Book reviews: Holiday knitting, part 2
Knit Mittens!, by Robin Hansen: Let me start by saying that I have never knit a mitten in my life. But some part of me thought, "Hey! Mittens are small! I could make mittens for everyone this year!" Now that thought isn't necessarily a bad idea, but this book is not the way to go. Don't get me wrong--it's a great book with beautiful patterns and clear instructions (which seems the norm for these books that are shaped like their subject matter). But I don't think I'm quite ready to venture into mitten territory--certainly not with a rapidly approaching deadline looming ahead of me. I'll probably add this book to my list, though. Maybe I'll tackle mittens next year...
Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, by Joelle Hoverson: If you're thinking, "I need to knit something as a gift by this afternoon," then you are probably defining "last-minute" a bit too precisely. The patterns here are divided into categories based on how long they take: less than two hours, two to four hours, four to six hours, six to eight hours, and more than eight hours. I happen to be a slow-but-not-glacially-slow knitter, so I suspect it would take me a bit longer than the recommended times to knit the projects in here. Some of the small and quick projects, such as a child's hat or a tea cozy, look just right for using up an odd skein of yarn in the stash. A few of the projects use pricy yarn, such as a cashmere gift bag and a pashmina cowl. But I suppose there's a place for them in a book of gifts--you might really want to spoil someone someday! Eight post-its in this one--it's going on my list.
Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, by Joelle Hoverson: If you're thinking, "I need to knit something as a gift by this afternoon," then you are probably defining "last-minute" a bit too precisely. The patterns here are divided into categories based on how long they take: less than two hours, two to four hours, four to six hours, six to eight hours, and more than eight hours. I happen to be a slow-but-not-glacially-slow knitter, so I suspect it would take me a bit longer than the recommended times to knit the projects in here. Some of the small and quick projects, such as a child's hat or a tea cozy, look just right for using up an odd skein of yarn in the stash. A few of the projects use pricy yarn, such as a cashmere gift bag and a pashmina cowl. But I suppose there's a place for them in a book of gifts--you might really want to spoil someone someday! Eight post-its in this one--it's going on my list.
2 Comments:
Thanks for the book reviews. I might try using your technique for aquiring fewer books. Recently, I looked through knitting books at a local bookstore. I saw a book I really want because it has one pattern in it that I want to knit. Ever buy a book for one pattern?
I've never bought a book for just one pattern--yet. I find that I either like most of the patterns in a book or I don't like any of the patterns in a book (or, at best, feel "meh" about one or two of them). Which book is the one you're interested in, and what is the pattern?
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