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20th out of 54 books
—
56 voters
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting
From the best-selling author of "At Knit's End" and "Knitting Rules!" comes yet another hilarious book of tongue-in-cheek observations on the world of knitting. "Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off" invites knitters of all ages, levels, and persuasions to embark with her on a journey deep into the land populated by those who are obsessed with yarn, needles, and what's on thei...more
Paperback, 218 pages
Published
March 15th 2007
by Storey Publishing
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I loved Knitting Rules. It was funny, plus it has lots of great knitting tips and tricks that are easy to reference. I agree with the previous reviews that the concept for Casts Off was really a stretch for an entire book. I'd go a bit farther and say that the metaphor for knitting as a traveler's journey was a stupid concept for a book.
At first glance, I thought this book was about an actual knitting road trip in which the Yarn Harlot had visited lots of fabulous yarn shops and festivals all o...more
At first glance, I thought this book was about an actual knitting road trip in which the Yarn Harlot had visited lots of fabulous yarn shops and festivals all o...more
I was all ready to give this book one star, I never really was able to get into it and essentially had to force myself to finish it.
But my total excitement at her "Traveler's Life Afghan" has me adding a star. I only wish that the whole book had been so exciting for me.
One of my friends said she felt as though that the Yarn Harlot had been pressured to hammer out another book for her publishers and I think that sums it up perfectly.
I love knitting books but really felt this one had very little s...more
But my total excitement at her "Traveler's Life Afghan" has me adding a star. I only wish that the whole book had been so exciting for me.
One of my friends said she felt as though that the Yarn Harlot had been pressured to hammer out another book for her publishers and I think that sums it up perfectly.
I love knitting books but really felt this one had very little s...more
Rating:
Genre: Humor, Knitting
Format: Audiobook, Read by the Author
Reading Challenges: 1 for 100+ in 2010
If you are a knitter, then you probably have already heard of Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee. If you are a non-knitter, you are probably wondering if it is truly possible for a book to be both humorous and about knitting. Let me assure you that most knitters have a very healthy sense of humor. We almost have too! Surely you have seen some of the hideous hand knitted objects out there.
McPhee is a pop...more
Genre: Humor, Knitting
Format: Audiobook, Read by the Author
Reading Challenges: 1 for 100+ in 2010
If you are a knitter, then you probably have already heard of Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee. If you are a non-knitter, you are probably wondering if it is truly possible for a book to be both humorous and about knitting. Let me assure you that most knitters have a very healthy sense of humor. We almost have too! Surely you have seen some of the hideous hand knitted objects out there.
McPhee is a pop...more
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is a writer who makes me giggle. I have read several of her books, and they have all just made me lighter and happier for having read them. I highly recommend becoming a yarnharlot.com fan if you are a knitter. I was checking out ebooks available to be checked out from my library the other day and saw Casts Off as an option. This is an early work by Stephanie, which I had never read.
The premise is similar to her other books. She is able to take certain aspects of the knitt...more
The premise is similar to her other books. She is able to take certain aspects of the knitt...more
It's been a while since I read one of the Yarn Harlot's books, so I picked up this one with some of my Christmas gift certificates for my kindle. This one is written almost as a travel guide book to the land of Knitting, with various sections covering visiting, finding embassies (yarn shops), and so on. The author's typical entertaining writing style and humor are present as always, and I quite liked the approach she took for this book. There are also plenty of cute illustrations, as well as a s...more
I love all of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's work -- whether yarncraft or wordcraft! She has a rare wit, acres of knitting expertise, and a charming candidness that's captivating. I adore her blog.
