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Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again
The author of Yarn Harlot returns with more hilarious personal stories about all the ups and downs of being a knitter.Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (a.k.a. the Yarn Harlot) returns to pen another hilarious, insightful, and poignant collection of essays surrounding her favorite knitting, knitters, and what happens when you get those two things anywhere near ordinary people. Free-Range Knitters shares stories of knitting horrors and triumphs and knitting successes and defeats, but, mostly, it shares stories about the human condition that ring true for everyone—especially if you have to have a rather large amount of yarn in your house.Praise for Yarn Harlot“Stephanie Pearl-McPhee turns both typical and unique knitting experiences into very funny and articulate prose.” —Meg Swansen, Schoolhouse Press“I laughed until my stitches fell helplessly from my needles!” —Lucy Neatby, author of Cool Socks Warm Feet“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
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2008
144 people are currently reading
1089 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
9 books567 followersStephanie 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
January 23, 2012
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."
Page 22 "I love beginnings, when all is possible and everything could be fantastic and nothing has stepped up to the plate to disappoint me."
Page 46 "Knitting is what I do to reassure myself that I'm not an absolutely inadequate moron, and I don't have a lot of coping skills for abject knitting failure."
Page 77 "Parenting is really odd racket. It encourages a human being to become flexible, quick thinking, strong, and resilient, even under the worse or most challenging circumstances. (We will pause now and silently reflect that this is also the goal of the Navy SEALs.) Each moment could bring utter delight, a test of your patience, or an engulfing house fire."
Page 83 "At four you were a good reader and a decent knitter and frequently defeated adults with your keen intellect. By the time you were five, my little prodigy, my life with you was sort of like a game of Survivor since there was almost nobody alive, adult or child, who could outwit, outlast, or outplay you. Your teen years turned into me following you around trying to tell you all the things I had learned the hard way, desperately trying to save you an kind of pain at all, with you starting at me like I was an idiot who didn't know anything and proceeding to learn everything the hard, painful way anyway. I don't know about you but I think those years sucked. I have spent the last eighteen years being awestruck by the wonder that is you, someone I made in my spare time, and trying desperately to deal best with your epic personality and qualities. Tenacity. Intelligence. Constructive discontent. Persistence. Sensitivity. A fantastic sense of humor. Independence. Mercy. Faithfulness. Kindness. Equity. Kids who fight back and challenge you, say "no," and think for themselves are hard to raise and not thought well of at all. We all talk about how "good" an obedient child is, and it struck me at some point while I was raising you that I really couldn't have a child who did as she was told all the time and then expect you to suddenly turn into an adult who was assertive, independent, and free thinking. I realized you couldn't tell a kid, "Do what I tell you," praise her for obedience, and then turn right around when she becomes a grownup and suddenly say, "Think for yourself" and condemn adults who are still compliant. You're an adult. A beautiful legal adult who (at least on paper) doesn't need her mother. You can vote. You can move across the country. You can start a business or join the Peace Corps or - mercy, my child, you can do whatever wonderful thing you want, and you can do it all without my permission. I am scared to death. Motherhood is the only occupation I can think of where your eventual goal is to put yourself out of business and make it so your customers don't need you anymore, and I have swung back and forth these last few years, hoping one moment that you will leave and wishing the next moment that you will never leave and I will be allowed to try to keep you safe and with me forever. While I am not sure that I am entirely okay with this growing up thing, I know now that I have to at least start letting you go a little bit. I need to worry less about you and send you more out there, and I will. (Not all at once, though. The world is freakin' huge.) Please try to be patient with me; it's so hard for me to let go of my job. Try to remember that up until now if something happened to you, it was my fault, and they could put me in prison for it, and in my defense, you are my eldest and the kid I had to practice all of this on. These are terrific qualities in an adult. Boldly go, my dear heart, boldly go."
Page 102 "You would think male knitting was Brad Pitt in a thong for how much attention it gets."
Page 118 "Human beings are inherently contradictory because our big brains and intellectual selves are in constant conflict with our hearts and emotional selves."
