An interesting book that takes the "zen" of knitting and makes it meaningful in the context of what your hands can do for others through the craft of knitting. It is a thought provoking book that underscores the good that comes from crafting at so many different levels - after you've knit for everyone you know and love - or even before - knit for others in need. ( )

Knitting for Good seeks to tap a huge market among knitters today--those who have knit as much as they can for their friends, family and selves, and want to use their craft to give back to the larger community. Betsy Greer provides many examples of how knitting can bring spiritual fulfillment by focusing on things outside yourself. The book has a nice variety of ideas of ways to help out, projects to work on, and stories of individuals and how they have used knitting to effect change in themselves, their local communities or the world. The focus is on younger people, especially members of certain movements, and many of the ideas may not be relevant to older readers (who make up a huge percentage of the people with time and energy to devote to use their craft skills to help others. However, the kind spirit of all the people profiled shines out, and the many ideas for ways to combine altruism and craftwork will inspire nearly any reader. ( )

"Knitting for Good!" is a great idea. I've loved the idea of "craftivism" since I first heard it, through Betsy Greer, as a matter of fact. Maybe it's because this isn't a new concept for me, but I found this book to be sort of dry, even though there were personal stories sprinkled throughout the text. It just didn't work for me. Maybe I am not enough of a hardcore knitter.

There are also a few patterns in "Knitting for Good!" but nothing groundbreaking, and nothing I felt like adding to my queue.

All in all: FANTASTIC idea, okay execution, and probably more interesting to people who love reading about knitting or are new to the idea of craftivism. ( )

This book is cute, a fun read, and a bit too Pollyanna-ish for my tastes. Her suggestions are interesting, but I'm one of those who doesn't actually think that making life a little better for one person actually changes the world. I'm not saying that charity knitting is a waste of time, just that it solves symptoms and lets the better-off feel like they're helping perhaps a bit more than they actually are. I think it matters to have a sense of proportion about the value of ones efforts. Kids on facebook need to know that clicking "save the rainforest" isn't the same as working to build new economic models that prioritize preservation. Knitters need to know that knitting hats for the homeless does nothing to eliminate homelessness.

It's a worldview thing. I don't share the author's worldview, and likely, she will never share mine.

On the purely technical side, who decided to print the sidebars in white on grey? They are nearly illegible. If the final product is printed in color, it will be better, but in my opinion, white text is never a good idea.

As for the cover, I'm pleased they went to the trouble to knit a shaped ball for the globe, but don't understand why they didn't make the continents a little more stylized so that they could look as though they were knit in. The obvious color-overlay does nothing for me, I'd prefer if it better reflected the craft. ( )

Betsy Greer is a relatively new knitter- and has become an evangelist for knitting with Knitting for Good!. This is wonderful, and her enthusiasm is genuine and she sees good in all things knitterly. We are encouraged to knit for our own benefit – stress relief, improved concentration, etc.; and for others – charity knitting, where the benefits are both practical items and spiritual sense of someone doing something for someone else. She makes sure that we know that knitting is not just for grannies any more, and that there is an abundance of possibilities for knitting.

I’ve been a knitter for 50 years or so, so the beginner enthusiasm, though charming, isn’t quite where I live. I knit in my limited spare time, typically challenging projects that I want to wear or give to loved ones. Though I applaud charity, I’m not sure it makes sense for this thrifty yankee to use expensive yarns (as the included patterns suggest) to make hats and gloves for the homeless shelter folks. I’m more inclined to buy multiple washable and warm acrylics for the church hat and mitten tree, and to selfishly hoard my available knitting time for my own projects.

If you are a new knitter, or thinking about taking it up, I encourage you to both knit and try this book- I’m a bit too old and jaded to be inspired, though the short biographic sketches are interesting and the patterns are ok. I hope the Advanced Reader Copy I had is the only place that the sidebar passages are printed in white on a gray background- I hope the final will have a color- as it was very hard to read for very long. ( )