Knitting in Antarctica is an interesting book, as much about life at McMurdo station in Antarctica as it is about knitting.
First, the knitting part. There are 28 patterns for quite a few different types of hats. There is some colorwork, some cabling, some texture knits, and a variety of hat styles. Some of the hats are pretty plain beanies, but quite a few are on the different side. There is a little bit of discussion of technique, but the book does assume a basic level of knitting ability. One thing that’s unique to this book, at least in comparison to other hat books I’ve seen, is that knitters are encourages to line their hats with fleece material for extra warmth. Because – well, Antarctica. It’s darn cold there.
Interspersed with the patterns are snippets of information and stories about life in Antarctica, particularly for those wintering over. The authors talk about Antarctica itself – the birds and animals in the environment, the weather, nearby land features and so on.
And they talk about living and working there. In addition to bringing in their knitting supplies when they travel to the station, knitters also adopt any knitwear that gets left there and unravel it for wool to make new projects. There are enough knitters there that they have knitting group get togethers pretty regularly.
None of the sections is very lengthy, and are not super in-depth. Just a brief look at a very unique place to live and work. And knit!
I would recommend this book for anyone with an interest in what it is like to be in Antarctica for long stretches of time, or who is interested in somewhat avant-garde hats.
Quite A Yarn 
I bet you don’t need flip flops there.
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LOL – nope!
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That is cool book. Are the knitters also the models in the photographs?
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It is! Yes, they said the knitters and other folks who live and work at the station are the models.
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How neat! I am always amazed at the folks to aspire to live in Antartica.
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Same! It’s got to be an amazing adventure, but difficult.
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A friend of mine spent quite a bit of time there. When she speaks to students at my school, she wears her “gear.” I can’t imagine dressing for that weather.
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That is very cool! I bet she has interesting stories to tell!
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Oh, yes! She is a special breed!
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This sounds like a fascinating book! (And one of the few knitting books that I’d be reading for the non-knitting sections!)
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I really liked it! I will probably knit a few of the patterns, but it’s one of those things that is so unique it’s worth having just on its own
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Honestly, I also found it fascinating that it was all hat patterns. There are so many accessories that could have been included, but nope! All hats!
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I know! I expected a few cowls or socks or something. But just hats. Maybe they wanted it to have a narrower focus?
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That could be. Or maybe the intent was to show how different everyone is, based on how different their knit hats are?
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That could be as well!
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