That said, this book only gets 3 stars because it is, well, kind of mediocre. Very likable, and with some brilliant bits, but overall feels like an attempt to stretch a metaphor a bit farther than it can really reach. Organized like a travel guide, this book introduces you to the land of Knitting, which is e...more
That said, this book only gets 3 stars because it is, well, kind of mediocre. Very likable, and with some brilliant bits, but overall feels like an attempt to stretch a metaphor a bit farther than it can really reach. Organized like a travel guide, this book introduces you to the land of Knitting, which is e...more
Hilarious. Seriously that one word is all it takes to sum up this book. I warn you, however, if you are not a knitter (either of the upper case or lower case variety) or you do not have a knitter in your life, you may fail to see the humor. If you personally know a knitter (yes, looking at one in the mirror constitutes as knowing one), then you will enjoy this guided tour through the land of Knitting. You will marvel and giggle over the apt descriptions of the inhabitants, their cultural practic...more
My Yarn Harlot spree continues. I really enjoyed the letters scattered through this book, and I also continue to like her anecdotes about knitting, but this one missed the mark slightly. The whole "travel" concept was a little contrived. It's still wonderfully readable, but I like her other books and blog so much, I'd have loved more of the same. This one tried to be different. I've got high hopes for the last one, which is now in my possession. Once it's read and reviewed I promise to stop read...more
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, AKA The Yarn Harlot, has deviated from her earlier formula. The other books looked like, and probably were, collections of blogs and/or essays. They were funny. We all wished for more. Here it is.
This book is written as a travelogue through the land of knitting. One point of view shown is that of a newbie who becomes a Knitter (with a capital K), and is exposed through letters written by that person along the journey, as if she were in that land writing home.
The rest is...more
This book is written as a travelogue through the land of knitting. One point of view shown is that of a newbie who becomes a Knitter (with a capital K), and is exposed through letters written by that person along the journey, as if she were in that land writing home.
The rest is...more
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off or "the Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting" is the most recently released book by the author. (In fact I purchased it fresh from the printer in NYC at the "Represent!" event and it's SIGNED.) [Yarn geeks everywhere are totally jealous, I swear!.:] Pearl-McPhee has taken her unique wit and written a book to guide your through your journey through "knitting land". She hits it right on the head when she says, that most people only plan to visit 'knitting la...more
I kinda got this as a fluff book. You know a whole book about knitting...what a waste of time...right? Uh..no.
It was funny, clever, and fun to listen to (I had to listen to it while knitting...)
In the last year, I've completely rediscovered my love of knitting. I used to think i was this massive casual knitter...and I felt kinda alone. Ravelry and my friend BL changed that and I've been completely enjoying the social aspect of knitting as well as my new found love of really expensive yarns (ask...more
It was funny, clever, and fun to listen to (I had to listen to it while knitting...)
In the last year, I've completely rediscovered my love of knitting. I used to think i was this massive casual knitter...and I felt kinda alone. Ravelry and my friend BL changed that and I've been completely enjoying the social aspect of knitting as well as my new found love of really expensive yarns (ask...more
True to form, this book by the "Yarn Harlot" is full of witty knitting humour. It's funny, it's a quick read, and it puts a new twist on knitting.
The main problem I had with the book is pretty simple: Knitting as a location aside, there's really nothing in here that Stephanie Pearl-McPhee hasn't said before. It's still funny, and it's still worth reading, but it's the same sort of knitting joke that I've read over and over in her other books or in her blog. I wish she'd stretched Knitting's bord...more
The main problem I had with the book is pretty simple: Knitting as a location aside, there's really nothing in here that Stephanie Pearl-McPhee hasn't said before. It's still funny, and it's still worth reading, but it's the same sort of knitting joke that I've read over and over in her other books or in her blog. I wish she'd stretched Knitting's bord...more
Another book of knitting culture humor from our dear Yarn Harlot. I loved it, but I have to admit that I didn't think it was quite as hilarious as her previous books. This might have been because the "travel guide" format, while very fun, was a bit of a stretch at times. Still, it was great. I'm impressed by the way that Steph has used different formats for all of her books so far, and I'm curious to see what she does next. (But I'd rather another book of hilarious essays, say, than something le...more
"From the best-selling author of At Knit's End and Knitting Rules! comes yet another hilarious book of tongue-in-cheek observations on the world of knitting. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off invites knitters of all ages, levels, and persuasions to embark with her on a journey deep into the land populated by those who are obsessed with yarn, needles, and what’s on their needles now."
Amusing for those of us Knitters (with a capital "K").
Amusing for those of us Knitters (with a capital "K").
I kept looking at this book in bookstores and putting it back without flipping through it. For some reason I thought it was a book about regional knitting events and stores and such. (My mom used to have a couple of those for quilting, which may be why) Instead it uses the metaphor of travel to talk about knitting, and going from novice to addict. As all of Stephanie's books it's a funny and charming quick read.
This book was somewhere between 3and 4 stars for all the reasons others have mentioned, but I gave it 4 because it was the first of her books I've read and and I was diverted by it. I liked the travel guide idea, and I think the graphic design and illustrations added to the enjoyment of the text. It was light reading, not something you'd want to devour cover to cover in one sitting.
Mar 22, 2012
DMluvsPrufrock
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
knitting,
nonfiction
A very clever look at knitting as a journey, this book is written as a travel guide through the land of knitting. There are geological formations to beware (the wild stash), tribes to embrace, and immigrants to welcome. It's a quirky, fun look at one of my favorite hobbies and I really think that all knitters would get a kick out of it. Non-knitters? Skip it. This is not one of Stephanie's works that translates well to the fiber-free set.
So, it turns out that the store of knitting jokes in the world IS exhaustible. I really enjoyed the first two books I read by McPhee. They were by turns poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. But she recycles a lot of old material in this book. And I thought that the "travel" analogy that she used to try and tie the book together was very contrived.
It's not bad, for what it is, but if you read all of her books, they betray a certain sameness, even accounting for their all being about knitting. To that, I have no objection whatsoever; to running out of new things to say about a subject and yet continuing to write and sell books about it, I do.
If a Knitter wants to explain how we feel and think to a non-knitter, it might be best to just hand them this books and tell them to read it. Every Knitter isn't the same, but this captures what is so wonderful and addicting about knitting with lots of humor. We take our knitting seriously, but not necessarily ourselves.
Fun and interesting read for knitters - not sure that a non-knitter would enjoy it at all. A light hearted look at why knitters knit and the strange obsession we have with sticks and strings.
Great book! I really did enjoy it. Despite the humor I thought there was a lot of truth in that book ;-)
I definitely need to read some more of her other books
I definitely need to read some more of her other books
I really like the Yarn Harlot. I've read several of her other books and I faithfully read her blog. That being said, this book just did not entertain me.
If you like knitting, and you can't use the restroom without reading, this book will find a cherished place in the basket by your toilet.
I'm a fairly new knitter (almost a year!) and have read some of the Yarn Harlot's blog. I decided to get some of her books from the library to see what's what.
Pearl-McPhee is a pretty funny lady! In this book, she welcomes us to the land of Knitting. We learn how to pack for vacations, the pests associated with knitting, diseases (the dreaded second sock syndrome!), etc. We read about politics (natural yarn vs. acrylics) and etiquette (is it ok to knit in public?)
Right now, I'm knitting my very...more
Pearl-McPhee is a pretty funny lady! In this book, she welcomes us to the land of Knitting. We learn how to pack for vacations, the pests associated with knitting, diseases (the dreaded second sock syndrome!), etc. We read about politics (natural yarn vs. acrylics) and etiquette (is it ok to knit in public?)
Right now, I'm knitting my very...more
I love the books by Yarn Harlot, but I must say that this one is not quite as good as the others. But still a nice read.
Eh. Picked it up from the library. Pretty quick read, pretty fluffy, very little actual knitting info.
Always a good read for the knitting obsessed. When you are not knitting, it is good to read about knitting!
Loved this! Definitely a good book to read the weekend of the local Sheep & Wool festival! :)
What a fun read. Now if I could just get all my non-knitter friends to read this, Maybe they'd get it.
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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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Apr 10, 2008 08:05am