Customer Reviews

Special Little Knits from Just One Skein

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

 

 

I was rather disappointed with this book. The title is a little misleading - one skein, in one instance, is 2,400 yards! All of the projects in this book are made with the same brand of yarn, Cherry Tree Hill, which the author sells. I don't have anything against promoting one's own product, and I have nothing against this yarn, but it would have been nice to see a variety of different yarn brands used that might be easier to find in your LYS. The author does use various types and weights of yarn (from lace-weight to worsted), but the projects just don't have that "certain something" to make them standout.

I like a knitting challenge. Looked through this at Borders. Found it much more inspiring than other 'one skein' type books. Definitely for a more intermediate/advanced knitter. Provided a number of different and interesting ways to use expensive yarns (for those who splurge on 1 special skein), including a very different way to construct a shawl. One skein by definition is not a set weight or yardage. That is by no means a 'wide definition,' it's providing diverse projecs for diverse yarns (i.e. not just worsted weight). I liked the handling and use of these patterns for variegated yarns; the book has a number of cute projects. The only thing that held me back from buying it in store was knowing I could get it cheaper on Amazon.

I was excited to see another 1 skein book and hoped to find some great items for those 1 skein purchases. Unfortunately, most of the items are not inspiring. The lace items are beautiful, but that's not my thing. The scarves and socks are rather boring. Don't bother buying this book.

Cheryl Potter's SPECIAL LITTLE KNITS FROM JUST ONE SKEIN holds a range of ideas which can be made with just one skein of yarn - from scarves to shrugs, cover-ups, ponchettes and more. Color photos accompany step-by-step instructions and with the focus on temporary styling, knitters will find a range of ideas perfect for not just gift-giving, but for using up leftovers and small stashes of yarn.

What can you do with just one skein of yarn? A lot! Author and designer Cheryl Potter features twenty-seven different patterns, all using one skein. The book is divided by yarn weight: Projects with Lace-weight Yarns, Fun with Fingering-Weight Yarns, Sport-weight and DK-weight Projects, Worsted-Weight Wonders, and Beautiful Bulky Weights. The appeal "Special Little Knits from Just One Skein" is that every project in the book would make a great gift for somebody! There are scarves, hats, socks, ponchos, wraps, and even baby/toddler items. While the designs all feature Cherry Tree Hill yarns, you certainly could substitute other yarns.

I made the Sachet Rickrack Scarf based on the design on page 87. I picked up a skein of the Sachet yarn in colorway Champlain Sunset by Cherry Tree Hill at my local yarn shop. The lacy rickrack pattern was a lot of fun to knit! I can't wait to try my hand at knitting some of the socks featured in the book. I particularly like the Potluck Supersocks.

I wanted to rate this 3 1/2 stars.

This book has some great little designs in it--for example, the Tuxedo Scarf, the Shaped Shawl, and the Cascade Cover-Up.

However, the "one skein" part only seems to apply to the yarns featured, which are not widely available, except from the author's website and a few knitting stores. Every manufacturer is different as to what constitutes a "skein", and if you have both old and new skeins of the same brand of yarn in your stash you can even see where the yardage varies if the manufacturer has chosen metric over imperial weights (though both are listed).

This book would be far more useful if it had some substitution information, such as several photo examples of what could be used within the range of each size of yarn. The Cascade Cover-Up would look great in a linen or cotton yarn, for example. One store had the pattern's featured silk yarn for $56 a skein, which is really expensive for something that's meant to be worn at the beach.

So, bottom line, don't let the "one skein" in the title scare you off from knitting some of these designs, but the author should have done more to make these designs user-friendly. The Amazon price is a lot more realistic (though still a bit on the high side), considering that the book serves more as a fancy yarn catalogue than as a general pattern book.

There are only a few projects in this book that I would NOT consider making, as they are very nice projects. My only complaint is that you need more than one skein of yarn to complete many of them, which is still good in a way if you have a tight budget, yet I think the title of the book is very deceiving, since all the yarn used in the book is from the author's own company, Cherry Tree Hill Yarn, and their skeins have more yardage (over 1000 yards on some) than a typical skein of yarn from the store.

"Special Little Knits from Just One Skein" by Cheryl Potter is a terrific book to add to your knitting collection. It allows you to try "just one skein" of many yarns that intrigue you, and get a feel for how they knit up, without committing to a multi-skein project.

Naturally, there are bags, scarves, hats, socks, and baby clothes, as you'd expect. But there are also a fair number of patterns for shawls, sweaters and other larger items.

The book is divided by yarn weight, beginning with lace weight and ending with bulky. Cheryl Potter, the author, is the founder of Cherry Tree Hill yarns, thus all the projects are made with that brand. I absolutely adore Cherry Tree Hill yarn, but be aware that some of the "one skein" projects might require more than one skein if another yarn is substituted. For example, the "Figure 8 Fantasy Shawl," a gorgeous, complex lace-weight shawl with figure-8 motifs, requires one skein of Merino Lace from Cherry Tree Hill, which weighs in at a hefty 2400 yards.

But, having recently purchased a skein of Merino Lace, the whole reason for my purchasing the book, I can say you won't be sorry if you give this pattern, or any of the other ones in the book, a try. C'mon, it's just one skein!

Great book, nicely packed for shipping. Quick delivery with no problems.

Would shop with them again.