cover image Morehouse Farm Merino Knits: More Than 40 Farm-Fresh Designs

Morehouse Farm Merino Knits: More Than 40 Farm-Fresh Designs

Margrit Lohrer. Potter Craft, $29.95 (144pp) ISBN 978-1-4000-9744-9

Thirty years ago, the author and her husband bought a farm in upstate New York, stocked it with sheep and began what has become a knitting world legend: Morehouse Farm. In this, her first book, Lohrer presents an array of patterns interspersed with tips on caring for wool and short anecdotes about farm life. The best of the collection shows off Morehouse Merino yarns, including a fringed throw/shawl and a clever three-size foulard with case. Designs using variegated yarns are especially eye-catching, and several projects, such as the double-sided hat, are perfect for outdoor winter work. Though the designs for children tend toward the frumpy, and few designs are not already available in some form in other knitting books, these vastly utilitarian items (the authors run a working farm, after all) are as warm as they are durable. This is not a book for beginners, as there aren't any knitting instructions-just patterns-so readers who want to cast on should already know what they are doing. The functional wardrobe and household staples and color photographs make this a worthwhile addition to the knitter's bookshelf. Photos.