Page 127 "Stereotypes are usually born of a common belief, and common beliefs come about because a majority (or at least a bunch) of the people that you're forming an idea about fit within your concept."
Page 135 "My inner self is, like most inner selves, a very harsh person who I am not always convinced is on my side. I have no idea why I can find something likable about almost everyone I meet, how I can usually find a way to come to them with compassion and understanding when they fail me, but I have the voice inside me be so critical when turned inward."
Page 22 "I love beginnings, when all is possible and everything could be fantastic and nothing has stepped up to the plate to disappoint me."
Page 46 "Knitting is what I do to reassure myself that I'm not an absolutely inadequate moron, and I don't have a lot of coping skills for abject knitting failure."
Page 77 "Parenting is really odd racket. It encourages a human being to become flexible, quick thinking, strong, and resilient, even under the worse or most challenging circumstances. (We will pause now and silently reflect that this is also the goal of the Navy SEALs.) Each moment could bring utter delight, a test of your patience, or an engulfing house fire."
Page 83 "At four you were a good reader and a decent knitter and frequently defeated adults with your keen intellect. By the time you were five, my little prodigy, my life with you was sort of like a game of Survivor since there was almost nobody alive, adult or child, who could outwit, outlast, or outplay you. Your teen years turned into me following you around trying to tell you all the things I had learned the hard way, desperately trying to save you an kind of pain at all, with you starting at me like I was an idiot who didn't know anything and proceeding to learn everything the hard, painful way anyway. I don't know about you but I think those years sucked. I have spent the last eighteen years being awestruck by the wonder that is you, someone I made in my spare time, and trying desperately to deal best with your epic personality and qualities. Tenacity. Intelligence. Constructive discontent. Persistence. Sensitivity. A fantastic sense of humor. Independence. Mercy. Faithfulness. Kindness. Equity. Kids who fight back and challenge you, say "no," and think for themselves are hard to raise and not thought well of at all. We all talk about how "good" an obedient child is, and it struck me at some point while I was raising you that I really couldn't have a child who did as she was told all the time and then expect you to suddenly turn into an adult who was assertive, independent, and free thinking. I realized you couldn't tell a kid, "Do what I tell you," praise her for obedience, and then turn right around when she becomes a grownup and suddenly say, "Think for yourself" and condemn adults who are still compliant. You're an adult. A beautiful legal adult who (at least on paper) doesn't need her mother. You can vote. You can move across the country. You can start a business or join the Peace Corps or - mercy, my child, you can do whatever wonderful thing you want, and you can do it all without my permission. I am scared to death. Motherhood is the only occupation I can think of where your eventual goal is to put yourself out of business and make it so your customers don't need you anymore, and I have swung back and forth these last few years, hoping one moment that you will leave and wishing the next moment that you will never leave and I will be allowed to try to keep you safe and with me forever. While I am not sure that I am entirely okay with this growing up thing, I know now that I have to at least start letting you go a little bit. I need to worry less about you and send you more out there, and I will. (Not all at once, though. The world is freakin' huge.) Please try to be patient with me; it's so hard for me to let go of my job. Try to remember that up until now if something happened to you, it was my fault, and they could put me in prison for it, and in my defense, you are my eldest and the kid I had to practice all of this on. These are terrific qualities in an adult. Boldly go, my dear heart, boldly go."
Page 102 "You would think male knitting was Brad Pitt in a thong for how much attention it gets."
Page 118 "Human beings are inherently contradictory because our big brains and intellectual selves are in constant conflict with our hearts and emotional selves."
Page 127 "Stereotypes are usually born of a common belief, and common beliefs come about because a majority (or at least a bunch) of the people that you're forming an idea about fit within your concept."
Page 135 "My inner self is, like most inner selves, a very harsh person who I am not always convinced is on my side. I have no idea why I can find something likable about almost everyone I meet, how I can usually find a way to come to them with compassion and understanding when they fail me, but I have the voice inside me be so critical when turned inward."
