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An origami flower brightens my table. Someday it may be part of a big sphere.

The next 3 volumes on my influential book list are the first 3 stitch dictionaries by Barbara Walker. Yes, I know there’s a fourth, but somehow I missed that one in my design upbringing. I learned so much from these books, I’m sure I can’t fully do them justice. I learned textural stitches, mosaic knitting and cable charts. I learned about repeats and half drops and drawing with stitches. I learned by knitting. At one point, if someone mentioned a certain kind of stitch I could go right to the volume, right to the page where it was found. Even after I began designing with pattern stitches I made up myself, an occasional refresher course in the old standards livened up my repertoire. I have to admit that volume III is my favorite because I would so much rather follow a chart than lose my place in words any day.