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10th out of 52 books
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45 voters
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Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again
. . . a sort of David Sedaris-like take on knitting-laugh-out-loud funny most of the time and poignantly reflective when it's not cracking you up." --Library Journal on "Yarn Harlot"
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee returns to pen another hilarious and poignant collection of essays surrounding her favorite topics: knitting, knitters, and what happens when you get those
...moreHardcover, 228 pages
Published
September 23rd 2008
by Andrews Mcmeel Pub
(first published September 1st 2008)
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This is another of those 99-cent deals I got on a whim. I used to knit quite a bit, but then I started a business and every spare second of my life was pretty much wiped out entirely. (And the only reason I read books now is as an act of rebellion and escape, somehow I can feel more noble about reading and can launch a better defense about why I'm not working armed with a book, instead of a ball of sock yarn.)
I have sorta of known about this writer/knitter for awhile now. Her first b...more
I have sorta of known about this writer/knitter for awhile now. Her first b...more
"I received this as an Early Reviewers copy. Free-Range Knitter is a collection of essays, split into seven parts as if it were a knitting project: casting on, knitting two together, yarn overs, left-leaning decreases, making one, continuing to knit even, and casting off. Each part begins with an essay about how a friend or family member knits, which then leads to deeper insights. Pearl-McPhee's trademark knitting humour is evident throughout the book, and some of the essays will be familia...more
Purchased because it was for sale for about $3 for Kindle the other day. Definitely worth the impulse buy. Cute, light, sweet, funny. Her books read much the same way as her 'blog and that's a good thing. I don't think that this was a strong as others of hers that I have read (perhaps just Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter) but I enjoyed particularly the story of her friend struggling with depression. (Or maybe "enjoyed" is not the word. I thought that and the story of he...more
I just finished Free Range Knitter by Stephanie Pearl McPhee. aka The Yarn Harlot. Awesome!! I'll reread again, just for her wit, humor, pearls of wisdom and outlook on day to day life--let alone her comments on knitting. I just love the letters she sends the designers.
here's one pearl of wisdom I liked: except for good deals and good luck, you get what you pay for, and quality follows cash.
or, on kids: as she was cleaning the refrigerator, she realized that maybe, in...more
here's one pearl of wisdom I liked: except for good deals and good luck, you get what you pay for, and quality follows cash.
or, on kids: as she was cleaning the refrigerator, she realized that maybe, in...more
I do so love The Yarn Harlot. She is witty and clever and funny and I so enjoy the self-deprecation. This is the fourth book by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee that I have read and I am clamoring for another. I love how much she loves yarn and knitting. I love how she messes things up and picks up her needles to begin again. You have no idea how exciting it is that she also does not swatch. I really respect her as a knitter and even though this is a book of essays and not an instructional manual, I...more
Sarah
rated it
Recommends it for:
other knitters, essayists
Recommended to Sarah by:
the author herself (via her blog)
This is a book of essays about knitters and knitting, not a pattern book. I read the author's blog, and I enjoy her sense of humor and practicality. I especially liked the essay "All Things Being Equal". In it she discusses how people give her weird looks when she talks about going on knitting retreats, but those same people think nothing of it when a group of guys go off fishing. Also, there are more knitters in the US and Canada than golfers, and we spend way more money on our hobby ...more
Page 8 "It is my considered belief that the number one reason knitters knit is because they are so smart that they need knitting to make boring things interesting. Knitters are so compellingly clever that they simply can't tolerate boredom. It takes more to engage and entertain this kind of human, and they need an outlet or they get into trouble. Knitting probably prevents arson, prison, theft, and certainly mischief. I think knitters just can't watch TV without doing something else." ...more
This fine book is about knitting, yes, but really not so much about knitting as about what happens when knitting is part of life. The stories and essays glide and ripple and twist, carrying the reader pellmell into intimate contact with men, women, children, animals, ideas, and humor - and always the light of knitting is leaking through, shining its innocence, tough love, and grace onto stumbling humanity.
Stephanie is a master at fostering reflection through story-telling. The first ...more
Stephanie is a master at fostering reflection through story-telling. The first ...more
The Yarn Harlot strikes again! I loved this book, it was a real page turner. This book isn't so much about knitting but is a collection of stories which show how knitting affects knitters and those around them. I think one of my favourite stories is of a small child who was sitting knitting and looking angelic. Of course this was only a reprieve because normally this child would be looking for something creative to do, like painting a mural on the walls or playing dress up with the dog. I loved ...more
So, here's the thing-other than the Kinnearing story, which I read on her blog and is, indeed, hilarious, I've never read any of Stephanie's work before. I guess "kniting philosophy" just isn't for me. I found much of the book shallow and pedantic, particularly the section in which she whines repeatedly about how knitting doesn't receive the respect it deserves. Who the heck cares?
