Hi all,
I want to request the best knitting reference book i can for my Christmas present, but i have no idea what that would be. Could i get some recommendations? What book has proved an invaluable help in knitting dilemmas or with knitting questions, and has carried you through your various knitting stages? or is this too much to ask from a single book?
Also, i want to buy some yarn online, but my DH is very skeptical of the quality of yarn bought online. I’ve looked at YarnPicks and Elann, and they seem to be quality yarns. Can those who have knit with yarn purchased from these sites -or others- give me some sort of quality grade? like, “Grade A - best yarn i’ve ever knit with!” or something like that. I told him the sites must be good quality since they’re advertised on this site, but that doesn’t seem to make much difference. non-knitter…
thanks for the help!
esther
Knitpicks sells good yarn at reasonable prices. The other on-line sites are good, too. These are yarns that you would find in a yarn store, they just happen to be on-line vendors as well. Some of the sites may have less than stellar customer service, but the yarns are generally good. If you’re worried, pick the one with the exchange policy you are most comfortable. If it doesn’t make you happy, send it back. Life’s too short to use bad yarn. :teehee:
One qualifier, yarn just like everything else is “buyer beware” on eBay.
It is hard to ask for all that in one book, I have a few recommendations though. For a general reference book, I’ve had great success with ‘The Knitter’s Bible’ by Claire Crompton (also has some nice patterns in it), also Stitch 'n Bitch is a good reference book with good illustrations and concise wording. A more indepth reference book that also has a HUGE stitch dictionary is the Vogue Ultimate Knitting Book (I don’t think that’s exactly what it’s called, but something like that).
I borrowed the Vogue book from the library, and it looks pretty amazing, though I haven’t been able to go through it much yet. I think I’m going to wind up buying it.
I also just bought the Knitter’s Almanac from Elizabeth Zimmerman from Amazon, but that hasn’t shipped yet.
I have the Vogue Knitting Book and really like it but you might want to go to a good yarn shop or bookstore and see what’s available before you decide.
As far as online retailers go I prefer Elann’s yarn to Knitpicks. In their house brands I think their yarn is softer and better spun than Knitpicks generally speaking. Elann also has some great discounts on regular brand yarns. However, lots of people like Knitpicks also.
One online retailer that I have ordered from several times is Kaleidoscope Yarns. I really like their service and selection of yarns:
Among many of my books, I do carry the Knitting Answer book in my bag with me at all times. Visually Teach Yourself Knitting has good photos, but I basically browsed several books at Barnes & Noble until I saw one that had pics that made sense to me. My LYS recommended, and I really used it a lot…“How to Knit” by The National Needlwork Association was immensely helpful. It’s magazine size/thickness and they have one for crochet too. I’ve seen it at other LYS’s and online.
I like ordering from Dreamweaveryarns.com, Patternworks.com, Yarnmarket.com, and also Knitpicks.com. The prices are fairly comparable to those I’ve seen in yarn shops…
I’ve never been disappointed with yarns from Elann; and Webs is also a great place. Kaleidoscope, Patternworks, Yarnware–all good. And, of course, our own Diva Knitting.
has proven to be invaluable, for generally picking up and reading and for getting me out of a tight spot. It has, IMO, everthing you’ll need including crochet cast on!
I’ll third The Knitter’s Handbook. I think it’s the most comprehensive reference aside from Principles of Knitting (which has been out of print and is prohibitively expensive, but which, supposedly, is being updated).
Wow!
Thanks, all, for the response! very very helpful. i agree with kemp that there is a plethora of info online, which is why i haven’t bought a reference book since i began knitting (2 years ago). but i need a book now b/c my sweet li’l girl doesn’t appreciate mom turning on the computer to get some knitting help at one in the morning :). and i haven’t yet convinced my DH to buy me my very own just-for-knitting computer.
i’m looking forward to purchasing some great yarn online. Thanks again for all the recommendations!! ilove this website!!!
esther
