For the Love of Knitting: A Celebration of the Knitter's Art - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0896580458 ISBN 13: 9780896580459

Publisher: Voyageur Press, 2004

Synopsis

A collection of works all celebrating the craft of knitting, including essays, stories, artwork and photography, all touching on different aspects of the popular pastime, with historical sidebars and vintage material providing a touching historical context.

About this title

Review:

a joyful celebration of the art and craft of knitting, this is the perfect gift for that special knitter in your life ( you know, the one who lovingly knitted bobble hats and jumpers throughout your childhood). it's a wonderful scrapbook-style mix of vintage/retro knitting ads, stories by authors including Jamaice Kincaid and profiles of artisits. The knitter who has everything doesn't quite have everything - yet! --Su Mwamba, CraftNews

The special place that knititng holds in so many people's lives is the central theme of this lovely book. It's a collection of essays and stories form writers such as Elizabeth Zimmerman, Meg Swansen, Teva Durham and Melanie Falick. each contribution celebrates the joy of knitting. Writers share their memories of learning to knit and family knitting traditions, discuss the lure of the yarn shop, and explore the heritage of kniting in different cultures around the world. --The Knitter, April 2009

We love the chance to curl up and read about knitting, and this collection of essays and stories written by knitters is a great mix of memoirs and essays which touch on the wider circumstances that effect us as knitters. Cotributors include great knitters and designers such as Elizabeth Zimmerman and her daughter Meg Swansen, Lily M Chin, Pam Allen, and Jamaica Kincaid. The pieces vary considerably, form a personal memoir of knitting as a schoolboy during the Second World War to the revolutionary aspects of knitting your own socks, but each is interesting and redable, and the format makes this a book you can dip into or gobble up at a single sitting. We particularly like the thoughful nature of the articles on the art of knitting and its meaning to it's practicioners. Pieces like 'So Begins A Fetish' ( about a yarn shop sale) and 'The Afghan' (about a blanket for charity) remind us why we shop and why we knit for charity, loved ones and ourselves. Although you might not learn any new techniques or stiches form this book, by the time you've finished the essays you'll find yourself rooted amongst a community and a heritage of knitters, which is perhaps more valuable. The book is physically quite large and beautifully illustrated with photographs of yarn and knitters, modren and historic knits and lovely vintage pattern book covers, making it a great coffee-table book that will intrigue knitters and non0knitters alike - and who knows this fascinating book might convert a few non-knitters who pisck it up out of curiosity! --Simply Knitting, July, 2009

This collection of essays from the top names in knitting in the USA celebrate the art of knitting. The stories capture the past and present in knitting with stories from World War II to more modern times. I am not sure of the purpose of this book as it seems not to have one. Stories about the envy of women who realise one lucky woman has a husband who spins and so on. If you are not passing your time knitting and have idle hands, you might wish to read a page or two. Amply illustrated 160 pages of large format twitterings on knitting. --karenplatt dot co reviews, June 2009

This book is a collection of essays from knitters. But at first glance, my favorite part are the vintage elements . . . pictures of old knitting patterns, posters, portraits and propaganda. It adds a pleasant ambience to the written word and the accompanying pictures of process and product. . . . And in this case, the essays are something worth savoring slowly, coming as they do from knitter/writers like Melanie Falick, Pam Allen, Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen. . . . I like the book. I m savoring it slowly. --knitty dot com June 2009

From the Back Cover:

This book is a collection of essays from knitters. But at first glance, my favorite part are the vintage elements . . . pictures of old knitting patterns, posters, portraits and propaganda. It adds a pleasant ambience to the written word and the accompanying pictures of process and product. . . .

And in this case, the essays are something worth savoring slowly, coming as they do from knitter/writers like Melanie Falick, Pam Allen, Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen. . . . I like the book. I’m savoring it slowly.

-Amy Singer, Knitty.com

Past and present come together in For the Love of Knitting, a scrapbook of stories, essays, and memories that celebrates knitting and knitting heritage.

The stories gathered here embody the cultural and historical aspects of knitting. Set during World War II to the modern day, they range from the amusing to the reflective to the enlightening. Contributors include Jamaica Kincaid, Melanie Falick, Elizabeth Zimmermann, Meg Swansen, Susan Gordon Lydon, Pam Allen, and many more.

These pieces work in perfect tandem with an eye-catching treasury of artwork, including works from such acclaimed artists as Solveig Hisdal, fiber artists Debbie New and Karen Searle, and photographer Chris Hartlove. Black-and-white historical photographs, vintage advertising, and pattern booklets provide a complete look at the popular pastime.

Whether you’re a knitter or someone who has a love of hand-knitted items and what they represent, this anthology of classic and contemporary reflections on the passion for the knit stitch will warm your heart and inspire you to reflect upon your own knitting stories.

About this edition

• Publisher: Voyageur Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0896580458
• ISBN 13: 9780896580459
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160
• Editor: Cornell Kari A.