2 book reviews: knitting
Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot unravels the mysteries of swatching, stashing, ribbing & rolling to free your inner knitter, written by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Published by Storey Publishing, distributed in Australia through Capricorn Link.
Another wonderful book by the Yarn Harlot, (read the review of At Knits End). Stephanie incorporates witty, intelligent writing with real anecdotes and amusing stories (along with cautionary tales), lists and endless questions & answers, all about knitting. There are lists about non-knitters, lists about knitting addictions, reasons to carry a knitting bag and tips for identifying fellow knitters in public places. What to say when someone comments on your yarn stash and an open letter to the inventor of ziploc bags. This book is not just a knitting addicts rant, it contains practical tips too; the pros and cons of various yarns and needles and gauge swatches, and a whole section on projects journals. And my favourite: recipes for making hats and socks and scarfs and a wonderful bit about the pitfalls of a sweater. I love when Stephanie says “don’t be afraid of knitting, knitting is not dangerous, its only knitting”. Fabulous book, a must have.
Knitting color: Design inspiration from around the world, written by Brandon Mably of the Kaffe Fasset studio, Published by Sixth & Spring books, distributed in Australia through Capricorn Link.
Brandon Mably is not a knitwear designer so much as a colour specialist; he uses knitwear as a medium of expression for his palette and inspiration. I liked that the colour workshop section of the book looks at more than just the colour wheel, included is colour emotion, dynamics of various colour combinations and how colours activate each other. Mably goes over a three stage process in deciding on a colour combination; proportion, tonal range and gradations, all of which could easily be translated into different crafting pursuits.
This book is not so much a pattern book as a concept book. I have read some bad reviews about the patterns and techniques used in the book -saying it is unwieldy and difficult to follow – and I would agree. It is not a pattern book – not for a beginner, an advanced knitter could decipher the patterns well enough. The pattern descriptions are vague but the colour charts are really detailed. The garment designs are mostly box sleeves and not particularly flattering on women, some of the mens vests though are gorgeous. One other annoying feature is that the yarns are all specific Rowan yarns, which if you don’t have access to them, colour experimentation and gauge swatches are extra important.
The book is organised as a travel diary with luscious images. The colours for the most part are wonderful, however there are some odd choices (I think), and don’t always translate well on his designs. I thought the ones that worked the best were the landscapes such as the mens Peruvian vest in a sideways diamond pattern inspired by farm fields, and the mens vest in browns and greens inspired by Vietnam rice paddies.
February 9th, 2007 at 8:59 am
I think I am as addicted to reading and writing about knitting as much as I am to Knitting!
Thanks for the reviews!
February 10th, 2007 at 1:13 am
I have read a few of your reviews, and just wondered, shouldn’t they be called something like, summaries? None of the reviews say anything negative, it’s just praising all the books that are “reviewed.” It kind of defeats the purpose for me. Just what I think! Thanks.
February 10th, 2007 at 3:35 am
am I really praising all the books? is that what I am doing in this situation or the last? did you actually read the reviews?
February 10th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Hi admin. I have re read your great reviews and I’d say that they have healthy doses of praise and also constructive criticism. Perhaps the author has a charming writing style where even a negative criticism sounds great. Personally I think that this is a great skill to have-to be diplomatic. From my point of view they are not just summaries. It is a real skill reviewing books.
I think that the book reviews are excellent and well measured.
Thanks for writing them.
Cheers, Julia.
February 10th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
kudos to jennie for speaking her mind. it seems that if a comment isn’t gushing or back-patting, then it’s unwelcome. no progress comes of this.
correction: vietnamese rice paddies.
February 10th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
when I review a book, I look at it from various angles. design, layout, writing style, content. If I don’t personally like the book I try to look at it from another persons perspective – would this book be suitable for beginners, or as a source of inspiration.
If the book has some great features but is not up to scratch in some ways then I say that too. However I am not going to burn a book for not being everything for everyone, and I am not going to criticise a book harshly on one point when it may have other points in its favour. In this way perhaps I am diplomatic.
The aim of my reviews is to give readers a balanced view and a chance to see if this book might be suitable for them – if it is modern funky and hip I will say so, if it simple and basic and functional I say so, if it old fashioned or has a particular style I say all of those things so that the reader can decide for themselves if this is a book they might want to own.
I am sorry if my reviews are not helpful to everyone, I hope that some people get something out of them and that others can appreciate them for what they are.
February 14th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Well this review is certainly not all positive for the books. And that is great, as you tell the pros and cons of the book quite clearly, I think (the second book here is in my thought).
I love reading books reviews, and yours are great. Keep doing the good job, and accept positive and negative critisms as what they are – just one single person point of view at that moment.
Jeanie has been interested enough to tell her mind. Her critic has been a wonderfull occasion for us to tell you WE like your reviews, and for you to explain a little bit how you write them i think that this is great too.
Thank you
February 16th, 2007 at 2:58 am
Gentle Readers, pardon the saucy observation here, but thanks to my occupation {graphic designer} I can’t help noticing the typography on “Knitting Rules”. I wonder if the Yarn Harlot purposely meant for the exclamation point to fall where it does on the page layout. Misfortune or sense of humor? Further, in typography, the exclamation point is known as a “bang”. Yes, I’m a twelve-year-old designer, to be exact. {I’m sure that none of this typographic “hooha” is a surprise to Kathreen. Design manager!}
As for the reviews, I think Kathreen did a wonderful job in her critique. Sometimes a well-written book review can be more satisfying than the book itself. Thanks much!