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4th out of 54 books
—
54 voters
Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's deepest wish is that everyone understand that knitting is at least as fun as baseball and way cooler than the evil looped path of crochet. Every project, from a misshapen hat to the most magnificent sweater, holds a story. Yarn Harlot tells all those stories with humor, insight, and sympathy for the obsessed.Over 50 million people in America knit....more
Paperback, 219 pages
Published
September 1st 2005
by Andrews McMeel Publishing
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I skimmed through this book fairly quickly since it is a bit of a guilty light-reading for me. For a non-knitter this book would probably make no sense whatsoever. For someone who has is slowly being pulled into the lure of the craft, the book is slightly amusing and mildly entertaining, reading like a series of blog entries. It consists of short stories and essays, ranging from falling in love with lace knitting, the excruciating pains of knitting gifts for Christmas, and the infamous yarn stas...more
Apr 24, 2008
Dawn
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
crafters
Recommended to Dawn by:
Jane Luce
Shelves:
humorous-light-reading
Honestly, I laughed out loud, I cried silently, I saw myself on nearly every page--and I can barely knit! This is a book about addictions--the healthy ones--that all of us find ourselves tangled up with at some point in our lives, and we find that we are suddenly obsessive/compulsive about something and just don't know how to "put it down". Since there seems to be no cure, we do our best to make the activity meaningful not only for ourselves, but also for our families and others around us. I fee...more
I crochet. I already have a yarn stash which is defying the laws of physics, and making my housemates a little nervous. I've taught my best friend to crochet, and one of my housemates is in the process of learning. (We're incredibly proud of a very, very long row of chain stitches, which are going to become -- eventually -- a scarf for my teddy bear.)
My girlfriend knits. I own a full length replica of the scarf Tom Baker wore as the Eighth Doctor, on Doctor Who, knitted for me by her. I have a k...more
My girlfriend knits. I own a full length replica of the scarf Tom Baker wore as the Eighth Doctor, on Doctor Who, knitted for me by her. I have a k...more
Rarely do I giggle out loud with books, but I seem to quite a lot with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's writing. It is my kind of humor. Reading this book motivated me to pick my needles up and knit more frequently the past week. I feel inspired to knit, knit, knit, and accept it if I am starting to show symptoms of becomming a Knitter (with a capital K).
This book is a collection of knitting-related essays. Knitting has infiltrated just about every aspect of Pearl-McPhee's life and she is all the bette...more
This book is a collection of knitting-related essays. Knitting has infiltrated just about every aspect of Pearl-McPhee's life and she is all the bette...more
Thoroughly comforting and totally entertaining. Perfect for my post-root canal mood (read cranky, irritable and a little sore, but still resisting the Vicodin)
My favorite was the list of 10 ways that parenting and knitting are alike (especially 1, 2, 5 and 7. I know nothing about 3, but I believe it):
1. You have to work on something for a really long time before you know if it's going to be okay.
2. They both involve an act of creation involving common materials, easily found around the home.
3. B...more
My favorite was the list of 10 ways that parenting and knitting are alike (especially 1, 2, 5 and 7. I know nothing about 3, but I believe it):
1. You have to work on something for a really long time before you know if it's going to be okay.
2. They both involve an act of creation involving common materials, easily found around the home.
3. B...more
Knitting humor.
Seriously! It is fun stuff. Nearly as fun as blocking your first lace shawl or rolling around naked in your yarn stash.
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot, is a knitter, a mum (she's Canadian), a doula, the inventor of the word "kinnearing" and a super fun writer. I've been reading her blog for a few months and finally picked up one of her books. Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter is described as "a sort of David Sedaris-like take on knitting," but it is really so m...more
Seriously! It is fun stuff. Nearly as fun as blocking your first lace shawl or rolling around naked in your yarn stash.
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot, is a knitter, a mum (she's Canadian), a doula, the inventor of the word "kinnearing" and a super fun writer. I've been reading her blog for a few months and finally picked up one of her books. Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter is described as "a sort of David Sedaris-like take on knitting," but it is really so m...more
This was a cute, quick read I received in a trade through BookCrossing.
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has been blogging about knitting and the fiber arts since 2005 on her website, Yarn Harlot. This book, rather than being a chronological narrative, is made up of short essays and stories (some taken from her blog and some written for the book). They're all autobiographical, and reading the book is like reading her diary: they're all about the trials and triumphs of her daily knitting experiences. Some...more
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has been blogging about knitting and the fiber arts since 2005 on her website, Yarn Harlot. This book, rather than being a chronological narrative, is made up of short essays and stories (some taken from her blog and some written for the book). They're all autobiographical, and reading the book is like reading her diary: they're all about the trials and triumphs of her daily knitting experiences. Some...more
Much like the other book by this author, I picked this one up on my kindle because I've read her blog and enjoyed her writing style. This book is a series of stories/vignettes/observations, loosely linked by topic into chapters, and was probably taken from some of her blog posts. I very much enjoyed reading this, although admittedly if I'd already read all of them on her blog then it would be less entertaining. I still like her writing style and descriptions, as well as some of the more poignant...more
Let me start out by saying that I would have pushed this to three and a half stars if that were possible here, but I just couldn't push it to a four.