August 27, 2010
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 predictable, the description of knitting styles is pretty at first but starts to get snoozy after a while, and the book overall seems to lack a spark.
There are a couple of essays I DID like, but I think the best way to explain it is: reading Free-Range Knitter is like reading a blog. It's written well enough that I'd add it to my feed at first, but it's one I'd "mark as read" if I missed more than a couple of days, and after a couple of months, I'd unsubscribe.
It's entirely possible people who do more than dabble in knitting might enjoy this one more, and it goes without saying that Yarn Harlot fans definitely would.
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 predictable, the description of knitting styles is pretty at first but starts to get snoozy after a while, and the book overall seems to lack a spark.
There are a couple of essays I DID like, but I think the best way to explain it is: reading Free-Range Knitter is like reading a blog. It's written well enough that I'd add it to my feed at first, but it's one I'd "mark as read" if I missed more than a couple of days, and after a couple of months, I'd unsubscribe.
It's entirely possible people who do more than dabble in knitting might enjoy this one more, and it goes without saying that Yarn Harlot fans definitely would.
March 3, 2015
Enjoyable book, but not a surprise because I already know I love Stephanie Pearl McPhee from her blog. The book is composed of vignettes about knitters and the mindset of knitting, some misadventures and some thought-provoking analyses of the people she's known and loved. Recommended mostly to people who are crafty but also to others who just like to read about life in general.
January 17, 2020
I loved this essay collection :) It's the first book I've read by the Yarn Harlot (although I've read some of her blog), but it definitely won't be the last. I've only knitted "for real" for two years, but already I could see far too much of myself in it, and she gave me a lot of new ideas for how to 'knit on the go'.
It's a cozy read whose only fault was that it kept making me want to put down my Kindle and pick up my knitting instead.
Reread 2020 Unfortunately I had to downgrade the rating a bit. I LOVED the first essay collection, but like her later ones, many of the essays in this one were only tangentially related to knitting.... and I just don't care as much about those. I still loved the ones that were focused on the knitting, but ended up mostly skimming the others.
It's a cozy read whose only fault was that it kept making me want to put down my Kindle and pick up my knitting instead.
Reread 2020 Unfortunately I had to downgrade the rating a bit. I LOVED the first essay collection, but like her later ones, many of the essays in this one were only tangentially related to knitting.... and I just don't care as much about those. I still loved the ones that were focused on the knitting, but ended up mostly skimming the others.
November 21, 2011
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 book came out when I was the midst of my yarn frenzy, and I even thought about picking it up, but the idea of short stories about knitting, seemed, even then, a bit tedious. But 99-cents is 99-cents, so I purchased it, eager to fill up my e-reader.
Overall, this feels like a lackluster effort. I have not read the first volume, so I can't really compare, but I get the impression that perhaps the first was better, and the publisher ordered a second book, so Pearl-McPhee had to take the remnants from the cutting room floor and make a second book. It just comes off half-hearted. I especially dislike when authors are self-reverential to the point that they have to talk about writing the very book in which you are reading. If you find yourself with the task of a book deadline and you write a chapter about how you have no time or quiet to write your book, well, you're doing it wrong. We don't want to hear about it, especially when you haven't impressed us so far.
There were a few charming stories, but mostly it was full of very predictable stories, including several that are supposed to have "surprise" endings, but are so conventional and thinly disguised that you get the premise from the second sentence and spend the rest of the time just waiting for the author to get to the point. Not helping this is the author's writing style. Her sentences are at times painfully long, and then she will repeat the same sentiment a few sentences later, as if she liked both phrases and couldn't decide which to use, so we have to suffer through both. How long are her sentences? There were several times, reading this on my iPhone (with the text set to "small") where an entire sentence would span the entire face of the device...something that I rarely notice happening. And rather than injecting some shorter sentences in there to give the pieces some rhythm, they just seem to get longer and longer. If it seems weird for me to remark about the length of the sentences, maybe that gives you an idea of how bored I got reading it.
