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Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

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Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter Paperback – Big Book, September 1, 2005

by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (Author)

4.6 301 ratings

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Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's deepest wish is that everyone understand that knitting is at least as fun as baseball and way cooler than the evil looped path of crochet. Every project, from a misshapen hat to the most magnificent sweater, holds a story. Yarn Harlot tells all those stories with humor, insight, and sympathy for the obsessed.

Over 50 million people in America knit. The average knitter spends between $500 and $1,700 a year on yarn, patterns, needles, and books. No longer just a fad or a hobby, knitting has advanced to a lifestyle.

Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter moves beyond instructions and patterns into the purest elements of knitting: obsession, frustration, reflection, and fun. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's humorous and poignant essays find humor in knitting an enormous afghan that requires a whopping 30 balls of wool, having a husband with size 13 feet who loves to wear hand-knit socks, and earns her "yarn harlot" title with her love of any new yarn--she'll quickly drop an old project for the fresh saucy look of a new interesting yarn.

Since the upsurge in knitting began in the early '90s, the number of women under 45 who knit has doubled. Knitting is no longer a hobby for just grandmothers--women and men of all ages are embracing this art. Describing its allure is best left to Stephanie who explains: "It is a well-known fact that knitting is a sparkling form of entertainment, as spiritual as yoga, as relaxing as a massage, and as funny as Erma Bombeck trapped in a PTA meeting."

Print length

219 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication date

September 1, 2005
Dimensions

7.5 x 0.6 x 5.5 inches
ISBN-10

0740750372
ISBN-13

978-0740750373
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is the author of several books and three collections of essays: Yarn Harlot, Free-Range Knitter, and All Wound Up. (Two of those are New York Times best sellers, which both Stephanie and her mum are really proud of.) She maintains a popular virtual home at www.yarnharlot.ca, and a less organized (and popular) actual home in Toronto, Canada. She's a mother of three, a wife of one, can drive a standard, and has owned two cats in a row that don't care much for her.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Andrews McMeel Publishing; English Language edition (September 1, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 219 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0740750372
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0740750373
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 0.6 x 5.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #172,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #379 in Knitting (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 301 ratings

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Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

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Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is the author of Yarn Harlot, At Knit's End, Knitting Rules!, and Casts Off. She maintains a popular blog at www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/. She lives with her family in an untidy, wool-filled house in Toronto, where she avoids doing the laundry and knits whenever she gets a minute.

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4.6 out of 5

301 global ratings

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Phyllis Timm

Great read

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023

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Very funny book. Very pleasant to read.

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2023

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I loved this book. It made me laugh a lot. As a knitter not Knitter I can say with assurance that I also have had many of the same experiences. I just finished a hat that is my worst project ever. But I’m going to frog it and start over.we love knitting so much we keep trying. Thanks for the story.

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Verity Posit

Profitable, publishable, and pleasurable

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2006

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As a new "knitting recruit" and recent discoverer of [...] I enjoyed this book. But, as one reviewer noted, many of these are paraphrased or elaborated on from her blog. It expounds on many meditations from her previous book, At Knit's End. If you've been a devoted reader of Yarn Harlot for many years, this isn't the book for you. But, if you've never heard of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee or are new to knitting, read this book; you won't be sorry.

I laughed at the vile beast of a squirrel stealing her wool and the sweater who wrote her a letter (Dear Harloting Trollop...). I screamed (to myself, of course) in horror at the moth larvae in her Aran sweater and approved of the obsessive way she "fumigated."(I'm the same way with my books.) Even the cover is clever with a surprised sheep being unraveled. Plus there are other essays about lost tape measures, her first lace attempt (her neighbors thought it was crochet), keeping your stash hidden from loved ones, the "freakin' birds" sweater, her futile, desperate attempts to get her allergic friend to wear wool, a rant about crochet (I'm a "double agent," according to her), a great essay about knitting (and how a brain surgeon said it was hard), T.A.K.E. (Team Against Knitting Enjoyment aka her family), and an ordeal involving a double pointed needle. Even the chapter headings are clever (of course): "The Red Wool of Courage" and "Twenty Thousand Skeins Under the Bed: Or, Stash and Why You Want It."

Ms. Pearl-McPhee is definitely wild (and obsessive) about knitting; it's certainly proven to be profitable, publishable, and pleasurable for her.

5 people found this helpful

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knitterpointer

chuckle, chuckle, knit one, purl....chuckle.....one.....

