Books

The cover of Threadbared by Kimberly Wrenn and Mary Watkins states, "Decades of Don'ts from the Sewing and Crafting world". The pictures are priceless-mostly pictures from vintage knitting books. The commentary-well, I think it is sarcastic and does not take into consideration the culture of the time frame of the pattern. (My opinion-I lived through that time period.)

Casts Off by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee looks to be an interesting and humorous approach to knitters and knitting. She says in the introduction, "If you are a knitter, you're on a journey to an amazing land" and the whole format is about traveling to the land of knitting. Her chapter on "Population" describes me perfectly. She says, "The land of knitting is populated largely by people who didn't know they were coming here to live full time." In a fun quiz she identifies the citizens of knitting, either a Process Knitter or Product Knitter. "A Process Knitter knits for the sheer enjoyment of the activity, while a Product Knitter knits for the joy of the knitted stuff." I am such a Process Knitter! Why else would I have three drawers full of knitted lace shawls and a high percentage of my stash is lace yarn? Stephanie describes a Process Knitter as "While you enjoy excellence in your work, you are flexible about it and it is the act of knitting that you really enjoy. If someone asked you what you love most about knitting, you would probably show her your favorite stitch or let her touch your softest yarn. You are the sort of knitter who would knit a square lace tablecloth for the same reason that mountain climbers ascend Everest: because it's there."