I wish I could just pull myself away from books like this, which I suspect are not going to redeem themselves, but I just feel like every book should be finished. It's a disease.
I have sorta of known about this writer/knitter for awhile now. Her first book came out when I was the midst of my yarn frenzy, and I even thought about picking it up, but the idea of short stories about knitting, seemed, even then, a bit tedious. But 99-cents is 99-cents, so I purchased it, eager to fill up my e-reader.
Overall, this feels like a lackluster effort. I have not read the first volume, so I can't really compare, but I get the impression that perhaps the first was better, and the publisher ordered a second book, so Pearl-McPhee had to take the remnants from the cutting room floor and make a second book. It just comes off half-hearted. I especially dislike when authors are self-reverential to the point that they have to talk about writing the very book in which you are reading. If you find yourself with the task of a book deadline and you write a chapter about how you have no time or quiet to write your book, well, you're doing it wrong. We don't want to hear about it, especially when you haven't impressed us so far.
There were a few charming stories, but mostly it was full of very predictable stories, including several that are supposed to have "surprise" endings, but are so conventional and thinly disguised that you get the premise from the second sentence and spend the rest of the time just waiting for the author to get to the point. Not helping this is the author's writing style. Her sentences are at times painfully long, and then she will repeat the same sentiment a few sentences later, as if she liked both phrases and couldn't decide which to use, so we have to suffer through both. How long are her sentences? There were several times, reading this on my iPhone (with the text set to "small") where an entire sentence would span the entire face of the device...something that I rarely notice happening. And rather than injecting some shorter sentences in there to give the pieces some rhythm, they just seem to get longer and longer. If it seems weird for me to remark about the length of the sentences, maybe that gives you an idea of how bored I got reading it.
I wish I could just pull myself away from books like this, which I suspect are not going to redeem themselves, but I just feel like every book should be finished. It's a disease.
July 31, 2013
I enjoyed it!
Random thoughts:
* Are there really people who walk and knit? If so, my weirdness with knitting has not quite hit that point (yet).
* I didn't know there were special bags for carrying around your yarn so it doesn't roll around on the bus. I promptly went out and bought this: Sock Knitting Project Bag Hexipuff Small Crochet Wip Bag - Crazy Calaveras so that I can carry around my socks in progress (SiP?).
* The story of the ball of the yarn in the elevator seriously cracked me up.
* The story of the little girl learning to knit was awesome.
* I no longer feel quite as guilty at the thought of having multiple needles of the same size so I can have more socks going at once. There is nothing wrong with my addiction and it's very nice to have it confirmed.
It was a light-hearted, funny book that poked fun at all of the things we do as knitters - or things that we think about doing but don't actually do.
I also really liked Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting - I listened to that one on audio book. After all, what's better than reading fun knitting annocdotes than knitting *and* listening to an audio book about knitting? :)
Random thoughts:
* Are there really people who walk and knit? If so, my weirdness with knitting has not quite hit that point (yet).
* I didn't know there were special bags for carrying around your yarn so it doesn't roll around on the bus. I promptly went out and bought this: Sock Knitting Project Bag Hexipuff Small Crochet Wip Bag - Crazy Calaveras so that I can carry around my socks in progress (SiP?).
* The story of the ball of the yarn in the elevator seriously cracked me up.
* The story of the little girl learning to knit was awesome.
* I no longer feel quite as guilty at the thought of having multiple needles of the same size so I can have more socks going at once. There is nothing wrong with my addiction and it's very nice to have it confirmed.
It was a light-hearted, funny book that poked fun at all of the things we do as knitters - or things that we think about doing but don't actually do.
I also really liked Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting - I listened to that one on audio book. After all, what's better than reading fun knitting annocdotes than knitting *and* listening to an audio book about knitting? :)
February 7, 2016
Free-range knitter contains a collection of personal essays and humorous bits pertaining to her life-long obsession with knitting. Being one of her later works, this book contains a lot of essays about the latter stages of parental life--once most of her kids have reached their teenage years.
