In this book, Elizabeth teaches you to be the boss of your knitting. Her liberating teachings have inspired generations of knitters and the classic patterns will keep you knitting for years. 25 projects — 192 pages | Hardcover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
552 of 557 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Elizabeth Zimmerman was not only a knitting teacher, but also a designer and artist. She wrote pretty well, too! She was quite a personality and when she passed away in 1999, she merited a long obit in the New York Times. Subsequently, a knitting craze hit the world. Is it a coincidence, or did she impart her spirit to all of us when she left after a long and fruitful life.
This book is utterly delightful. It is my favorite knitting book and if I could only have one, this would be my choice. I have knitted my way through most of the patterns and they are varied, interesting and good for designing your own things.
Included in the book is the percentage system, same as in Knitting without Tears, her classic for beginning knitters. This is applied to a beautiful Shetland sweater with a yoke fair-isle design. This classic design looks wonderful on children and adults. You can make it in any size.
There is also the wildly clever Moccasin sock, that can be re-soled. The construction is unlike any other kind of sock and shows the brilliant engineering mind of EZ.
There is a shawl (PI r squared) which is a varation of the PI shawl found in the Knitting Almanac. This has a straight front, like a stole, and rounds off in the back.
The Moebius scarf is also in this book (a ring with a twist that goes around your neck and drapes attractively.) These are just some of the knitting patterns; there is a lot more. Elizabeth knew how to pack a book with plenty of information and this is no exception.
There's not only knitting here, there are lovely color photographs of Elizabeth's watercolors (she was trained in Munich at a famous art school.) There is a gallery in the book of some of her wonderful designs in the most attractive colors. And best of all, an autobiographical "digression" that tells Elizabeth's story, funny, interesting and always unique.
If you don't own all of EZ's books (Knitting Without Tears, Knitting Almanac, Knitting Workshop and this one, Knitting Around) I think this is the best one to start with if you more or less know how to knit. It improved my knitting 1000 percent and I recommend this book to everyone who likes to knit.
266 of 270 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It's not often that a knitter merits an obituary in the New York Times or NPR, but when Elizabeth died in November 1999, she received both tributes. She left knitters a huge legacy including four wonderful books. I own all four, and this is my favorite.
First, I really enjoy the autobiography woven through the book. From a childhood in England to marriage and children in the USA, it's a very interesting story. For the career minded, it's a wonderful tale of a cottage industry grown on talent, charm and hard work.
This book also includes several of my favorite "patterns". For those unfamiliar with EZ, a word of caution. The greatest of Elizabeth's accomplishments (IMHO), was her rebellion against blind following of patterns. Sure, you could make exact duplicates of her sweaters, but where's the fun in that? Elizabeth teaches (and writes patterns) in terms of concepts and thinking. The result -- patterns that can be adapted for different weights of yarn and different bodies. So, in this book are "instructions" for a beautiful Norwegian sweater; the classic shetland wool, fair isle neck sweater so popular in the 70's; the mocassin sock (easy to reknit when heels and toes wear out); the "Pi-R" shawl; and the great mobieus scarf (think the infinity circle).
If you have the chance, the video series that accompanies this book (for a series of PBS shows as I recall) is also a treat. Schoolhouse Press produces them (don't know if Amazon carries them).
Bottom line: Not a book for the novice knitter but a wonderful addition to the library of any person who can no longer remember how many times they've said "just let me finish this row."
159 of 174 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is part autobiography-part knitting patterns. It is fun to read, and has ideas and patterns for knitting along the same lines as her other books. I would recommend buying Knitting W/O Tears first, as it teaches more techniques, but this book is great if you want to sit down with an 'old friend'.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
It has the pattern I wanted
I love Elizabeth Zimmerman and her approach to getting what you want in terms of a finished product, but without the fuss or worry. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Kathy A. Flament
2.0 out of 5 stars
sweaters
This book was not at all like I expected. First of all....most of the book is stories about Elizabeth. I was wanting more information about seamless sweater design and instruction. Read more
Published 3 months ago by B. Koehn
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gift for friend
Happy w purchase. Shipped and arrived timely. Friend is very happy with this book which refers to the life of Author.
Published 4 months ago by RR
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific History of a Master Knitter
The life work of a master knitter interspersed with her patterns. "Down to earth" how-to tips and practices. EZ - What an inspiration you were -- still are!
Published 5 months ago by LSC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Knitting with EZ
This book has more of her history which is very interesting - and as always I enjoy her approach to design and instruction.
Published 5 months ago by Fastcat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just what you would expect from EZ, unpretentious perfection.
This is probably my personal favorite of all EZ's works, not only does it have several knitting receipts not to be found anywhere else, but the personal journal stykle of her... Read more
Published 15 months ago by FierceMild
5.0 out of 5 stars
EZ rules!
This is one of the best books by one of the best knitting teachers ever. I have all of EZs books and I like the chatty, conversational style she used for writing. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Laura E. Lindler
1.0 out of 5 stars
Pages 16 to 48 missing
What???? I started reading this book and then saw it went from page 16 to 48.. They are completely missing out of the book.
Published 19 months ago by J. Maly
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too vague, could not understand any of her patterns
I was very disappointed in this book. This is more of an autobiography than a knitting book and the one pattern I would have loved I could not follow for love nor money. Read more
Published on April 22, 2011 by Maire Threasa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Knitting Around
Elizabeth Zimmermann is the absolute master of creating new ways of knitting. From her art training, she seems to have a 3-D imagination that she translates into patterns. Read more
Published on March 25, 2011 by Dagmar Bischoff Garfinkel
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