Customer Reviews

Simply Fabulous Knitting (Ultimate Guide to...S.)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It is based on her writings. And not that well either. I am an intermediate to advanced knitter and I found quite a bit of it to be very confusing or not well described, unlike Montse Stanley's work, which is well thought out and informative.

I was intrigued by the other reviews that complain about this book being "based on" the works on Montse Stanley. So I pulled out my copy of her knitting reference Knitter's Handbook : A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Techniques of Handknitting, and compared to what I found in Amazon's very useful online reader.

I looked at about five pages. All the technical knitting illustrations and text were the same as what appears in her Knitter's Handbook, so she is the author (not counting the moronic cartoons featuring the female on the cover), but the type has been "reset" and the layout is different. However, this book has half the pagecount of her Knitter's Handbook, though the layout doesn't look like it is packing more on each page. The index for this book lists less than half the topics given in the index for Knitter's Handbook. A brief look at the contents shows that topics have been given snappier titles and reordered. I searched for the text of some advanced topics near the end of Knitter's Handbook and they were not present in this book.

This book feels like it is a cosmetic repackaging for the tv generation, with a less pedantic title than "Knitter's Handbook" and excluding advanced content. Blame the publishers involved, not Amazon. Meanwhile, if this topic interests you, go buy her most very excellent, affordable, and chock-full of information Knitter's Handbook instead of this one. [On the day I'm writing this, Jan 2008, the Knitter's Handbook is about $1 less than this silly book.]

Amazon should immediately CORRECT the book listing to state "BASED ON THE WRITINGS OF MONTSE STANLEY". This book was NOT written by Montse Stanley.

Why would any bookseller intentionally say this book was written by an author that did not write the book. If you enlarge the picture, the front book cover states BASED ON...., not written by Montse Stanley.

VERY deceptive, and poor sales practice.

I respectfully request a correction to state EXACTLY what the book states - BASED ON THE WRITINGS OF MONTSE STANLEY.

An excellent book for someone to learn knitting skills, with superb diagrams and very good explanations.
I gave this copy to a friend who has to teach fellow countrywomen in far west of New South Wales Australia; it will be an excellent resource for her to go through the skills in this book with her students.