This is the second book I've read by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, and I actually found this one a bit disappointing. I particularly found most of the essays about parenting and watching other people knit rather dull and was impatient to get to the next story. Yet she hides little gems even in these more boring stories, so I don't feel like I can skip ahead without potentially missing out on something. (Note to people with kids: you probably won't find the parenting essays so dull. It's just that I don't have children, let alone teenagers, so it really isn't the kind of thing I can sympathize with yet.)
Free-range knitter, as with Pearl-McPhee's other works, offered a few very redeeming stories in it as well. I particularly enjoyed the essay about how she knits while she walks, and the unfortunate elevator incident that results, and her story on how she taught her daughters to knit through osmosis.
This is the second book I've read by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, and I actually found this one a bit disappointing. I particularly found most of the essays about parenting and watching other people knit rather dull and was impatient to get to the next story. Yet she hides little gems even in these more boring stories, so I don't feel like I can skip ahead without potentially missing out on something. (Note to people with kids: you probably won't find the parenting essays so dull. It's just that I don't have children, let alone teenagers, so it really isn't the kind of thing I can sympathize with yet.)
Free-range knitter, as with Pearl-McPhee's other works, offered a few very redeeming stories in it as well. I particularly enjoyed the essay about how she knits while she walks, and the unfortunate elevator incident that results, and her story on how she taught her daughters to knit through osmosis.
May 17, 2011
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 her Aunt Helen were particularly poignant.) Furthermore, there were times when, knitting aside, I felt that she truly understood me - which is pretty much any story that ended in embarrassment. (I can relate.) And I love the tale of heading up to the cabin to write - I believe I remember reading that on her 'blog years ago so that was especially fun.
This is a book for and about knitters. I doubt it would be interesting to anyone who didn't at least know/love a knitter but it was nice and warm and fuzzy for those who can relate.
This is a book for and about knitters. I doubt it would be interesting to anyone who didn't at least know/love a knitter but it was nice and warm and fuzzy for those who can relate.
October 17, 2008
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 personal stories and reflections that I couldn't connect with. But there was one big exception. One of the standout parts of the book was the chapter about gender roles and the way that people react to her male friend when they see him knitting in public. That chapter took one of those friend stories and turned it into a larger, more thought-provoking point about both knitting and society.
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 personal stories and reflections that I couldn't connect with. But there was one big exception. One of the standout parts of the book was the chapter about gender roles and the way that people react to her male friend when they see him knitting in public. That chapter took one of those friend stories and turned it into a larger, more thought-provoking point about both knitting and society.
October 22, 2015
I've read a few books--both fiction and nonfiction--on the topic of "sentimental knitting musings" and found that most of them didn't resonate with me at all. A lot of knitting memoirs are simply written by people I don't have a lot in common with, and it's hard to find common ground with various middle-aged white mothers who inherited knitting through some family legacy of grandmothers and whose yarn budgets and tastes differ vastly from my own.
But while Pearl-McPhee fits the exact description above, within the first few pages of the book I had an overwhelming urge to be her friend. Somehow, with her mix of sarcasm, blunt charm, and fierce passion, I believed fully that at last, here is a knitter who Gets It. Pearl-McPhee understands knitting and she understands knitters, and she takes so much joy in writing about it that reading this book feels more like having a conversation with a good friend at the end of a long day.
Of course I cried at the end, but that just seems to be a thing I do with a lot of books these days...
But while Pearl-McPhee fits the exact description above, within the first few pages of the book I had an overwhelming urge to be her friend. Somehow, with her mix of sarcasm, blunt charm, and fierce passion, I believed fully that at last, here is a knitter who Gets It. Pearl-McPhee understands knitting and she understands knitters, and she takes so much joy in writing about it that reading this book feels more like having a conversation with a good friend at the end of a long day.
Of course I cried at the end, but that just seems to be a thing I do with a lot of books these days...
