Happy October everyone! For me, today kicks off the holiday season with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas (and Hanukkah) and then New Year’s all right around the corner. In preparation for that, I’ve been kindly asked to review some knitting ebooks. I’m going to spread out these reviews since the individual books are geared towards different types of knitters.
Knit 2 Together by Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark is aimed towards new knitters. Tracey Ullman starts off the book with how she learned to knit garter stitch scarves and nothing else. Fear kept her from asking for more help and eventually she stopped knitting. Cue the knitting revolution of the 2000s and she plucks up the courage to learn how to purl and go beyond the garter square.
Mel Clark was a knitting designer and eventually opened up her own shop in Los Angeles. Tracey comes in to her shop, they hit it off and after some time decided to write a book featuring Tracey’s unique take on life and Mel’s beginner friendly designs.
The designs are okay. Honestly, I didn’t quite find them to be my cup of tea in general but perhaps it’s because I’ve gone beyond the basics? I also don’t understand the appeal of knitted skirts. And really? Knitted sweat pants? That being said, some of my favorites come into the later half of the book. Like the mouse family (too cute!), the house slippers and the lace hug me tight. I’m most likely to make the felted house slippers. They look so cozy! The instructions are clear and there are useful “purls of wisdom” peppered through out. For example, one bit of advice is to put live stitches on waste yarn so you can try things on.
I was really looking forward to reading more from Tracey Ullman. I enjoyed “Tracey Takes On” as a kid even though most of the jokes went over my 10-year-old head. Her humor is just my style even if she can be a bit obnoxious at times. At the end of her essays, I was left wanting more and feeling rather disappointed. I think I would have preferred a book from Tracey’s perspective about life and knitting rather than a “how to” book with some funny bits thrown in there.
Perhaps I’m no longer the “Right Person” for this type of book? I know how to ssk, yo, k2tog. The terminology has been demystified so I don’t need someone to hold my hand any more. And I don’t think I would recommend this book to a new knitter. It’s more of a pattern book than a reference book and quite frankly, it isn’t full of patterns that excite me. Bottom line: if you’re thinking of picking this up for a friend that wants to learn how to knit, skip it.
2 Responses to “Knitter’s Review: Knit 2 Together by Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark”
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I looked at the patterns on Rav.Some of them are cute in my opinion. They do look more like intermediate ones rather than ones for beginners tho.
I agree. While the knitted items in the book were lovely, there was really nothing in it that I wanted to knit. I think I got excited about the fact that the same woman who sang “They Don’t Know About Us” back in the 80′s knits, too. A bit of a disappointment, but I enjoyed the funny pictures and the stories. I still adore Tracey Ullman!