Books

In Mystic Shawls Anna has gathered 14 of her wildly popular patterns from her mystery knitalongs. The book also includes photos of beautiful examples that other knitters created during the knitalongs, capturing the true community spirit of the KAL and the knitting world at large.

From waters to desire to delight, each of Anna’s patterns will keep your needles spellbound as every stitch slowly unfolds the beauty of her lace motifs. The exquisiteness and integrity of each design is always revealed in anything Anna decides to design before the first stitch is made. Knitting her vision culminates in a masterpiece. Join her in her journey… —Roxanne Yeun, Creative Director, Zen Yarn Garden

It only takes a glance at one of her shawls to see that Anna Dalvi is one of the top lace designers in the industry. Her eye for combining lace patterns and designing pieces that are truly magical is unmatched. —Marly Bird, crochet and knitwear designer and host of the Yarn Thing Podcast

Get your copy of Mystic Shawls here.

Fairy Tale Lace is a collection of 7 lace shawl patterns and the fairy tales that inspired the designs.  Fairy tales are an endless source of inspiration, and have been used to amuse, teach, inspire, frighten and entertain all generations. It’s only in more recent times that fairy tales have been considered ‘stories for children’. Many of the traditional fairy tales contain elements targeted at an older audience. The patterns in this collection are: the Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland), the Pied Piper, Six Pomegranate Seeds (Persephone in Greek Mythology), the Little Match Girl (H.C. Andersen), Star of Earth (a Chippewa tale), Gretel’s Shawl (Hansel and Gretel), and Rapunzel Infinity.

The designs range from simple lace patterns in quick-knit shawls like the Cheshire Cat, to the large circular shawl Star of Earth, and an infinity scarf featuring reversible cables and lace.

Get your copy of Fairy Tale Lace now.

Ancient Egypt in Lace and Color contains 12 lace shawl patterns and the Egyptian myths that inspired the designs.
In ancient Egypt, color was a very important part of the arts and life. Iwen, the ancient Egyptian name for color, could also mean appearance, character, being, or nature. So the use of color in arts and myths had great symbolic significance. An object’s or person’s color would give a clue to its nature.
Six colors were used in the Egyptian art of the Old Kingdom: green, red, white, black, yellow, and blue. In this book, I have designed two shawls in each of the six main colors, drawing inspiration from their meaning in ancient Egyptian myths.

Ancient Egypt In Lace And Color is full of gorgeous, intriguing patterns that convey the mystery of ancient Egypt through form, texture and hue. Each piece is beautifully planned, intricately worked, and carries Anna’s signature style — clear, precise lines and understated elegance. Every pattern is created to be engaging for the experienced lace knitter, yet Anna’s unique writing style makes these patterns accessible for a novice. The only problem will be deciding which project to cast on first! — Sarah Eyre, Cephalopod Yarns

I want 5 minutes in Anna Dalvi’s brain. Anna tells us stories with her stitches, every design as complex and rich as the mythology that inspired them, yet so clearly and simply written that we can step in without trepidation and knit those legends. Truly a book of dream shawls. — Kim McBrien, Indigodragonfly Yarns

Anna has done it again, now presenting us with a remarkable collection of shawls inspired by ancient Egypt. Anna’s first book of shawls was all about the math but this time she dives into history and lore connecting it most cleverly to the beautiful patterns and colors in her designs. Anna continues to write exceptionally clear and thought out patterns making them accessible for even newbies but still very interesting for the seasoned lace knitter. — Ragnheiður Eiríksdóttir, CEO / Framkvæmdastjóri, Knitting Iceland

Get your copy of Ancient Egypt in Lace and Color here.

Shaping Shawls explains the construction of different shapes of lace shawls, and includes a number of patterns to illustrate the concept. It is a wonderful resource for anyone who would like to design their own lace shawls, and want to understand how to construct the various shapes. Additionally, it can help people who love to knit lace gain a better understanding of the design process and different constructions. There are 10 complete patterns in the book, each using a different type of construction.  The book is published with Cooperative Press, June 2011.

Get your copy of Shaping Shawls here.

From the back cover:

Anna Dalvi of Knit & Knag Designs brings both her design sensibility and logical mind to bear in this book for new and experiences lace knitters alike. Ten different shawls are divided into chapters based on shaping and construction techniques, teaching concepts in a fresh new way. You’ll use not only diagrams and charts but also mathematical means of keeping your designs in line. Ever wonder why your stitch count is off on another pattern? Anna will show you what deltas are, how they work, and much more in this extraordinary book.

Join Anna Dalvi for a shawl-design-seminar-in-a-book that keeps light bulbs going off while making the material seem simple. Her genius lies in boiling down tricky concepts to their essence and presenting them in a warm, practical style. Anna’s own inspiring patterns not only accompany, but illustrate the design techniques throughout. Using Shaping Shawls, knitters will be able to create shawls in any shape for any occasion with confidence. —Jaala Spiro, KnitCircus magazine

With a lucidness of style that is almost magical, Anna manages to take an apparently opaquely complex subject and make it seem so simple that you think something must be missing. The way she describes lace shawl design is so clear that you’ll walk away with the confidence that you can design a dozen of them immediately yourself, even if you are just a beginning lace knitter. This book is definitely going into my knitting library! —Gryphon Perkins, the Sanguine Gryphon

Anna explains lace patterns in a detailed and intricate way, but her methodology is incredibly clear at the same time. These breathtaking designs will appeal to lace knitters of many different levels. —Ragga Eiriksdottir, Knitting Iceland

7 Responses to Books

  1. mary knapp-samet says:

    Love your designs

  2. […] (#34), we’re so thrilled that Anna Dalvi will be joining us, signing copies of her book, Shaping Shawls from Cooperative Press.  Anna will have lots of shawl samples for you to look at and patterns […]

  3. Mark Schuyler says:

    What a great collection…I am having so much fun knitting your Ancient Egypt shawls.

  4. Felicity Lowinger says:

    Hi Anna – I have the three books you have written and enjoyed your last KAL, I would love to see all your “Mystic” patterns in one volume, I have a few of them, but all in one place, would be fabulous! Perhaps you might consider this?

  5. Anna says:

    Yes, definitely.

  6. Joan Sheehan says:

    My daughter-in-law Jennifer, is Swedish. Dylan, my dear grandson will be marrying October 2015 to delightful (and very Irish) Emily. I have been looking at your exquisite designs this evening-and have to decide which one!! Emily studied Oceanography and is an avid scuba diver. The wedding will have a nautical theme-so you can imagine my dilemma in choosing “which one!!!” I am a barely intermediate lace knitter-if you have time to make a recommendation-please do!!

  7. Anna says:

    Do you have any thoughts at all about the shape of the shawl you’d like to knit? That might help narrowing things down.
    Given the nautical theme and the Oceanography, perhaps Mystic Ocean or Mystic Waters?
    Mystic Cuppa in blue/white might also be a good choice.
    Or there’s Mystic Diamonds – a rectangular stole which I actually designed as a wedding gift.

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