Debbie Stoller

Some of this book was very fun, some of it was educational, some of it was inspiring, some of it was enlightening, and some of it should stay in its 1990s white heterosexual past.

TAKE BACK THE NEEDLES! For years and years knitting was what your grandmother did. Women involved in the women's movement didn't knit. Now it's what the young and hip do because they want to. The women's movement moves on to a new generation and a new chapter. Knitting like racing cars or running corporations is a way a woman asserts her independence. That was the message of this book. It intrigued me on so many levels. When I picked up this book I was a brand new knitter who had barely show more learned the knit and purl stitch from a kit. I have made a hat and a sweater directly from this book. I enjoyed that any stitch or technique you were using was quick referenced on the pattern to the page in the book. I've since taken a sweater pattern, and using just the front of the sweater, started making a cable shawl from some of my 50/50 camel/silk homespun. (I'm also a spinner.) This book inspires that much confidence in your abilities. show less

I love Stoller's books, They are written and illustrated in ways that make sense to me and, as a primarily self-taught knitter, that's been hugely helpful. In this one she covers knitting with color, cabling and lace using the same witty conversational tone she's used in all of her Stitch 'N Bitch books. She manages to demystify the techniques and lingo enough to convince me that I want to try all of these techniques and that, furthermore, I'll be succesful at doing so.

This is an awesome, inspiring book. I figured I'd just browse through the patterns a little, but the next thing I knew I'd read it cover to cover. I've been knitting since I was five, so I wasn't relying on this book to teach me how, but it still got me thinking about the whole process of knitting in an entirely new way. It also got me thinking about issues of "women's work" vs. "men's work," and gender roles in our society. Very good stuff. The instructions are readable and entertaining, show more and most of the patterns are really funky. show less