Zimmermann, Elizabeth - Knitting Without Tears
Thu, Dec. 1st, 2005 12:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceter(subtitle: Basic Techniques and Easy-to-Follow Directions for Garments to Fit All Sizes)
I wanted a book on knitting techniques instead of just going through the various stitches and cast-ons and ways to bind off and etc. I've got another book on sweater design, and I was bored to death during it -- I don't think about these things, and I don't really want to design sweaters. This book is somewhat the same. I feel like the advice would probably be horribly good if I would, say, actually listen to it.
Unfortunately, I knit sort of like I do everything else -- haphazardly, randomly, with much improvisation and really no clue at all what I'm doing. I seem to be really bad at following rules, largely because I will inevitably be lacking a specific piece of equipment, ingredient, yarn, needle size, whatever. I really wanted this book to be like my ideal cookbook, i.e. something I could flip through and get really cool tips and shortcuts from.
Also, while Zimmermann is supposedly (to continue my knitting-to-cooking comparision) like the Julia Child of the knitting world, I don't actually find her to be all that accessible. She reads as very opinionated, which, understandably, she says she is. Alas, I am not the kind of knitter who likes people with strong opinions tinkering around in my knitting and telling me that I really should be gauging and swatching and whatnot. I do know that I should be gauging, but honestly, I'm too lazy. I don't gauge. I just sort of start out on the piece, whip out a tape measure a little later, and see if it's around what the pattern says. If it isn't, I'd honestly rather recalculate the pattern than re-cast-on on different sized needles.
Plus, things just happen!
I am being unfairly cranky with Zimmermann; my general impression is that she is very opinionated on how she likes to knit, but she does indeed encourage readers to knit however they like. She just sounds so authoritative that it turns me off.
But yes, I suppose I wanted something with more nifty tips and tricks, like... if you suddenly have a burning desire to start on a pattern that requires stitch holders and you have none, cut up twist ties into little segments and use those. Or... If you suddenly have the burning desire to start on your new scarf with cables and have no cable needle, just use a random needle out of your interchangeable knitting needle set! Erm, yes, this is stuff I do, and as a result, my knitting looks very ghetto. But I care not! I get my results anyway.
Anyway, I think the Yarn Harlot's At Knit's End will probably appeal to me more.
I wanted a book on knitting techniques instead of just going through the various stitches and cast-ons and ways to bind off and etc. I've got another book on sweater design, and I was bored to death during it -- I don't think about these things, and I don't really want to design sweaters. This book is somewhat the same. I feel like the advice would probably be horribly good if I would, say, actually listen to it.
Unfortunately, I knit sort of like I do everything else -- haphazardly, randomly, with much improvisation and really no clue at all what I'm doing. I seem to be really bad at following rules, largely because I will inevitably be lacking a specific piece of equipment, ingredient, yarn, needle size, whatever. I really wanted this book to be like my ideal cookbook, i.e. something I could flip through and get really cool tips and shortcuts from.
Also, while Zimmermann is supposedly (to continue my knitting-to-cooking comparision) like the Julia Child of the knitting world, I don't actually find her to be all that accessible. She reads as very opinionated, which, understandably, she says she is. Alas, I am not the kind of knitter who likes people with strong opinions tinkering around in my knitting and telling me that I really should be gauging and swatching and whatnot. I do know that I should be gauging, but honestly, I'm too lazy. I don't gauge. I just sort of start out on the piece, whip out a tape measure a little later, and see if it's around what the pattern says. If it isn't, I'd honestly rather recalculate the pattern than re-cast-on on different sized needles.
Plus, things just happen!
I am being unfairly cranky with Zimmermann; my general impression is that she is very opinionated on how she likes to knit, but she does indeed encourage readers to knit however they like. She just sounds so authoritative that it turns me off.
But yes, I suppose I wanted something with more nifty tips and tricks, like... if you suddenly have a burning desire to start on a pattern that requires stitch holders and you have none, cut up twist ties into little segments and use those. Or... If you suddenly have the burning desire to start on your new scarf with cables and have no cable needle, just use a random needle out of your interchangeable knitting needle set! Erm, yes, this is stuff I do, and as a result, my knitting looks very ghetto. But I care not! I get my results anyway.
Anyway, I think the Yarn Harlot's At Knit's End will probably appeal to me more.
(no subject)
Thu, Dec. 1st, 2005 10:15 pm (UTC)* I used to have a site called Historical Knitting Patterns with patterns I transcribed while procrastinating in research libraries. The patterns tend to be very unspecific ("decrease until the sleeve is the desired width," that sort of thing) and there's much less emphasis on fashionability.
(no subject)
Fri, Dec. 2nd, 2005 04:55 pm (UTC)You owned Historical Knitting Patterns? I found that a while back! It was cool! I keep wanting to buy Vintage Knits, but saw on Amazon reviews that the instructions weren't so great, so I haven't...