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2017

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This book would have made a nice Christmas gift, but the "buy one with one click" option put it in my Kindle last week. I love this book! Stephanie is funny, on point, and clearly has nosed around my house and found my stash(es). I thought my hiding places for various not-quite-finished projects were unique, but clearly, she can out-hide me. This is a fun read! You will not learn how to knit if you read this book. You will learn, though, the pure joy of creating (and sometimes even finishing) a knitted project. I promise you will relate to this woman from page 1.You will HAVE to read parts of it out loud, even if it's to the cat, or gerbil, or whoever you can flag down on the street. Its a great gift for your favourite knitter (or yourself, if you have the "click here" button handy....)

2 people found this helpful

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Rushmore

Like bubble gum music for the reader

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2010

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I recently took up the needles again after a lapse of - let's just say decades - and I am seriously addicted to knitting. When I can't knit, I read about knitting. This turned out to be the perfect book for a long layover at a certain Midwestern airport. The Yarn Harlot is a funny, funny lady but she also has a lot of heart. It has been over a week since I finished this book, but I find myself remembering little bits and pieces of it, thinking to myself, Wow, that was good. If you aren't yet convinced that knitting is a metaphor for life, this book may convince you. If you are not a knitter and you read this book, be warned you will be sorely tempted to take up the needles yourself, just because it sounds like so much fun. If you love a knitter, maybe this book will help you understand her (or him). Strongly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

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James Joyce

Absolutely hilarious...no knitting experience necessary

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2013

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I am about halfway through this book, but I had to share. This is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. I am not a knitter; I do embroidery and cross stitching, but I can completely relate to her tales of managing her stash, fitting in time for her craft, unfinished projects, etc. But it is her sense of humor that I absolutely love. You do not have to be into knitting to appreciate the lengths she went to in order to protect her fleece from a thieving squirrel or her husband demanding that she get a handle on how many skeins of yarn are around the house. Just give this one a try. You won't regret it.

3 people found this helpful

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Jane

2 ½ stars. Readers who knit might enjoy this. It’s not for me.

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2014

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I did not laugh. There are 37 chapters. Each one is like an amusing personal essay. For example: First chapter is the author’s attempt to knit a large afghan. The project is too big, and she has trouble staying motivated. Second chapter is the author and a friend each knitting a sweater. Problems include running out of yarn and fixing the size. Third chapter is about the author knitting a cardigan for herself. I only read those three chapters and stopped.

I had wanted to buy her first book, and I thought this was it but it wasn’t. She published two books in the same year, but “At Knits End” was published five months before “Yarn Harlot.” Some reviewers said “At Knits End” was better than “Yarn Harlot.”

It’s told in 1st person which may be appropriate for personal essays, but I prefer not to read 1st person.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person. Story length: 219 pages. Swearing language: none in the parts I read. Sexual content: none in the parts I read. Setting: current day. Copyright: 2005. Genre: humorous essays, knitting.

3 people found this helpful

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B. Dietz

A really good read for the crazy knitters out there.

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2020

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I love the variety of stories in this book. All but one have humor that I could relate to. One story was very sad and not great story to read while expecting my first grandchild. However, I will look for her other books to read. This one was very funny most of the time.

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Michelle

A wonderful read

Reviewed in Canada on April 15, 2023

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This book is wonderful. Once upon a time I found this book in a used book store, and it was the first time I'd encountered someone as addicted and smitten with knitting as I was. Reading her adventures in knitting, and how it had changed her life, really helped me understand why knitting was such a big thing in my own life. This is a warm, safe, wonderful read that makes me laugh every time I read it. I strongly recommend it.

debbie

They are so funny and i have laughed and laighed at how stephanie ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2017

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as an obssessive knitter now i have found these books i am addicted. They are so funny and i have laughed and laighed at how stephanie really relates to the wool obssession that i (and obviously others) have. Have ordered most of her books now and am just waiting to get her latest all wound up.

Lea67

Hilarant !

Reviewed in France on August 9, 2010

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Ce livre autobiographique est sans doute le plus drôle de l'auteur, même si les inconditionnels de son célèbre blog seront déjà familiers avec la plupart des histoires. On y trouvera plein de bons conseils, notamment pour ranger sa laine quand on a peu (ou plus) de place. J'ai personnellement adoré ses lettres ouvertes à des créateurs de patrons impossibles.

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Worldtraveller

I love how Stephanie makes me laugh about knitting

Reviewed in Canada on April 3, 2017

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I love how Stephanie makes me laugh about knitting, partly because I identify with her yarn inventory and knitting methods. Every time I pick it up I get a good laugh from her stories!

waveneyterrace

perfect gift for involved knitters with sense of humour!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2015

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- writing greatly appreciated by the knitter I bought it for
- I would recommend it as a present to any serious knitter (or anyone becoming a serious knitter) and who also has a good sense of humour!

PS I eventually offered to the same person 2 more books from same author:
- "Things I learned from knitting"
- "At knit's end"

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