January 11, 2010
"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 familiar to regular readers of Pearl-McPhee's blog, Yarn Harlot, but rest assured that the book includes plenty of extremely readable and thought-provoking new material. I found myself repeatedly setting this book aside, taking short breaks so I could savor it and look forward to the next part. I also kept trying to figure out what blend of essayists I could use to describe the feel of the book - I think Elizabeth Zimmermann meets Aldo Leopold, with a dash of Bill Bryson is probably the best I can do!"
January 28, 2010
#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 that into musings on their personalities in general (or vice versa). However, those are admittedly personal preferences as there are many who probably would like those essays.
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 that into musings on their personalities in general (or vice versa). However, those are admittedly personal preferences as there are many who probably would like those essays.
January 18, 2010
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 when knitting. Some of her lists are pretty entertaining too.
But I don't think I need to read any more about her stash for a while. Seriously.
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 when knitting. Some of her lists are pretty entertaining too.
But I don't think I need to read any more about her stash for a while. Seriously.
May 17, 2010
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 little bit, and was deeply touched many times by stories that showed the similarities shared by women around the world. I felt good when I finished the book. I felt great, actually, and I have the socks to prove it!
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 little bit, and was deeply touched many times by stories that showed the similarities shared by women around the world. I felt good when I finished the book. I felt great, actually, and I have the socks to prove it!
May 19, 2010
As funny and enjoyable as her first, but with fewer digs at crocheters this time around. And while most of the book is humorous (and sarcastic and in-jokey), she managed to get me to tear up with the very last section ("Helen"), which really wasn't fair.
Much like her other books, a great read for the knitters out there, and likely completely incomprehensible for the non-knitters.
Much like her other books, a great read for the knitters out there, and likely completely incomprehensible for the non-knitters.
June 6, 2010
Not something you read all at once. This is a series of short entertaining essays, so it was hard to get into the book as a whole; however, it is redeemed by the majority of the essays (only a few seemed like filler). I'll certainly be passing this on to a knitting friend!
July 30, 2011
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.
May 21, 2016
I DO love this woman - I have my "shawl of shame", a yarn stash my family would be aghast at (if they realized the size of it), and my favorite yarn store ( Reverie - not the snooty one in my town.) Hail Stephanie, who understands that this knitting addiction is a good thing!
dnf
March 10, 2017Just couldn't get into this one. The stories seem to tend less towards the humorous and more towards the poetic wax... the style made me think of Diane Ackerman's writing style, which I am not at all a fan of.
January 23, 2009
This is more substantive than her previous books. She focuses on people more than on the craft of knitting. She is a humorous writer, but her style wears on you after a while.
December 24, 2015
Somehow this just wasn't as good as her previous book of essays. I thought the stories were interesting, but they weren't as personal and touching. Maybe it was just my mood and the intense jet lag.
November 18, 2018
Free-range knitter is a humorous mix of articles on knitters, knitting and related topics, by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.
This is the second book of knitting essays by New York Times best seller, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, who is also known as the Yarn Harlot in her popular blog of the same name. Her first also is called Yarn Harlot. Although I have been a keen reader of her blog, this is the first time that I have reviewed any of her books.
Free-range knitter is divided into seven sections, each with a knitting related title. The articles are grouped together like a knitting project, with the first section called cast on, then knit two together, yarn over, left-leaning decreases, make one, continue to work even, and finally cast off. In each she explores various knitting related topics; sometimes a story about a friend or relative, sometimes a personal viewpoint on herself or on a knitting theme.
Most of the material in the book was new to me, but some had already been published on the Yarn Harlot blog.
Stephanie has a lifelong obsession with knitting and is a self proclaimed observer of knitters. Through her observations she is able to voice the heartbreak, joy, pain and happiness of knitters as they strive to come to terms with this compulsive art. Her understanding creates thoughtful and unique essays.
I like the cute sheep knitting from its own wool on the front cover. The book has a personal style and you will either like or you not. I found it touching, thoughtful, humorous, clever and insightful. The focus is less on the craft of knitting or knitting patterns but rather on the people who knit. It is the reflections of the knitters, from young to old, which resonate with me and I really enjoyed the portrayal of her family and friends.
