Things I learned from Knitting by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee - book review!

I have no finishes this week. To be honest, with exams and placement pending my finishes are going to be few and far between. I do have posts planned though and this is one of the first non-finish, non-pinterest post.

It's a review of a knitting book without any knitting in it. Loads of you will have heard of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. She is famous for her words of wisdom from her blog Yarn Harlot. She also has many knitting related books but this is the only one I have (will rectify that eventually). Even more to my shame I have never visited her blog until now and this book has been in my possession since it was first published until 2008.

I love a craft book that you can just sit and read and went through a phase of them back then. This one though seemed to have slipped the net. It's a little book with 44 things that Stephanie learned from knitting over the years. It sounds like a huge number but the longest is maybe a couple of pages long with many only a paragraph. You could probably read the book in a couple of hours. Or you could pick it up when your latest project is annoying you. Or maybe you are between projects. Regardless, it's a funny little book with lots of truisms in there.

There are so many things that I think most knitters can relate to. One was about the generosity of other knitters. They will go out of their way to help you find that pattern you have been hunting for or that brand of yarn. It's so very true. I know this from my knitting group. A new member will come along who needs help and someone will gladly take them under their wing even though it might mean time away from their own project. They put their project plans on hold to join in charity knits and they pass on patterns and yarns too.

There are even hints and tips in there to help you out. For example, don't learn the hard way when it comes to taking shortcuts. Always measure and use your instinct. If you think it's going to be too short it probably will be. Swatches were mentioned in there too. I however, am very guilty of not doing that. I never have. I have knitted that many pairs of socks I usually can go on instinct alone.

So if you fancy a wee read at something light but still knitting related then pick this up or even check out her blog. A friend of mine asked (jokingly) if there was one on crochet. I do honestly think though that everything in there is translatable.