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is a knitting blogger. Yarn Harlot is, I'm guessing, scraped from blog content. That's not necessarily a bad thing; there are books of that type that I've loved, and that have introduced me to blogs that I now follow and am a huge fan of. But I wasn't expecting it with this book, and for some reason, the disjointed nature of t...more
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is a knitting blogger. Yarn Harlot is, I'm guessing, scraped from blog content. That's not necessarily a bad thing; there are books of that type that I've loved, and that have introduced me to blogs that I now follow and am a huge fan of. But I wasn't expecting it with this book, and for some reason, the disjointed nature of t...more
Knitters, read this book! I'm a knitter, as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee would say, not a Knitter (with a capital K). But no matter what level of knitting you're at, this book highlights the humorous quirks of a life that involves this crazy, addicting craft. If you have ever wondered if you are alone in picking projects to big for your eyes, the Green Afghan chapter will let you know you are in good company. If you are looking for creative ways to hide your stash, Steph's got that covered for you too...more
I'm a knitter. I knit all the time, and, sitting here, have no fewer than three knitting projects within arm's reach of me. I'm totally this book's target audience...which is unfortunate, because I spent more time rolling my eyes than I did anything else.
The book is slight and fluffy, easily readable in an hour or two. Some of the material seems to be recycled from her blog--and, frankly, I think that all the material was better suited to a blog than it was to a book of essays.
I'm choosing to be...more
The book is slight and fluffy, easily readable in an hour or two. Some of the material seems to be recycled from her blog--and, frankly, I think that all the material was better suited to a blog than it was to a book of essays.
I'm choosing to be...more
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is an awesome writer who can take an ordinary story and make it sound like the funniest knitting story you have ever read. I love reading her books because they cause side-splitting laughter and that my friends, is a good thing.
I know I'm probably in the minority here, but this book just didn't do it for me, like it has [apparently:] for a lot of other knitters. I didn't even finish it, to be perfectly honest.
It wasn't awful, and some things did make me laugh or smile, so I'm not saying it is a total waste of time. It's just that I find a lot of other knitters' blogs to be more interesting, and a lot funnier than this book. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's blog itself is often better than this book. I know it's the first one...more
It wasn't awful, and some things did make me laugh or smile, so I'm not saying it is a total waste of time. It's just that I find a lot of other knitters' blogs to be more interesting, and a lot funnier than this book. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's blog itself is often better than this book. I know it's the first one...more
A fun read, and something the Knitter (or even knitter, small k) in your life will appreciate. Stephanie is very funny, and she's very open about her knitting craziness.
I'm a knitter (note the lack of capitalization), and while I haven't been seized by the full on knitting madness, I could still enjoy her take on the last minute rush to finish all those well intentioned Christmas presents, the need to possess a particular yarn even if it's far too pretty for me to ever consider trying to make so...more
I'm a knitter (note the lack of capitalization), and while I haven't been seized by the full on knitting madness, I could still enjoy her take on the last minute rush to finish all those well intentioned Christmas presents, the need to possess a particular yarn even if it's far too pretty for me to ever consider trying to make so...more
I've almost never laughed harder. Maybe you have to be a knitter to really get it, but I don't think so. I think even those of you unfortunates who can't or won't knit will laugh out loud.
May 22, 2009
Chrissy
added it
I don't know if you have to be a knitter to enjoy this book, but being a knitter I laughed, I cried, and I recognized myself in the pages. I read some sections aloud to my husband who also laughed, but probably in sympathy to the author's husband who knows what it is like to live with someone who covers every room in the house with works in progress. If you have a knitter in your life you should read this to better understand the way their brain works, or it would make an excellent gift for said...more
Definitely a good read! Though parts are dry there are some "Ah-ha!" moments where I see myself in her scenarios.... there are also some that made me laugh really hard!
Staphanie spins a good yarn.....(get it!!!) about the secret lives of knitters.......their life of stash concealmet.............., their unrealistic goal setting.............. their frustrationa with deisgners....their wool fetishs. I laughed out loud many times as I recognized my habits of my friends ............and my own off and on again relationship with this most wonderful craft.
