She did it! -like the song from My Fair Lady about Professor Higgins - Wendy did it -she did it!
Got Wendy Knits yesterday and read Wendy Knits yesterday - reading it was like eating cheetos - I couldn't stop! - even tired and blearly eyed - I had to keep reading - what...what was going to happen next? I had to find out!
I absolutely LOVED her chapter on knitting socks - from the way she describes how she got interested in knitting socks, how she designs them (the dimensions and specs) to fit a person's foot to the end of the chapter when her friend asked for the pair that Wendy had made for her when... but wait, I don't want to give it away.
I've been reading Wendy's Blog for years, so I knew that Wendy is a real knitting mensch. Now, you get to know that too - she's extremely generous sharing her knowledge and experience with knitting with her readers - you'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll learn from her mistakes. And, most amazingly, Wendy in Wendy Knits captures the adventure, the excitement, the exploration, the discovery and the creation that is knitting! BRAVO Wendy - you did it! Her's is the first knitting book I've read that really is all about that! It's not about the finished object, although there are wonderfully written and clearly charted patterns for scarves, socks, sweaters, shawls and cat toys and cat beds - and good clear B&W photographs of real women (and cats) (and even Wendy!) modeling the different knitted pieces -and good clear instructions for different techniques - lace, cables, color work - using different types of yarn - wool, silk, alpaca - and even a discussion of the many folk traditions of knitting - aran, gansey, fair aisle, Norweigen and Swedish - But the bottom line is that this book is about what makes knitting so important to many people these days - it's about the search, the adventure, the discovery, the design, and the creation that knitting is! And, last, and maybe most importantly, you'll learn all about the great Lucy - but, I will say no more...
BRAVISSIMO Wendy! And you, reading this review which has gotten to be much longer than I intended, curious knitter that you are or may yet be, these are your marching orders should you choose to accept them: get this book, do not delay, do not pass go and collect [...]- and do get ready for a fun time - with or without a marguerita [...].