I loved the sequences describing the author’s skills as a mother to three daughters. From her subterfuge to try to get them to take up knitting, her joy when her 5 year old (kind of) learns to knit without instruction to her measured dialogue with her 12 year old daughter as she tries to knit her first hat!
There is a wonderful self-deprecation in the sections about the author herself. I particularly liked the sequence when she goes to a writing retreat to be alone in the woods. I can also totally relate to her feeling overcome with the beautiful yarn on entering a yarn shop.
“once I know I’m being weird and jumpy, I try not to be worried about that, and by then I’m so nervous that I do the only reasonable thing, which is to fold like a deck of cards, buy seventeen skins of sock yarn, and get the hell out.” Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
There are passages that are extremely funny. Prepare yourself to have good old laugh and be especially warned if you are going to be reading this book in public. One of my favourite episodes starts out with her knitting in public – something that I don’t often have the courage to do. The sequence of events that follow build up into a hilarious sequence. I also loved when she knit a baby sweater in case she was invited to a friend’s baby shower, “A Knitter’s Sense of Snow” and the letters from Winterwool Inc.
I was fascinated by the author’s observances on people’s different styles of knitting, and how they use their hands. Watching the way that these people approach knitting (though the author’s eyes) tells so much about their lives and their personalities. It is the author’s underlying understanding of the art that makes it feel very much like the reader is having a conversation with a fellow knitter.
There are parts of the book that provoke thought too. A particularly poignant one involves the memories of Stephanie’s elderly Aunt Helen. Helen was a long time knitter who was not capable of knitting anymore. Despite this, her hands wouldn’t sit still make the same repetitive movements as if she could. Another concerns a friend who ordered a huge afghan pattern and twenty-six balls of yarn in a bid (along with therapy and medication) to knit her way out of depression!
Some of the more powerful sequences in the book involve wider perspectives. For example, the author considers how people react to a male knitter as opposed to a female knitter. This opens up a discussion on how people see knitting and knitters in society. Also well observed is the section on knitting retreats and the reaction that the author gets when she admits to embarking on one.
This was a great book to curl up to on these cold winter months. It is a book that knitters of every skill level (or none) can enjoy. I have to confess to reading out certain particularly good sections of this book to family members. I will definitely look up some of the author’s other books in the same vein.
If you haven’t visited Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s blog, you are in for a treat, you can find it here.
The yarn used for the main colour in the shawl featured in the photos is Opal Lucky Sparkle Sock Yarn colour 9484 Cool contrasted with one of my own Hand Dyed Opal Sock Yarn in a Deep Teal colour.
This is the second book of knitting essays by New York Times best seller, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, who is also known as the Yarn Harlot in her popular blog of the same name. Her first also is called Yarn Harlot. Although I have been a keen reader of her blog, this is the first time that I have reviewed any of her books.
Free-range knitter is divided into seven sections, each with a knitting related title. The articles are grouped together like a knitting project, with the first section called cast on, then knit two together, yarn over, left-leaning decreases, make one, continue to work even, and finally cast off. In each she explores various knitting related topics; sometimes a story about a friend or relative, sometimes a personal viewpoint on herself or on a knitting theme.
Most of the material in the book was new to me, but some had already been published on the Yarn Harlot blog.
Stephanie has a lifelong obsession with knitting and is a self proclaimed observer of knitters. Through her observations she is able to voice the heartbreak, joy, pain and happiness of knitters as they strive to come to terms with this compulsive art. Her understanding creates thoughtful and unique essays.
I like the cute sheep knitting from its own wool on the front cover. The book has a personal style and you will either like or you not. I found it touching, thoughtful, humorous, clever and insightful. The focus is less on the craft of knitting or knitting patterns but rather on the people who knit. It is the reflections of the knitters, from young to old, which resonate with me and I really enjoyed the portrayal of her family and friends.
