Customer Reviews

Knitting Around

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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.

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."

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'.

Although I first learned to knit in the 70's, I re-learned a couple years ago after a 25 year sabatical. After numerous scarves and dishcloths, the search began for good knitting books. That's when I "found" Elizabeth Zimmermann. This is my favorite of all her books. It has knitting lessons, projects, and her autobiography (digressions, she calls them) which makes for a fascinating read. I love that she asks knitters to THINK, not just follow a pattern row-by-row. I am presently knitting the pi-r-square shawl - it's great that I can take it to work on anywhere, and don't have to bring the directions. She says "you can do this...or try this..." and lets me make the project my own while giving me the confidence to do it!

I highly recommend this book, and would dearly love to see the original videos that were made for PBS to go with it. For those with extra cash, the book and videos would be an excellent choice to donate to your local library.

i bought this book for a friend's birthday and was, at first, really disappointed when i received it. it is published in unprofessional laser-printed sort of way and is a hodge podge of biography, drawings and knitting patterns, some of which are too dorky to wear (eg dickies!) so i didn't give it to my friend and thought i would return it. in looking through it, i found a bunch of ways to improve my knitting designs that i thought it was well worth the price and kept it. if you are the kind of knitter that loves designing your own projects, this is a very useful book. the sweater i was making for my daughter was improved so much by using some of EZ's techniques.

i agree with other knitters that EZ seems like she was an amazing person with a great personality. she didn't take things too seriously and had a great sense of humor about her designs. and i am happy to be exposed to her ingenuity through this book. i'm hoping a bit of her extraordinary inspiration rubs off!

While this book does contain several knitting patterns, this is a largely autobiographical book by Elizabeth Zimmermann. If you are familiar with her lively books and "deconstruction" knitting patterns, and find them charming, you will love this one. If you didn't like her other books, you'll dislike this one.

The patterns are about learning to knit rather than following a pattern, and I think makes knitting less intimidating. The patterns cover socks, a fiar isle yoke sweater, dickeys and hats, the moebius jacket, the "Bog Jacket," the "pie are square" shawl, a Norwegian pullover, mittens, and my personal favorite, the Aran coat. Obviously, not a huge number of patterns, but I bought it mostly for Elizabeth's life story and her warm writing style.

My wife has been knitting for over 35 years and has many books on the subject. She especially enjoys this one due to the fact that there is so much subject matter and history on the author herself and her personal life. I'd recommend it to any husband whose wife is a "knitting nut" like mine!!

A knitter can never have enough Elizabeth Zimmerman books around. Her writing style is relaxed and personal, and her instructions are excellent. Don't let the publication date fool you, these patterns are classic, not dated.

I've had this book for a long time, & lent it to many knitters. I guess not everyone is interested in the autobiography. A lot of Americans don't know--or care--much about 20th c. European history or immigrants. I'm not one to read about celebrities, though, & I very much enjoyed reading about EZ, who writes her biography in a way that reflects her time and the places that she knew. She writes with a context, and very well.

As for the knitting, yesterday I decided that I needed to start on a project that can travel around with me. I have been wanting a shawl for the winter, & the pie r squared shawl is exactly what I need. So I sat down, read the instructions (not the pattern, but the description), looked at the diagram, glanced at the amount of yarn it would take, found some suitable yarn, & I'm off. I understand the construction as EX describes it, & I don't need to follow any pattern. Oh yes, I also pulled out a Mon Tricot pattern dictionary and picked out a stitch pattern--I'm going to flip through a Barbara Walker book too, before I actually cast on & put it all into my traveling knitting bag.

That is what the patterns in this book are good for: understanding the concept of the piece you are knitting.
The book also includes more detailed pattern versions.

If you are not interested in adapting these concepts to your own designs you will most likely find the patterns dull & boring. It would then be best to stay away from this book, & stick to fighting the row by row patterns --with all their frustrating mistakes that you can't easily catch in time because you don't understand the concept behind the design, & all their fussy construction details that are so unnecessary to elegant knitting.

I'm new to knitting and Elizabeth Zimmerman and without doubt she is everything, and more, I've read about her. Because of her excellent teaching books (I went on to buy as much Elizabeth as I can get) I am now knitting icelandic and fair isle knitwear as well as designing my own knitwear and designs. The instructions are easy to follow that even a young child could understand. The Digressions are a joy and inspiration to read and the whole book is enjoyable and educational from start to finish. Knitting Around is a must for any knitter whether beginner, intermediate or the more advanced and experienced knitter. One of the best educational books I have ever bought, thank you Amazon USA and thank you Elizabeth who continues to inspire and educate long after her passing.