KnitLit the Third: We Spin More Yarns [Paperback]

Linda Roghaar (Editor), Molly Wolf (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2005

Whether you’re a veteran knitter or brand-new to the needles, KnitLit creators Linda Roghaar and Molly Wolf welcome you into their ever-growing circle with KnitLit the Third, an all-new collection of stories about the ups, downs, ins, and outs of knitting.

With more than seventy contributors casting on here, you’ll meet enthusiasts—okay, knit-aholics—who know the frustration of having one’s needles confiscated at the airport. You’ll sympathize with owners of lush “problem skeins” that are impossible to knit. You’ll encounter the mysteries of never-matching baby booties–and the adventures of one suspicious knitter who’s convinced that a fellow knitting blogger is really a celebrity author in disguise. For those who approach this art from a more spiritual perspective, there are the stories that remind us of the power of a simple stitch. From the mother whose project provides comfort during her troubled pregnancy to a woman compelled to make dozens of blankets for Afghan refugees, each knitted and purled row offers the potential to heal ourselves.

And so we spin on. KnitLit the Third is the latest in a pattern of poignant, hilarious, bittersweet, and inspiring yarns—created by and for lovers of the craft.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

There is, quite literally and figuratively, no end to yarns about yarns. In this third compendium of fiction, faction, and poetry about knitting, returning editors (and, yes, they're knitters) Roghaar and Wolf continue to showcase wisdom and wit in 71 snippets (that is, from one to three or four pages) from contributors who are well dispersed geographically. Hilarious admissions, some straightforward, abound, such as "I never finish anything I start." Or being confronted by a legion of MSITs (Martha Stewarts In Training). The other side--occasional sadness and deep insight--surfaces as well, such as the inexplicable and sudden tragedy of an eight-year-old's death and the solace of handwork. And everyday tales are included, from a kitten that's swallowed an odd lot of yarn to the onset of the "boyfriend sweater curse." Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Linda Roghaar is a literary agent and an obsessive knitter based in Massachusetts. Molly Wolf, writer, editor, spinner, and frequent sock knitter, is the author of White China: Finding the Divine in the Everyday. She lives in Kingston, Ontario. They are the editors of KnitLit and KnitLit (too).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Potter Craft (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400097606
• ISBN-13: 978-1400097609
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #360,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ALMOST AS GOOD AS YARN, March 7, 2006

By 

Kit Shemas "Kit Doll Shemas" (Sylvania, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: KnitLit the Third: We Spin More Yarns (Paperback)

This series of books just keeps getting better and better. I wish I didn't read them so fast, or that they could publish them faster! Every knitter or wool lover should own them. They are a way of drawing all of us, knitters and woolgathers, together on a spiritual level, and a humorous level. Don't deprive yourself of the pleasure! They are SO worth the investment.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Depressing, February 22, 2007

By 

Fey Moon - See all my reviews

This review is from: KnitLit the Third: We Spin More Yarns (Paperback)

This book had a lot of essays, but most of them were really not uplifting, and only perhaps 2 struck me as funny or laugh-out-loud hilarious. It seems that every knitter whose writing was featured in this book endured some sort of hardship, whether they miscarried, had someone or loads of someones die from cancer, or some other horrid tradgedy killed them off. I would not recommend this book as way to beguile anyone into the craft - it made me worry that some horrid piece of luck will befall me just because I knit. I'm taking it back to the bookstore. I don't need this horrid energy in my library. I understand that these people worked through a lot of grief, and that's great, but since I am not surfing that wavelength, reading about their problems is just depressing.

5.0 out of 5 stars "Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises", September 27, 2005

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: KnitLit the Third: We Spin More Yarns (Paperback)

Words almost fail me. KnitLit the Third is so good, I'm handing it around to people who don't even care about knitting. This book has stories written about the extraordinary in the ordinary; an adopted child from China, a magical encounter with a ruffed grouse, a mother, a daughter, the loss of children, finding oneself. The KnitLit series started out with an excellent first two volumes, but the third in the series is by far the finest.

This is writing that makes you gasp as if you were pricked by a pin or struck by lightning. Yes, knitting is the thread that links the stories together but it's a lot more than that. If you admire good essay writing, you have to read this. Maybe Elizabeth Zimmermann, author of "Knitting Without Tears" said it best:

"Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises."