patch pockets and the little tracks up the front. It's called "Hawk Tie Brown Coat."

The last one that I love is the "Belt-Tied One Piece":

The name is a lie, though. I'm pretty sure the belt is not knit and the vest is not knit in one piece. It's an interesting construction. You knit one long piece that becomes the front and back yoke. You then pick up stitches on the back yoke and knit down to the back hem.

There are a bunch of other knits in the book, but these are my faves. Take a look at the actual pattern page:

On the positive side, I must say the schematics are pretty fantastic. There are a gazillion measurements for each piece. Rowan and Debbie Bliss should take lessons from Asian pattern books.

There are a couple negatives, though. Yarn requirements are given in weight, not yards. She also does not provide yarn brands or labels, so you're pretty much making slightly educated guesses with how much yarn you actually need.

Also, the patterns are only available in one size. And yes, aside from that voluminous one-piece vest, 96 cm is the biggest bust measurement for women, which makes it just shy of 38". This is for a coat, which needs more ease. Grar. I thought I'd left all my math days behind me when I quit pre-med, but it looks like knitting is making me face my old enemy.