Friday, October 24, 2008

Buried Treasure

It's cold out, and I'm sick of buying hats that warm my eyebrows and the back of my head and leave my ears to freeze. Best not to ask how this led me to Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac.

Best not to ask about whether it's wise to knit up the patterns in it, either; Ms. Zimmerman makes them sound easy, but the knitters on Ravelry frequently rate them otherwise and spend more than a year making them.

Even so, I recommend this book highly because it is poetry. This is not a knitting book, it is a book of everyday philosophy. And it's also about writing (for example, in a canoe on a camping trip) and even about reading, something she did while knitting, which makes me think she favoured well-loved hardcovers because there is no way you can do that with a paperback such as the Knitter's Almanac.

This book is easily the best $8 I ever spent on a book and more inspiring than many a writing guide to boot; I'm thrilled to have it, even though I'm still hunting for the perfect hat.

1 comment:

Kathleen Taylor said...

You know, I've never read this book.I think I need to remedy that omission.

Maybe you need a Peruvian style hat pattern,with ear flaps. They're gorgeous besides, especially if you want to try your hand at Fair Isle (which isn't nearly as difficult as it looks).