Book Review - The Knitting Experience

2007-03-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

I was skeptical about The Knitting Experience books since they didn't seem to have any patterns that fit my style. My mother bought the first book (The Knit Stitch) in order to knit the Einstein Coat for herself.... I remember thinking it was a nice looking garment but still not my thing.

Then I decided I wanted to knit a hoodie for my 9-year old. I knew I had seen a pattern somewhere but couldn't remember where. In a fit of despiration, I went to the bookstore and thumbed through every knitting book they had. Lo and behold... the pattern was in the second book (The Purl Stitch).

And then I took a closer look at the contents of the first 2 books. While the patterns themselves may not inspire everyone, the technical advice is really great. I figured out that I had been seaming stockinette stitch all wrong. Not to mention, weaving in my tails incorrectly. Of course "the wrong way" is considered a dirty phrase in modern knitting but there are certainly techniques that result in much better craftsmanship.

If nothing else, Sally Melville has packed a ton of awesome technical stuff in the first two books. And I now look at the patterns as basic fundamentals - like the reading, writing and arithmetic of knitting - not end all/be all fashion statements like you'll find in the knitting magazines and other books.

I'm looking forward to getting the third book (Color Knitting), so I can find out what I'm doing wrong with intarsia.

It's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

2007-03-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

Crafty Cake, that is.

I'm joining the ranks of craft bloggers in order to separate my personal blogging from my creative blogging.

Stay tuned for Cake-y goodness.