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This book is utterly delightful. It is my favorite knitting book and if I could only have one, this would be my choice. I have knitted my way through most of the patterns and they are varied, interesting and good for designing your own things.
Included in the book is the percentage system, same as in Knitting without Tears, her classic for beginning knitters. This is applied to a beautiful Shetland sweater with a yoke fair-isle design. This classic design looks wonderful on children and adults. You can make it in any size.
There is also the wildly clever Moccasin sock, that can be re-soled. The construction is unlike any other kind of sock and shows the brilliant engineering mind of EZ.
There is a shawl (PI r squared) which is a varation of the PI shawl found in the Knitting Almanac. This has a straight front, like a stole, and rounds off in the back.
The Moebius scarf is also in this book (a ring with a twist that goes around your neck and drapes attractively.) These are just some of the knitting patterns; there is a lot more. Elizabeth knew how to pack a book with plenty of information and this is no exception.
There's not only knitting here, there are lovely color photographs of Elizabeth's watercolors (she was trained in Munich at a famous art school.) There is a gallery in the book of some of her wonderful designs in the most attractive colors. And best of all, an autobiographical "digression" that tells Elizabeth's story, funny, interesting and always unique.
If you don't own all of EZ's books (Knitting Without Tears, Knitting Almanac, Knitting Workshop and this one, Knitting Around) I think this is the best one to start with if you more or less know how to knit. It improved my knitting 1000 percent and I recommend this book to everyone who likes to knit.
First, I really enjoy the autobiography woven through the book. From a childhood in England to marriage and children in the USA, it's a very interesting story. For the career minded, it's a wonderful tale of a cottage industry grown on talent, charm and hard work.
This book also includes several of my favorite "patterns". For those unfamiliar with EZ, a word of caution. The greatest of Elizabeth's accomplishments (IMHO), was her rebellion against blind following of patterns. Sure, you could make exact duplicates of her sweaters, but where's the fun in that? Elizabeth teaches (and writes patterns) in terms of concepts and thinking. The result -- patterns that can be adapted for different weights of yarn and different bodies. So, in this book are "instructions" for a beautiful Norwegian sweater; the classic shetland wool, fair isle neck sweater so popular in the 70's; the mocassin sock (easy to reknit when heels and toes wear out); the "Pi-R" shawl; and the great mobieus scarf (think the infinity circle).
If you have the chance, the video series that accompanies this book (for a series of PBS shows as I recall) is also a treat. Schoolhouse Press produces them (don't know if Amazon carries them).
Bottom line: Not a book for the novice knitter but a wonderful addition to the library of any person who can no longer remember how many times they've said "just let me finish this row."
