A Treasury Of Magical Knitting

by Cat Bordhi

With her latest book, A Treasury of Magical Knitting, Cat Bordhi introduces knitters of all levels to the warm welcome of a simple and mysterious dimension of knitting. Here you will find thirty-three projects, including scarves with one side and one edge, knitted in one fell swoop, like the Fringed Cedar Bark Scarf or the Mercurial Moebius Wraps. . . graceful headwear, like the Beaded Tresses Hat. . . felted footwear both practical and functional, like Sophie’s Mermaid Feet . . . the Lost Trail Cape with its four-way convertible collar . . . and the Seven Socklings Necklace. Cat, who is known for her clear and comprehensive instructions both as a workshop teacher and as the author of the best-selling Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, has taken outdone herself in this full-color, 112 page coffee table quality book. Instructions for the simple technique are illustrated with close-up photos showing every move, almost like a slow motion movie, accompanied by clear descriptions so that learners of all kinds will find it easy to get started. This author of novels (Treasure Forest, first of The Forest Inside trilogy, recently won the Nautilus Award for Young Adult Fiction) and knitting books blends the art of fine story-telling with instruction. In her own "Following the unfolding path of a novel is astonishingly similar to following the unfurling flow of a knitting book. Both ask me to simply show up, keyboard or needles in hand, all my senses alert and willing to welcome what wants to meet me. Sometimes I think that it is because I am tame, and so the beautiful creations that populate both novels and knitting books come nibble the grass near my feet. I do not invent any of it. I simply get to be where it is, experiencing it fully so I can share it with you. And if you recognize it, if it sparks something in you, it is because it lives in you too."

Genres: Knitting, Crafts, Nonfiction, How To, Reference

112 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2004

About the author

Cat Bordhi became a writer at age twelve when she discovered the power of writing to an audience that is hungry and fully present, which at the time was herself and her closest friends, and the form was shared journals and letters. Like a raccoon washing its food in a creek, Cat learned to wash her experiences in a clear stream of words that hummed with something deeper than the confusion and dreams they described. Her most valued writing tool is Roget's Thesaurus, the full, classic edition (not the one organized like a dictionary, which is a poor cousin), because it allows one to unpeel layers of obscuration from meaning simply by testing different pathways of words.

She also learned to knit a bit like a raccoon, beside a creek, at age eight. Although her first two sweaters were abandoned unfinished, and there were years when she scarcely knit at all and other years where she knit obsessively, she has always loved the mystery of pulling loops through loops to make a shaped fabric, and continues to delight in the endless possibilities that keep appearing. She likes nothing better than to have a knitting experiment go awry because it means very interesting, possibly never-before-seen things are probably hiding nearby.

During her years as a school teacher, Cat taught a form of math which required students to deepen their understanding by explaining their investigations and insights with graphs, pictures, numbers, and words. Once she began to write knitting books, she realized that she was using the very same skills she had taught, and so her books are known for their thorough explanations.

Cat has been a full-time writer since 2002, and also teaches knitting workshops, gives talks at knitting retreats and to knitting guilds, and also teaches writing workshops. At this time she leads a quiet and blessed life tucked away in the woods on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest, where she is working on the next book in the Forest Inside trilogy, and is sheepishly collecting what seem to be projects for a Third Treasury of Magical Knitting. The infinite nature of the Moebius just seems to keep offering new possibilities to explore.

Reviews

[notgettingenough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cat Bordhi died in September 2020. Her significance to the world of knitting would be hard to exaggerate. According to her NYT obituary, one of her knitting videos on youtube has over 1M views. She also won a literary prize for a YA novel.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/st...

She could scarcely have died in a more world embracing way.

https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/n...

A month later, another knitter who famously broke rules, Annie Modessit, also died.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very niche knitting book, but it's still a very very cool niche. And one I happen to fit into. Yay math and knitting! The majority of projects are scarves, letting you practice the Moebius construction with lace, stripes, different stitch patterns... Even with the variety, they are still predominantly scarves here. A few other projects, but still mostly scarves. Like I said, it's niche.

