Three-Part Book Review
A PILE of knitting books came in for review this past weekend. Doing a book review on each of them in one blog entry was too much. This will be the first of three book reviews I’ll be posting. I know there are four books in the photo, but one of them doesn’t require a review (and I’ll tell you why in the last of the three-part book review series).
Book Review – The Knitter’s Dictionary
Yes, I picked the smallest and easiest book to start with. The Knitter’s Dictionary by Kate Atherly.
First of all, the author, Kate Atherly is the impeccable Technical Editor for Knitty.com and she is brilliant and VERY trustworthy when it comes to a reference guide like this.
This is basically an alphabetical list of every term you could think of about knitting. All the abbreviations, the parts of a sweater, the styles and techniques, etc. But it’s also an extensive reference on everything knitting.
I honestly wish I had had this when I was creating the Proficiency Skills list and assessment tool.
A few things I will tell you about this book:
- They suggest that every knitter should have this valuable reference in their knitting bag. It’s a nice small size (about 8″x6″ and 1/2″ thick), so it could easily fit into a project bag. But I think it would be more useful as a reference guide in your library. I have at least three project bags going at any one time and trying to find this book might get difficult if I didn’t know exactly where I put it in my library.
- The graphics in this book are very good and clear. Many are drawn and drawn clearly.
- I initially thought this would be a good book only for a beginner, but anyone the knits would benefit from having it in their library. The cover price is $20 but you can get it on Amazon for $14, which I think is a very fair price for all the work that went into this volume and the value it will bring to your craft.
Current Knitting
Getting lots of work done on both my two active works in progress. It may not seem like much, but the Linen Stitch Scarf is growing at an evolutionary pace.
Despite knitting a LOT on this project, it’s still not even two inches wide yet. Linen Stitch is slow. Especially when it’s on 457 stitches.
Then there’s the Chevron Scarf.
This one grows very quickly with about the same amount of effort. Very satisfying.
Seems to be a good and balanced combination of works-in-progress!