Book reviews: The Yarn Girls do it again
The first three knitting books I bought were The Knit Stitch, by Sally Melville; Baby Knits for Beginners, by Debbie Bliss; and The Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif, by Julie Carles and Jordana Jacobs. I guess you could say these were auspicious purchases, because I've since acquired Melville's two other books in her Knitting Experience series, one more Debbie Bliss book (Cotton Knits for All Seasons, which I found marked down to one dollar on the clearance table at my local Barnes and Noble--it was new and completely unblemished!), and The Yarn Girls' Guide to Kid Knits: Patterns for Babies and Toddlers by Carles and Jacobs. (I'm still working on a sweater from that last book--just half a sleeve to go!)
I recently checked out of the library the Yarn Girls' two most recent offerings: The Yarn Girls' Guide to Beyond the Basics and The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for Older Kids: Quick-to-Knit Patterns for Four- to Ten-Year-Olds. (Beyond the Basics was published in late November 2005, and Knits for Older Kids was published just two months ago--how in the world do these two women find time to write, much less design patterns and run a yarn store? They must be some serious multitaskers...or very, very good at delegating...) Both books feature the same layout, design, and chatty text of their predecessors. There's also a lengthy "how to knit" section at the beginning. (I wish authors of anything but "knitting for absolute beginners" books would stop including this sort of material. I dislike having my time--and my money!--spent on something I already know or already have in my "knitting for absolute beginners" books! In Knits for Older Kids this section takes up the first forty-three pages!)
Beyond the Basics left me feeling, well, "meh." The patterns are uninspiring and don't seem that much different from what's in the first Yarn Girls book--or from what's freely available online. I'll pass on this one. (Unless I become filthy stinking rich one day. Then the completist in me will just have to buy this book.)
Knits for Older Kids, on the other hand, looks great. It fills a very small niche: there are a lot of books on baby knits out there, and a lot of books on adult knits, but not much for the post-baby pre-teen set. I like that the patterns look like stuff kids would actually enjoy wearing--and not like stuff that adults enjoy dressing their kids in (e.g., pastels and primary colors with nauseatingly cutesly appliques of ducks and bunnies and trucks and whatnot). This one goes on my to-get list. It'll be several years before my daughter is old enough to wear these designs...which means I have plenty of time to get knitting!
I recently checked out of the library the Yarn Girls' two most recent offerings: The Yarn Girls' Guide to Beyond the Basics and The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for Older Kids: Quick-to-Knit Patterns for Four- to Ten-Year-Olds. (Beyond the Basics was published in late November 2005, and Knits for Older Kids was published just two months ago--how in the world do these two women find time to write, much less design patterns and run a yarn store? They must be some serious multitaskers...or very, very good at delegating...) Both books feature the same layout, design, and chatty text of their predecessors. There's also a lengthy "how to knit" section at the beginning. (I wish authors of anything but "knitting for absolute beginners" books would stop including this sort of material. I dislike having my time--and my money!--spent on something I already know or already have in my "knitting for absolute beginners" books! In Knits for Older Kids this section takes up the first forty-three pages!)
Beyond the Basics left me feeling, well, "meh." The patterns are uninspiring and don't seem that much different from what's in the first Yarn Girls book--or from what's freely available online. I'll pass on this one. (Unless I become filthy stinking rich one day. Then the completist in me will just have to buy this book.)
Knits for Older Kids, on the other hand, looks great. It fills a very small niche: there are a lot of books on baby knits out there, and a lot of books on adult knits, but not much for the post-baby pre-teen set. I like that the patterns look like stuff kids would actually enjoy wearing--and not like stuff that adults enjoy dressing their kids in (e.g., pastels and primary colors with nauseatingly cutesly appliques of ducks and bunnies and trucks and whatnot). This one goes on my to-get list. It'll be several years before my daughter is old enough to wear these designs...which means I have plenty of time to get knitting!
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