200 Fair Isle Motifs: A Knitter's Directory, by Mary Jane Mucklestone is a lovely book that allows the color theorist to really go to town and the color-phobic (like me) to take the first tentative steps.

It's an Interweave Press book, so the knitter can expect it to be pretty. I think this book, in particular, takes the visual sense, clear layouts and great organization that Interweave Press brings to the table to its highest and best use.

The book opens with a forward about learning Fair Isle knitting. Actually, it's a confession of sorts - the author took a long time to get into Fair Isle, even though she loves colors, because she didn't realize that it was only two colors in each row.

"It is my hope that this book will inspire knitters of all stripes to pick up their needles and join in the colorful fun of fair isle knitting."

- Mary Jane Mucklestone

After the forward, a generous Essential Skills section takes the knitter from a description of Shetland Wool, through yarn selection, gauge, swatching, all of the way through steeks, color choices and designing your own sweater from scratch.

That section alone is worth the price of admission, but the 200 motifs follow, organized by row and stitch count. Each motif has a lovely photograph, two color charts, a black-and-white chart (which should copy well) and a chart that could be made the motif as an all-over repeat.

Overall, a really lovely book for anyone who wants just a little more color, history or fun in their knitting.