Read Time:1 Minute, 45 Second
I have a thing for kitsch. I’m a sucker for tacky polyester shirts, campy movies, and disco. I love flipping through old magazines and perusing albums full of old pictures of family members in wildly-patterned polyester dresses and bouffant hairdos. So Stitchy McYarnpants’s new book, The Museum of Kitschy Stitches: A Gallery of Notorious Knits, was right up my alley.
What James Lileks did for food in his book, The Gallery of Regrettable Food, Stitchy does for knitting and crocheting. She points out the hideous stuff that people once considered perfectly acceptable—and even fashionable—and she mocks the heck out of it. It may sound mean, but come on—those crocheted acrylic hot pants are just asking for it.
The Museum of Kitschy Stitches is divided into twelve chapters, featuring everything from emasculating knits for guys to torturous knits for children to a plethora of granny-square projects to knits for the baddest of bad girls. Each page includes a picture of some sort of horrifying knit or crocheted item from anywhere between the ‘20s and the ‘80s—a picture of a hat or a dress or a granny-square tunic that someone, somewhere actually created—along with Stitchy’s witty, sarcasm-laced commentary.
Many of the projects featured in this book are train-wreck horrible. They’ll make you shudder. And laugh. And feel sorry for the poor models who actually had to wear them (and whose facial expressions occasionally betray their embarrassment at being forced to wear them). And Stitchy’s outrageous commentary adds to the fun.
The Museum of Kitschy Stitches is the ideal book for any fiber fanatic who’s ever had the urge to flip through boxes of old patterns—strictly for entertainment. It’s a book that you’ll find yourself flipping through over and over, just for a good laugh. Set it out in your knitting area as a warning that not all knits are good knits. And be sure to buy a few extra copies—because it’ll make a great Christmas gift for your knit-addicted friends.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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