I did enjoy one story, re: Abby, a 40-year-old who decides to reclaim the joy of snow. I felt ...more
I did enjoy one story, re: Abby, a 40-year-old who decides to reclaim the joy of snow. I felt ...more
I give up. I dutifully read through page 150 of Free-Range Knitter and just did not want to pick it up again. It's an ARC so I felt I should slog through to the end but I can't make myself do it.
Pearl-McPhee's writing is fine -- words are put together nicely, and it's funny in spots, touching in others, but there's no SNAP, no connection; I am uninterested in this essay collection and reading it was like homework.
The essays with "surprise endings" are predictabl...more
Pearl-McPhee's writing is fine -- words are put together nicely, and it's funny in spots, touching in others, but there's no SNAP, no connection; I am uninterested in this essay collection and reading it was like homework.
The essays with "surprise endings" are predictabl...more
Some of the essays in this book were cute, but many of them just started to feel repetetive. Yes, you are obsessed with knitting. Yes, you have a massively huge stash. And yes, you are completely weak and powerless when it comes to buying yarn. So the ones dealing with those topics bored me.
Some of them really were nice, though. The tributes to various knitting friends/relatives were really sweet, and I quite enjoyed the one about the fascinating and beautiful dance one's fingers do ...more
Some of them really were nice, though. The tributes to various knitting friends/relatives were really sweet, and I quite enjoyed the one about the fascinating and beautiful dance one's fingers do ...more
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, philosopher extraordinaire, turns in a very satisfying book of essays centered around the basic theme of the usage of sticks and strings, not only to make objects but to stir our souls.
Multiple essays about knitting, life, children, love, pain and grief in a format that takes us from casting on to binding off.
By turns hilarious and heart rending this is a great book. If you don't knit then at least check this book out at the library and read the...more
Multiple essays about knitting, life, children, love, pain and grief in a format that takes us from casting on to binding off.
By turns hilarious and heart rending this is a great book. If you don't knit then at least check this book out at the library and read the...more
I loved this book. On the back there is a quote from the author that says:
This book is about the things we have in common, we knitters, no matter where we live, whom we love, or what we are knitting...This book, though it appears to be about knitting, is actually about knitters.
That pretty much describes the book, although I would add that the book is about mothers too, and mothers who do not knit will probably find something here that resonates. I laughed a lot, I cried a litt...more
This book is about the things we have in common, we knitters, no matter where we live, whom we love, or what we are knitting...This book, though it appears to be about knitting, is actually about knitters.
That pretty much describes the book, although I would add that the book is about mothers too, and mothers who do not knit will probably find something here that resonates. I laughed a lot, I cried a litt...more
I got this book for Christmas and read it slowly. If you like the Yarn Harlot's mini-essays on her blog, you'll love this book. She really comes into her own with the full essay format. Some stories are touching, some hilarious. Just wait until you read the one about when her ball of sock yarn went up in the elevator while she (and her sock, with ball of sock yarn attached) were stuck in the lobby. Can these things really happen to her? Gosh, I hope so, because they generate such spirited ...more
This is my favorite Harlot book to date. I loved her essays, which cover funny, touching, practical and personal topics. While many of the characters/people she writes about are unique to her world, they are tenderly captured in such a way that I wish they were in my world too. Thanks, Stephanie, for such a good book. It was a Christmas gift I bought myself a few months ago, so I made myself wait until this week to read it. It will be one of my favorite Christmas presents for a long time.
Another book of essays from the Yarn Harlot, Free Range Knitter returns to the format that best showcases the author's talents. As always, her essays are funny, poignant, and most of all real. I have found that some of her writing can wear thin after you've read as much as I have, but this book stands out as having more meat and less fat. These new essays touch the heart and amuse in a way that repeated jokes cannot, no matter how funny they may have been the first time.
Just like the first Yarn Harlot book, this one contained some essays that were so familiar to me I'd actually gotten tired of re-reading them. I think it's an even better collection of essays, though. My favorite section -- and the one I saved for last, because I knew anything by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee on women and/or politics would be good -- was Chapter 4: "Left-leaning Decreases: Stories about Women, Politics, Knitters, and Looking at Things in a Different Way."
