Things I Learned From Knitting (Whether I Wanted To or Not)

The Yarn Harlot continues to amuse and enlighten as she finds new ways to draw parallels between knitting and life, or sometimes just between knitting and knitting.

Non-knitters may find her devotion to the craft a bit puzzling, but knitters will see themselves at least once (and probably several times) in this fun collection of essays.

Love her, loved the book (technically it's 4.5 stars but I'm rounding up because in person she's even funnier, but also more touching, and a wonderful teacher--it's hard to separate the author from the text once you've met them).

When I began knitting I searched in vain for a book like this. I don't want to learn how to knit, I want to learn what it feels like to be a knitter. (There are wonderful books in this vein for gardeners, for instance, some masterpieces of memoir). But instead I basically found these:

1. Knitting for brand new stupid people like you
2. 1,000 patterns for sweaters for women (note: I'm a man)
3. How to knit cutesy teensy weensy whimsical forest thingummies
4. Norwegian tufted bobble weaving-stitch, made easy

So what a show more thrill when I stumbled across Ms. Pearl-McPhee and her compassionate, hilarious accounts of how it feels to knit. I am not alone!

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). show less

I was planning on waiting to purchase this book until I showed up at whatever venue Stephanie was speaking at (to say thank you to the book store or yarn shop). I was sad about this because if there is anything I’m impatient about waiting for, it’s a book that’s been published that I want to read. So imagine my delight when a good friend I’ve lost touch with sent it to me as a surprise!
What to say and how to say it? I see Steph as the older sister I don’t have. She’s smart, she’s witty, she’s vegetarian, we have similar hair and wear glasses; she’s normal! As a bonus she knits (and spins) too! I know that passions about Stephanie’s (and anyone’s) writing are strong. I’m in the pro-Harlot camp. Why? I see myself show more in much of what she writes and it brings me comfort that I’m not the only one knitting fast and hoping that baby J stays small so I can finish her dragon wrap, who has called mum saying “dinner didn’t come out right, I substituted X, Y, and Z but why didn’t it work?!” (I’ve learned on this one, the new kitchen helps), and well, like Steph I’m lucky. I’m lucky that I can purchase yarn and needles (sometimes insanely expensive needles) and still put dinner on the table (sometimes it is ramen). We have a roof over our heads and health insurance (at the moment). If you enjoy Stephanie’s writing and check your RSS reader constantly to see if she’s posted yet then I know you will enjoy this newest finished object. So yes Stephanie, I do like it. show less

Sub-titled: whether I wanted to or not. Ms McPhee is a first class humorist. The intended wife, or husband, of a knitter should be given a copy of this and exhorted to read it in order to get a good understanding of who it is they are getting to live with. Ms McPhee is really good at taking the observed, applying a certain amount of commonsense and arriving at the truth.

I really love Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's self-deprectating, witty approach to writing about knitting. I read her blog often, and have enjoyed many of her books. However, this book did not seem to add very much to her previous writing. It's really more of the same -- anecdotes about knitting lessons learned. While I smiled and laughed as I read this, I had a sense of deja vu. Hadn't I already read this before?

If you have not read Stephanie's other books, "Things I Learned from Knitting" is a great point of entry. But if you have others she has writting, this may not add very much to your collection.

First book by The Yarn Harlot I've ever read. Mildly amusing but never really laugh-out-loud or outrageously funny. I have some others by her so hopefully those are funnier.

Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2012/08/things-i-learned-from-knitting.htm...

Things I Learned From Knitting is another collection of essays by blogger Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. As a knitter, I found myself laughing and nodding my head in agreement over a lot of the material. Anyone passionate about a craft will recognize that we all start to see our philosophy of life reflected in elements of our craft. Our crafts teach us, keep us busy, and enable us to show ourselves to the world. And they teach us along the way.

This book is a pocket size volume - perhaps to easily fit into a knitting bag? The lessons in this book are about patience, love, generosity, perfection, and about getting to know our own show more selves better. The tone is a humorous one as life lessons are put into a knitting context. Lessons like "Don't worry. Be happy" and "Practice makes perfect" and "Everything is relative."

This is the third or fourth book I have read by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. While each one is individually interesting, by the second or third, they start to sound the same. The material and the tone seem the same from book to book. So, I think if this was the first one I had read, I would have really enjoyed it. I still thought it was okay, but nothing new. I enjoy reading her blog and love her amazing yarn creations though! show less