Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Elizabeth Zimmermann is the grandmother of modern American knitting and her books are in the bibliography of almost every knitting book in the last 10 or so years. She's opinionated, antsy and she will tell you exactly what she thinks, but she's also entertaining to read. It's full of illustrations and sketches by her and it has a certain charm. The patterns are pretty timeless (provided you adjust for current fashion for fit) There are patterns for jumpers/sweaters, socks, baby wear, watch caps, socks, slippers, mittens and more here, along with advice on washing jumpers. The Tomten jacket makes an appearance here and you may have to translate the yarns and needles but she makes you ask questions about why you knit the way you do and why you don't play with your knitting more.
This is what Elizabeth Zimmermann is famous for, not the patterns, but for making people think more about how they knit and how things go together and whether or not received wisdom is always the best way.
It's worth reading, even if you don't knit any of the patterns, if you're feeling like there's more that you could do in knitting, even if you don't agree with her, she makes you think.
No comments:
Post a Comment