I had two favorite chapters. One is very serious as she is requested to take on the stash of a very dear friend w...more
I had two favorite chapters. One is very serious as she is requested to take on the stash of a very dear friend w...more
This book was full of essays about knitters and their love for knitting, yarn, and their stashes...and all of the pain and triumphs that come along with creating something out of a piece of string and two sticks. I'm only a knitter and not a Knitter (with a capital K) as the author describes a Knitter. I personally believe that I'm in between the two categories. Can there please be a Middle-case K? Now I'm sure that if you haven't knitted a thing in your life, you aren't going to get anything ou...more
Knitters, if you feel a little bad about your stash or how much time you spend knitting READ THIS. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Some essays will make you laugh out loud and, while you may not cry, others will really inspire some deep, philosophical thought. Only Stephanie could pair the two so wonderfully. I loved this book- though I will warn the non-knitters (or I as I like to call them, Those That Don't Knit...Yet) you just won't get it. But by all means, give it a go- maybe it will inspire you to pick...more
Funny stories. Not hilarious but amusing. She has a very conversational style which is exactly the kind of book I wanted. Something easy and interesting. One thing is Pearl-McPhee loves her wool but is not necessarily a "yarn snob", which is refreshing. Many knitting authors are and their books just reek of snotty suburban classism. Poor folk can't afford to pay $8.00 a skein to make a sweater unless it's for a really special reason. Anyway, I digress...
Quite enjoyable. I'm hoping to read more o...more
Quite enjoyable. I'm hoping to read more o...more
I loved this book! It's my favorite "Pearl-McPhee" so to speak. She at one point is beyond hilarious and the next moment she can bring you in and break your heart. Knitters and crafters alike will enjoy her insight, her humor and most of all, her passion for her craft.
I think it's not secret that I'm pretty passionate about knitting. It's something that I do that I honestly feel truely happy while doing it... even when I'm fucking up brilliantly or struggling with the shame of an unfinished proj...more
I think it's not secret that I'm pretty passionate about knitting. It's something that I do that I honestly feel truely happy while doing it... even when I'm fucking up brilliantly or struggling with the shame of an unfinished proj...more
Before I start discussing The Secret Life of a Knitter, I need to make something perfectly clear. I love Stephanie Pearl McPhee’s writing. She has never released a book that I didn’t enjoy immensely and I read her blog religiously and really enjoy her particular style of wit and humor and thoughtfulness that comes through time and time again in her writing. Having said all that, The Secret Life of a Knitter is, without a doubt, the best thing she has ever written. It made me laugh, which is noth...more
Laugh out loud funny!
This book nails the knitting neurosis! It is laugh out loud funny, and if you are addicted to knitting, you we see yourself on page after page. If you love knitting...read this book. Although it hits a little close to home, it is worth the time to be able to laugh...if you can spare the time from knitting. I nayself have not mastered the ability to do both at the same time. I'm glad I put down the needles long enough to read this title.
This book nails the knitting neurosis! It is laugh out loud funny, and if you are addicted to knitting, you we see yourself on page after page. If you love knitting...read this book. Although it hits a little close to home, it is worth the time to be able to laugh...if you can spare the time from knitting. I nayself have not mastered the ability to do both at the same time. I'm glad I put down the needles long enough to read this title.
How can a short collection of stories about yarn and needles make someone both laugh and cry? Ask Stephanie Pearl-McPhee – she makes it happen seemingly easily. Anyone who follows the Yarn Harlot blog will recognize the writing style, but unlike other books by popular bloggers, this carries its own weight. Not only does the author’s wit shine through, but also her passion for her craft – which really made me want to be a better knitter.
This book was a fantastic read. It's definitely a comical must for any knitter, or anyone who loves a knitter. When my partner and I shared some of the stories, we also shared lots of laughs. I guess we knitters really are very much alike in some ways. The stories are brief, which makes for good, light reading. Though there are a couple that have a tone of sadness (One Little Sock actually made me cry), the rest are pretty upbeat and light-hearted. It's one of those books I'd recommend to anyone...more
A series of short stories (blog entries?) grouped loosely into themed sections, this was cute and light-hearted but definitely had its poignant moments. It was hard not to find myself in some of these pages though I am definitely not hardcore enough to achieve Knitter-with-a-capital-"K" status. Has anyone actually gone and looked up that St. Moritz pattern? Fricking INSANE! But yeah, for all that it feels like a bit of a guilty read, I loved it :D
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Though this book will never win any major prizes for literature and certainly won't give Madame Bovary a run for its money, it WILL give you chuckle after chuckle if not outright guffaws. I am not a knitter now, although turned out cableknit sweaters by the carload at one time, this was still a fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me think of those friends in Mazatlan who gathered weekly on the malecon to knit and kibbitz.
I really, really enjoyed the first half of this book--I could totally relate to her early entries. (I am a knitter, not a Knitter...as she was in her early stories) I saw myself in her stories, but as the book went on, I found that the stories were still cute, but it seemed like she needed "filler" material--the good stuff came at the forefront of the book. I will consider reading her blog and I will likely read any other books by her, if there are any. If you love to knit, or know someone who d...more
I started reading this book because my friend, Sara, told me I should. From the first story, I was laughing till my sides hurt. The author has a way of expressing your own feelings in a very artful manner. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who is a knitter, a crafter, or knows one. I was up all night hiding away in the other room trying to keep my family from waking up at my bursts of laughter, unable to put the book down.
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Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (better known as the Yarn Harlot) is a prolific knitter, writer and blogger known for her humorous but always insightful anecdotes and stories about knitting triumphs and tragedies.
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