49 of 56 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Things to do with fat yarn... a little thin for the price., Feb 11 2008
By *Auntie Lynn* "color & pigment specialist; wa... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Twinkle's Weekend Knits: 20 Fast Designs for Fun Getaways (Hardcover)
After "Big City Knits", I was expecting more of the same kind of inspiration and freshness -- and there are glimmers of that in "Weekend Knits." The surprise was how many of the 20 designs were scarves.
It's not that scarves aren't wonderful things -- but making one of big yarn isn't necessarily a burst of creativity. It's the kind of thing you do with a troup of first time knitting scouts. Between the scarves and the iPod and phone sweaters, 25% of the book is gone.
Which seems a bit on the thin side for the price. -- like the models.
One improvement over "Big City..." is that more of the patterns are worked up in Med. and Large sizes, instead of just Small, Skinny, and Extra-Emaciated.
Final thoughts -- this is more of the "write fast, there's a lot of knitters out there; we want to sell books..." school of publishing. I think they should have waited for a few more bursts of inspiration and given us our money's worth. Interesting photography is just not enough.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
another great book! love the designs, but am having a hard time finding twinkle chunky yarn to do them, Feb 16 2008
By Sweetpea - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Twinkle's Weekend Knits: 20 Fast Designs for Fun Getaways (Hardcover)
I loved the big city knits book, and made several projects from it: marilyn jacket, karate sweater, diamond scarf to name a few. I am antsy to try the patterns in the new book, but am having a hard time finding twinkle yarn to do so. I used "burly spun" yarn for the two sweaters i made from the other book, and "blizzard" yarn for the diamond scarf, since twinkle is scarce to find. I suggest twinkle bulk up their production, especially when the release of a book is imminent.
i agree with the first commenter that alot of the patterns are scarfs in this book, however it's called "weekend knits" for that very reason.... scarves knit quite quickly--sweaters take a bit longer.
i like how chia indicated clearly that sizes should be taken based on measured size, not finished size of project. it makes the sizing much clearer.
i also like the small format of the book. it's much easier to tote around to yarn stores and knitting circles than the huge format of "big city knits".
one comment that they could work on would be to have more pictures of the finished product, from more angles on and off the models. and it would be nicer if the picture alongside the pattern was blown up a bit larger.
overall it's a beautiful, fun book with nice ideas for all types of knitters.
NEW UPDATE:
i was able to find 8 skeins of twinkle yarn, in 4 different colors, to make the borealis sweater in size small.it wasn't the exact colors i wanted, but they rurned out nice, i used baby pink, dusty rose, riviera, and rain. i am normally a 0-4, so the small fit fine. it knit up quite quickly. i actually had 2 skeins of yarn left over, because i only had one of the rain color, i made the rain bands narrower. i think if you plan it out correctly you can do it with 6 skeins. you just have to plan out your color placement carefully. i am a beginner knitter, so i had to sort of decipher using other handbooks what "shortrowing" meant. that was probably the hardest step in the whole sweater. weaving in all the ends was kind of tedious, but well worth it, because the sweater turned out gorgeous. i highly recommend wet blocking it after you've completed the project. and because of the easy stockinette stitch, it IS possible to knit this one up in a weekend, believe it or not!
definitely pick this one up if you liked big city knits.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Totally creative, Mar 28 2008
By ClaireOKC "artist & diver" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Twinkle's Weekend Knits: 20 Fast Designs for Fun Getaways (Hardcover)
This is such a break with the traditional k1,p1 sweater and yet it's not orbiting Mars. I haven't made anything from the book, but am dying to do that short, shaw-collared jacket which chock full of style. Probably some other cuties in there too after I get started. Also these projects don't take years to finish - thank heavens - as I don't have years of spare time!