Motherinlaw gave me this knitting book for Christmas, I have really loved reading all about the Indy Roller Derby gals and their knitting projects, I've not made nything yet, but lets face it: with my son odds are a pair of crutch covers or a "Hey, At Least It Wasn't Your Leg" Arm Sling are probably in my future :
Joan of Dark, aka Toni Carr has assembled a really fun book that taught me a lot about roller derby and the local Indy scene, but also delivers some really unexpected "not your Grandma's knitting" projects.
Can't wait to dig into this deeper! This book would be way better for me if I was in derby, as there are a number of things that are very functional.
Still, this is a good resource for someone who wants to LOOK like maybe they are in derby, or just knit some whimsical punky lighthearted stuff.
I particularly like the star toolcase, which I plan on making and embroidering a Super Mario star face onto, This worked well as a knitting pattern book as well as an introduction to Roller Derby, The book was very visually appealing, with coloured roller derby girl pictures smattered between pattern text, It even included text boxes with explanations about roller derby so this alone makes it a good read for those interested in or involved with the sport.
It looked good. It sounded good.
But, I didn't find any of the patterns inspiring, Not a one. That's not to say they weren't interesting or useful or whatnot, just that I couldn't see my self making any of them.
Some were easy, ripe for a beginner, and some were more complicated, but none grabbed my attention, I guess the finished products were
a bit, . . boring I'm not sure what it was, but after browsing through the book I just returned it to the library.
Knit neat items inspired by sassy roller derby girls with the thirty hip knitting patterns that you will find in "Knockdown Knits:Projects from the Roller Derby Track.
" Roller derby, with its cheeky players, fastpaced jams, heartstopping pileups, and rowdy, raucous atmosphere, is just as hot as the designs in this unconventional book.
The Naptown Roller Girls of Indianapolis, Indiana, share the patterns they use when they're knitting in the offtime, On skates, they're hell on wheels in their spare time, they've discovered that knitting is a relaxing, creative outlet, Excellent project ideas for anyone involved in sports lots of injuryrelated ideas, like crutch pads, frozen veggie covers, mouth guard cases, etc.
Also contained tons of interesting info on the history/current practice of roller derby, Bought this in the hopes of making something for my favourite Derby Girl, and was kind of disappointed, It's cute, and has a few great patterns, but I had hoped for more, Knitting does have a slightly more hardcore side, We didn't say it was just for old ladies, Very niche! Some of the knitting projects in here were awesome jammer and pivot beanies, ice pack cover, leg warmers.
The derby info and photos were a little dated, since the sport is progressing so quickly, Definitely worth checking out if you're a knitting fan, Toni Carr also goes by the name sitelink Joan of Dark, Toni Carr also goes by the name sitelink Joan of Dark, sitelink.