Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again [Hardcover]

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 23, 2008

. . . a sort of David Sedaris-like take on knitting-laugh-out-loud funny most of the time and poignantly reflective when it's not cracking you up." --Library Journal on Yarn Harlot

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee returns to pen another hilarious and poignant collection of essays surrounding her favorite topics: knitting, knitters, and what happens when you get those two things anywhere near ordinary people.

For the 60 million knitters in America, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (a.k.a. the Yarn Harlot) shares stories of knitting horrors and triumphs, knitting successes and defeats, but, mostly, stories about the human condition that ring true for everyone-especially if you happen to have a rather large amount of yarn in your house.

Pearl-McPhee maintains a popular blog at www.yarnharlot.ca. Divided into sections relating to each essay's content, such as women, politics, family, and overcoming boredom, Free-Range Knitter will entertain yarnsmiths who enjoy sharing in the collective experiences of the woolen and silky skein.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is the author of several books and three collections of essays: Yarn Harlot, Free-Range Knitter, and All Wound Up. (Two of those are New York Times best sellers, which both Stephanie and her mum are really proud of.) She maintains a popular virtual home at www.yarnharlot.ca, and a less organized (and popular) actual home in Toronto, Canada. She’s a mother of three, a wife of one, can drive a standard, and has owned two cats in a row that don’t care much for her.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; First Edition, First Printing edition (September 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740769472
• ISBN-13: 978-0740769474
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is the author of Yarn Harlot, At Knit's End, Knitting Rules!, and Casts Off. She maintains a popular blog at www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/. She lives with her family in an untidy, wool-filled house in Toronto, where she avoids doing the laundry and knits whenever she gets a minute.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories and essays that linger in the heart October 5, 2008

By Cat Bordhi

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Stephanie's newest book leaves me unable to find words to match those inside the book. I doubt I can do this book justice.

This fine book is about knitting, yes, but really not so much about knitting as about what happens when knitting is part of life. The stories and essays glide and ripple and twist, carrying the reader pellmell into intimate contact with men, women, children, animals, ideas, and humor - and always the light of knitting is leaking through, shining its innocence, tough love, and grace onto stumbling humanity.

Stephanie is a master at fostering reflection through story-telling. The first story, about a very young knitter named Annabelle, holds many layers of meaning about incredibly important things. And the last story, about a very old knitter, who needed no yarn to knit, let me close the book with a sense of fulfilment. We knitters, as well as non-knitters (who would love this book) are so very lucky to have someone like Stephanie spinning tales for us, with her sharp and shiny wit rising so naturally from an honest heart. I am grateful.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Time to change my stereotype of Stephanie? October 11, 2008

By D. Vance VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Just when I had Stephanie pegged as a writer of humor,(Just visit her website!) she pens this thoughtful, insight little book. I enjoyed reading it, and do not regret adding it to my knitting library...and yet....
I wanted to LAUGH!! The kind of "wake the hubby up because I am shaking the bed laughing" read. With a cover so like her first book, I was hoping for a repeat of that winner! There is some funny stuff, but I left reading Free Range Knitter feeling sad. I can see where she's going with the essays in the book and building her theme, and it is beautifully crafted. It just wasn't what I thought it would be or what I had hoped for.
While my copy of The Yarn Harlot is tattered from frequent reading, I rather doubt that I will reread this one.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Free Range Knitter October 17, 2008

By Mle Erin Hawkins

Format:Hardcover

I am at the half way mark and I can say this is a very entertaining book.
For a knitter, all of these situations, anecdotes are totally relatable to. Most of this has happened to a Knitter at some time !
For those who loved the previous books by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, you will not regret your purchase.
For those who love this one, you will probably end up buying the previous ones.
I'm a fan of the writting, the subject matter, the lay-out of the book (really beautiful and almost delicate)