Unlike Knitting Rules, there are no patterns here, just essays about the life of a knitter. Many are, even when the author strays from the knitting topic, laugh out loud funny. But sometimes, she ruminates on things that are very big picture, such as why so many who don't knit seem to be under the impression that knitters are dim witted, simply because they follow a 'domestic pursuit'?
All in all, good fun, but probably only if you are a knitter.
All in all, good fun, but probably only if you are a knitter.
I follow the yarn harlot's blog religiously but have yet to read one of her books. This was an impulse buy when amazon had it for $3 for the kindle and I quickly downloaded it. Needed a light, no-brainer and that's what I got. Enjoyable but not as funny as I was expecting. I've heard her other books are 'better' (that is, funnier) so will try another one the next time I need a light read.
#1 - 2010.
Picked up in a last-minute splurge before beginning my 2010 resolution of not buying new books (aside from book club requirements) for a year. Which makes it all the sweeter ...
An assortment of alternately interesting, insightful essays with goofy ones. I wound being largely unamused by the pieces clearly intended to amuse such as letters to a sweater and I was generally uninterested in the pieces about McPhee's children which analyzed them as knitters and took ...more
Picked up in a last-minute splurge before beginning my 2010 resolution of not buying new books (aside from book club requirements) for a year. Which makes it all the sweeter ...
An assortment of alternately interesting, insightful essays with goofy ones. I wound being largely unamused by the pieces clearly intended to amuse such as letters to a sweater and I was generally uninterested in the pieces about McPhee's children which analyzed them as knitters and took ...more
If you've read any of Pearl-Mcphee's other books, this one is most similar to Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter. That's still my favorite of her books.
Some of the chapters in Free-Range Knitter are full of her great blend of humor and insight. Sadly, it feels like she missed the mark in others, and there were a few that felt like pure filler.
I didn't really care for the chapters where she talked about her friends and their knitting, because they mostly seemed like...more
Some of the chapters in Free-Range Knitter are full of her great blend of humor and insight. Sadly, it feels like she missed the mark in others, and there were a few that felt like pure filler.
I didn't really care for the chapters where she talked about her friends and their knitting, because they mostly seemed like...more
These essays more about knitters than knitting, but even so, if you don't knit--or at least do some kind of crafting--this book might not be your thing. I've never read Pearl-McPhee's blog, so I have no idea if there's overlap between blog and book. Coming to her writing fresh, I very much enjoyed the book and plan to read more of her work.
Ah, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has done it again. She has written a hilarious account of what Knitters (yes, that is in fact, a capital K) must go through in their efforts of finding the perfect yarn, making socks and other trials. Stephanie has seen it all, and just when you've thought that you've got a story she couldn't possibly beat, you turn the page and are laughing so hard you drop your sock yarn. Something else that I thought was intriguing was that Stephanie had written a couple stories ...more
some of the material here is getting kind of old -- even more so if you follow the blog -- but on the whole this collection seems very fresh compared to the last few harlot books, as well as generally more polished and thoughtful. like the first harlot book, i'd probably even recommend this one to non-knitters.
A really sweet little book of short stories all related to knitting. I read her blog whenever she updates it, and it was quite satisfying to get a whole bunch of stores all together, and not have to wait days in between (kind of like using netflicks to watch a whole season of Boston Legal in one sitting)
This one didn't impress me as much as her first book had. I found myself reading just to get through it, hoping that I'd get a laugh or feel something from this book. There were one or two amusing stories, a couple of touching ones, but the majority of them just did not resonate with me.
This was another delightful book by this author, full of fun stories about life and knitting - my favorite one was probably about her children learning to knit. I enjoyed it immensely as a break from the other two books I'm actively reading, and it was perfect for reading a bit at a time as I was doing other things during this snowy week. If you like her blog or her other similar books, you will probably enjoy this one too!
This book is what it states - a book about knitters. I'm not that in to knitting philosophy so it was a bit flat for me, but it wasn't trite. There were some very funny moments and essays in there, and I always enjoy reading the Yarn Harlot, even when it isn't the best.
A delightful return to what the Yarn Harlot does best! The only reason that this one didn't earn all 5 stars to me was because it didn't feel like it went as deep into emotional territory as The Secret Life of a Knitter. These stories stayed on the funny path, barely dipping below the surface. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the contrast just wasn't quite there for me.
However, the sections about how we all knit differently, in our movements and styles, that is absol...more
However, the sections about how we all knit differently, in our movements and styles, that is absol...more
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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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