— KNITTERS' HELP DESK —
BOOK REVIEWS
[ TIPS & TRICKS ] [FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ] [BOOK REVIEWS ]
[ WEB RESOURCES ] [ ETCETERA ]

KNITTING AROUND

BY ELIZABETH ZIMMERMANN

As Elaine Rowley said in the foreword to Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Around “I knit today because of Elizabeth”. Like Elaine, I too, learned to be in control of knitting and thus, enjoy it when I stumbled upon EZ's “Busy Knitter” show on my local public TV station in 1970-something. She had a way of making knitting make sense. I no longer had to slavishly count rows and follow somebody else's written instructions. EZ's percentage system freed me to create something that fit while using the needles, yarn, and stitches of my choice. Using basic math I learned how to knit to fit!

Elizabeth Zimmermann was my guru! I didn't miss a single segment of “The Busy Knitter”. Her casual, comfortable, chatty style made me feel as though I was sitting with my favorite neighbor. In Knitting Around , EZ continues in the same tone and also adds wonderful, colorful information about her personal history. She alternates pattern instructions and techniques for socks, mittens, sweaters, shawls and more, with stories (she calls them “digressions”) about how she grew up and how she was influenced by the schools she went to and by her family and friends, as well as how she learned to knit. She shares her romance with Life, including how she met her husband and their adventures together before they were married. There are also lots of pictures to further enhance her story. Did you know Elizabeth went to art school and was an accomplished watercolor artist? Examples of her delicious, watercolor paintings are generously sprinkled throughout the book.

In short, Knitting Around is a fascinating personal journal, combined with specific knitting technique that I found difficult to put down. Do yourself a favor and spend a few hours with Elizabeth. She passed away a few years ago. I regret that so many of today's knitters were unable to see her public television series, but this book is even better! It lets us really get “up close and personal” with Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Submitted by Judy Paulsmeyer

Buy this book from Amazon.com

To find out more about the Guild and its activities, please browse our site by clicking on the menu button on the left. This expands the options. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@stlouisknittersguild.com.