Mother of Purl: Friends, Fun, and Fabulous Designs at Hollywood's Knitting Circle [Paperback]

Edith Eig (Author), Caroline Greeven (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

"Mother of Purl", written in Edith's warm, humorous but no-nonsense voice, allows readers to feel as though she is there knitting alongside them. The book combines clear instructions that Edith has honed over thirty years of teaching with the refined Parisienne styling and sophistication that has drawn the elite of Hollywood and fashion stylists to rely on her. Packed with hundreds of Edith's secret tips, dozens of longer-format "Tips from the Top," and multiple celebrity anecdotes, "Mother of Purl" will be to knitters what "The Joy of Cooking" is to chefs. It is an invaluable reference, warm and witty, packed with practical techniques, inspiring projects and the kind of insight that only comes from thirty years of teaching experience.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

There is no better indicator of a craft's resurgence or ascendance than the number of new books devoted to the subject. And although knitting's revival has been in the works since the beginning of the millennium (if not before), this new innovative book signals a more sophisticated knitter in the making. Well known to the denizens of Studio City, Eig, owner of La Knitterie Parisienne, now takes her expertise on the road, sharing tips, patterns, and even two recipes with thousands of not-so-famous knitters across the country, even the world. Opening her book is almost like coming home; the warmth of her welcome and you-can-do-it attitude infuse every page and instruction. Aside from the more than 45 fairly simple patterns (female oriented), the chatty text starts with the basics, such as casting on, knitting, and purling, and continues with an exploration of yarns and equipment, the knitting circle and other emotional connections, and other relevant topics. "My philosophy is to help knitters feel the joy in creating something of substance and style--something that is all your own." Amen. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Edith Eig is often cited as the woman behind the knitting renaissance and is known as "the knitting guru to the stars." Her LA shop, La Knitterie Parisienne, is visited by actors, designers, executives and entertainment journalists who clamor for a seat at her ongoing instore knitting circle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060818271
• ISBN-13: 978-0060818272
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,464,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good info/OK Patterns/obnoxious author, July 28, 2006

By 

D. Christensen (Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mother of Purl: Friends, Fun, and Fabulous Designs at Hollywood's Knitting Circle (Paperback)

I found nothing wrong with the instructional portion of this book. Using photos instead of drawings was a great idea. But the yarn section was too opinionated, and the patterns were just OK, with several I would never knit because either a) they looked so weird or b) they would take WAY too long to complete. My biggest pet peeve about the patterns was that some of the best were crochet not knitting (and I don't crochet) and also that the author says what brand of yarn to use, but doesn't list the exact colors to duplicate it, and doesn't list the weight if you want to use a different brand.
But the real reason I took this book back to Barnes & Noble & got a refund was because of her obnoxious writing style. The author states how wonderful her own patterns are, which might be forgiveable. But most of the "story" portion is how such and such celebrity confided in her, or credits her with learning to knit, or invited her to a wedding shower, or how this piece is in this movie, or that piece is worn by that star, etc.
This book is as pretentious as Hollywood and just not worth the money.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The stars are for the tips, December 6, 2005

By 

Cikk "cikk" (Malta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mother of Purl: Friends, Fun, and Fabulous Designs at Hollywood's Knitting Circle (Paperback)

but not for the patterns or the name dropping. I guess I should have expected all the name dropping, once Hollywood is in the very title...... Anyway, that's the least problem of them all.

First of all, the binding is already coming apart, which is terrible - I haven't even used it for knitting yet, just leafed thru it! (Same as Basically brilliant knits - terrible binding).

Secondly, the patterns are mostly totally not my style. I don't want to say ugly, or tasteless, or loud, because taste is a very personal thing, and who's to say what is good or bad taste? But I don't like fussy, overdecorated things. And I call a poncho made up of stripes of acid yellow furry stuff with bright pink and green stripes and lots of other colours - GULP. Using expensive yarns like Prism for a afghan doesn't necessarily mean good design, it just means money to burn. Throwing all the yarns at one's disposal and all the colours in the universe into one item - well, same comment.

Thirdly - shapeless. I mean boxy jackets, boxy shells - there is not even the hint of a bit of side shaping - how bad is that? Bulky novelty yarns don't help to make tanks sit nicely either. I've seen tanks without side shaping, but the yarns used made them fall nicely or stretch over the bust to look fitted - like the ones in Basically brilliant knits. These - no. The only shaped thing is a dress which is actually very nice. There's a cute halter top which falls down on its finishing - the v neck is edged with a picked up rib band which crosses over at the v. It gapes and buckles over there and looks simply awful. Not even in my beginner days would I ever have worn something so badly finished. But I guess that's why noone ever called my work homemade!

She gives a few good tips, I picked up a couple of new ideas. The halter is cute, although I would have to change the edging - maybe crochet it to make it tight and neat? there's one other pattern I like for a cashmere tank - although I will omit the fur edges. All in all though, I much prefer the book I got at the same time - Kitty Bartholomew. Now, there's a useful one!

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I expected, March 16, 2006

By 

leeb "lee" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mother of Purl: Friends, Fun, and Fabulous Designs at Hollywood's Knitting Circle (Paperback)

I was hoping as many years as the author has been in business that she would have published a better book with more innovative patterns with better designs and more handpainted yarns. If I had it to do over again, I would not buy this book.