Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

Rating:
Summary: A truly lovely book
Review: As a less-than-expert level knitter, this book just called to me from the shelf; here were projects not beyond my reach. As an ever practical Yankee, I love creating objects that are useful as well as nice to look upon, and this book is full of such items. As an artist, I appreciated the quick overview of color management. Good use of color often distinguishes beautiful creations from those that are merely nice.

Sources for materials are given in the back, but I like to patronize local businesses when possible, so I didn't always use the precise yarns suggested in the patterns, but as long as I kept the weight the same and checked my gauge my projects so far have been very satisfactory. Another reviewer mentioned the leg warmers she and her daughter wished to knit but were unable to find the materials needed for the project. I, too, was unable to find circular needles so short, but I used double-pointed needles instead and although this lengthened the time it took me to finish them, the end result was just as beautiful.

I truly enjoy this book; it offers projects of various skill levels but with enough solid information and direction to coax even beginner-intermediate knitters such as myself to try.

Rating:
Summary: get this book just for the gorgeous photos of yarn
Review: I have many a hundred knitting books and I try mightily not to buy any more (I borrow them from the library now) but I simply could not resist this book. The photographs make me want to knit every project in the book. I want to just click on buy, buy, buy looking at the projects. But I have to warn that the price of the yarn on the author's website may not be your best deal. Shop wisely and look for sellers who do not add that little incremental cost to the retail price that means you as a knitter pay a leetle bit more than you have to...Other than that word to the wise, the book is lovely.

Rating:
Summary: True Timing
Review: I knitted one of the hats in the time described and my nephew was able to wear the hat on Christmas Day!!!! Great book with great ideas!

Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous book, beautiful results, but...
Review: I should start by saying I adore this book. The patterns are universally tasteful, unique, and gorgeous. Your friends and family would be thrilled if you made any item from this book. Another reviewer said color is Joelle's thing, and that is true. As far as color and design go, the book is truly inspiring.

That said, I can see two areas for improvement that prevented me from giving a 5-star rating: First, the photography, while beautiful, is sometimes less than helpful for the knitter. Sometimes items are shot in such isolation that it's difficult to envision them on someone, sometimes there are no shots of the whole garment laid out so that you can see the final shape. Sometimes shots are not of the whole item at all, even if they are modeled.

Second, there are quite a few mistakes in the patterns. Joelle has posted all the pattern corrections on the Purl website, though, so as long as you're aware of them it's no problem. You can find the corrections here:

http://store.purlsoho.com/purl/book_corrections

All in all, a tremendous first effort by a talented designer. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good!
Review: I've made good use of this purchase. To date, I've made six of the patterns, and am working on the seventh. In general, I find the instructions to be well-written. The pictures are great--this is a fun book to mull over with a cup of tea, deciding what I want to knit next.

That said, I do see a couple drawbacks:
--some of the materials needed are hard to find. I wanted to knit the wrist warmers/fingerless mitts, but was completely unable to find 8" circular knitting needle, other than from mysterious online vendors! I had to improvise with the two-circular-needle method.
--I found one pattern mistake, in the pink mohair scarf: the pattern has the repeat asterisk (*) in the wrong spot.
--I'm a steady, fairly experienced knitter, but I found her estimated times too low. I finally figured if I doubled the time she suggested (i.e., "4-hour projects" really take 8 hours) I was just about hitting the mark. But all you really fast knitters out there will probably have no call to complain.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty pictures but not practical
Review: The book has beautiful illustrations but that's about all I can say good about it. I was unable to find a knitting store that carried some of the yarns used in the book.
Also, my daughter wanted to make the leg warmers as a Christmas present and with just a week to go before Christmas she could not find the yarn or the size needles used. We were both very disappointed with the book. Pretty to look at but not a book that I will be using.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite knitting book
Review: This is a wonderful book - definately worth the money. The photography is beautiful and the directions are very clear. Aside from the tea cozy and pom-poms, all of the projects are very current and "hip." The author uses some of my favorite yarns - a lot of hand-dyed wools and soft alpaca. I've made the purl scarf, the children's scarf, and the women's hand warmers so far. I'm currently working on the stuffed rabbit, but am disappointed to learn that it takes TWO same-size circular needles. I don't want to buy another pair. Oh well - that's my only problem with the patterns. If you love Weekend Knitting, you'll love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Eye candy that delivers
Review: This is one of my favorite knitting books. I love a book that stimulates me. The projects are classic, elegant, whimsical yet simple and all the more beautiful because of their simplicity. The photography is striking and clear. The knitted items so well capatured, you feel as if you are looking at portraits! It does assume you have some basic knowledge of knitting, but don't let that deter you newbies. You'll find yourself turning to it again and again for inspiration. Please note that there are a few errors in the patterns, but they have the corrections listed on the purlsoho.com website, so check that out before you begin a project.

The only problem is after you knit any of these treasures, will you give them as gifts, or will you keep them for yourself? Hmmmmmm...

Huzzah! Joelle Hoverson & Anna Williams

Rating:
Summary: A great gift for yourself AND everyone you know!
Review: This is such a cool book.
The projects are diverse and not too complicated. I love the photography, too.

Even if you're an experienced knitter, sometimes it's fun to have some quick, simple projects to work on. People always appreciate handmade gifts and there is a great selection of them in this book.

Of course, the first thing I made was for me. I wanted to "test-drive" it before making it for someone else. It was the "Airy Scarf". Easy and beautiful and you can get two scarves from one ball of KidSilk Haze. Not bad!

It's a beautiful inspiring book.

Rating:
Summary: great color advice and lovely projects
Review: When I got this book out of the library I thought it would be one of these chic chick knits books but I was amazed at how much I learned from the discussion of color and the clever suggestions for yarn combinations. Sure, many of the yarns are on the luxury end but most of the projects do not use a large amount. I was able to substitute some of the yarns with less expensive yarns from Knitpicks with great results. As soon as the 2nd edition comes out I am going to buy a copy!