I haven't made anything yet, so no input about how easy the instructions are to follow, but they look pretty clear. I like the scarves (and I certainly wear a lot of them), and I like the cloaks too, actually. But really, this is more about the break-down of the construction and design process. It's a great resource book for looking at knitting from a different angle.

[Penandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first learned of knitted mobii when I was looking for a pattern to make a thank you gift for a friend of mine . . . I didn't know that my yearning to give a handmade gift was going to lead me to finding a whole new addiction! I started out having heard of a mobius, but not quite remembering what I had learned about them in Mr. Crouse's 7th grade math class. Google and bing are wonderful tools and I was quickly sucked into the information, patterns, and videos that I was finding on line. My curiosity was further piqued when I noted that knitting bloggers and forum participants were having quite lively discussions on the merits of a "true mobius" vs a "seamed mobius" (as in "not true") and that all of the "true mobius" camp consistently referred to Cat Bordhi.

Heading back to Google and Bing, I watched Cat's YouTube video and was further intrigued --- with the prices of her (out of print) books so high, I continued to search on line. I'm not quite sure what parameters I entered into the search engine that I found a reasonably priced volume and was very pleased when it arrived in brand new condition through Amazon.ca (Canada not U.S.).

While a cursory look through the book might lead one to believe that it is one pattern over and over and over, that is not my observation. If one is truly addicted to knitting mobii, this is the best resource available! There are charts for the number of stitches to MCO (mobius cast on) with different weights of yarn and gauge. There are different patterns that build off of the basic mobius. There are different patterns within the knitting --- which in itself is no mean feat! Although I design many of my own patterns, the limited number of patterns (or variations of patterns) available online are a testament to the challenge presented in designing a knitted mobius --- one is working from the middle of the garment to the ONE edge, with a bi-polar stitch. How grateful I am that this book takes out some of the mystery and guides the knitter through the other mysteries of mobius designing.

Although previously addicted to sock knitting (on 5 dpns), Cat Bordhi has pulled me into an entirely new addiction in the knitting world . . . it may not look like much to the non-knitter, but for the knitter, it's pure fun! Indulge yourself! If you cannot find her book online for a reasonable price, her web site promises that she will soon be releasing many of the patterns from this book in pdf.

[Two Readers in Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focuses on different uses/patterns based off the Mobius scarf concept. Some of these project would be as interesting to a beginning topology student as to a beginning knitter!

The author has an engaging style, and really explores the concept fully. I only wish that the book designers included photos of the techniques, as opposed to just of the finished products. The author warns you in the pattern that some stitches will appear differently than what you are used to, but seeing would be believing. Fortunately the author has a video of the Moebius Cast On method on YouTube that cleared up some of my misconceptions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

[Wendy Reiersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is fun to knit a mobius, and even more fun to wear it. I never really follow patterns exactly, and feel no pressure to with this book. It is easy to use your own yarn, and improvise as you go with stitches, colors, etc. I'd like to try the swirling capes at the end, but those are a bit harder to adapt, as she uses different yarns to achieve some of the shaping, so finding appropriate substitutes may be a challenge. It just might be worth it to try using the suggested yarns just once to get the ideas down.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm just not blown-away by Cat Bordhi like most knitters seem to be.

This book contains designs for a zillion scarves knit in a mobius strip which was first published by Elizabeth Zimmerman. The scarf designs are followed by a few shawl-scarf designs.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the concept (and plan to cast on pretty soon), but I took away one star because this could just as easily have been a pamphlet. It does go on a bit, and the patterns are sufficiently similar that there's no point in including 5 variations on each.

[BookMouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice book, but I doubt I'd make anything from it. Glad I got it out from the library.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mobius scarfs are addictive. I haven't made the mobius cat bed yet

[Deanna Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book showing the moebius method of knitting with wonderful photography.

[Maylin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original Moebius Book - highly recommended.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive book on Moebius knitting by the knitter who started it all. Lots of fun projects with something for everyone.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intro & background to moebius