I loved the sequences describing the author’s skills as a mother to three daughters. From her subterfuge to try to get them to take up knitting, her joy when her 5 year old (kind of) learns to knit without instruction to her measured dialogue with her 12 year old daughter as she tries to knit her first hat!
There is a wonderful self-deprecation in the sections about the author herself. I particularly liked the sequence when she goes to a writing retreat to be alone in the woods. I can also totally relate to her feeling overcome with the beautiful yarn on entering a yarn shop.
“once I know I’m being weird and jumpy, I try not to be worried about that, and by then I’m so nervous that I do the only reasonable thing, which is to fold like a deck of cards, buy seventeen skins of sock yarn, and get the hell out.” Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
There are passages that are extremely funny. Prepare yourself to have good old laugh and be especially warned if you are going to be reading this book in public. One of my favourite episodes starts out with her knitting in public – something that I don’t often have the courage to do. The sequence of events that follow build up into a hilarious sequence. I also loved when she knit a baby sweater in case she was invited to a friend’s baby shower, “A Knitter’s Sense of Snow” and the letters from Winterwool Inc.
I was fascinated by the author’s observances on people’s different styles of knitting, and how they use their hands. Watching the way that these people approach knitting (though the author’s eyes) tells so much about their lives and their personalities. It is the author’s underlying understanding of the art that makes it feel very much like the reader is having a conversation with a fellow knitter.
There are parts of the book that provoke thought too. A particularly poignant one involves the memories of Stephanie’s elderly Aunt Helen. Helen was a long time knitter who was not capable of knitting anymore. Despite this, her hands wouldn’t sit still make the same repetitive movements as if she could. Another concerns a friend who ordered a huge afghan pattern and twenty-six balls of yarn in a bid (along with therapy and medication) to knit her way out of depression!
Some of the more powerful sequences in the book involve wider perspectives. For example, the author considers how people react to a male knitter as opposed to a female knitter. This opens up a discussion on how people see knitting and knitters in society. Also well observed is the section on knitting retreats and the reaction that the author gets when she admits to embarking on one.
This was a great book to curl up to on these cold winter months. It is a book that knitters of every skill level (or none) can enjoy. I have to confess to reading out certain particularly good sections of this book to family members. I will definitely look up some of the author’s other books in the same vein.
If you haven’t visited Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s blog, you are in for a treat, you can find it here.
The yarn used for the main colour in the shawl featured in the photos is Opal Lucky Sparkle Sock Yarn colour 9484 Cool contrasted with one of my own Hand Dyed Opal Sock Yarn in a Deep Teal colour.
Read
February 7, 2023Little snippets of life ~ the life of knitters. I laughed out loud of some of the truths in which I found myself!
November 23, 2020
Only for true knitter aficionados, this small book covers more than knitting but really focuses on those stories. Chapters like Beginnings, Belongings, Challenging, Families, and Perseverance call for the reader to take your time hearing from this blogger turned author and her knitting humor.
June 6, 2012
Free Range Knitter is yet another great collection of essays about life, love and knitting by Stephanie Pearl McPhee (a.k.a. The Yarn Halot). By now, it should go without saying that Stephanie’s writing is witty and funny and thoroughly enjoyable and this book is no exception.
I was fascinated by a running series of essays that reflected on the way several people in Stephanie’s life knit, their motions and the way they approached it, and how it reflected something about their lives or personalities. From the challengingly active four year old to the woman who (in coordination with therapy and medication) literally knit her way out of a bad bout of depression I really enjoyed Stephanie’s thoughtfulness and insight.
The “Dear John” letters to a sweater that was just not working out and the story of the time when Stephanie, so smug that she had knitted a just-in-case baby sweater so she wouldn’t be caught empty handed by an unexpected baby shower, found out her neighbor was expecting twins were laugh-out-loud funny.
In addition to be a knitter, Stephanie is a mother of three girls and she writes with a wry survivor’s humor about raising children, particularly children who knit. From her pride when she discovered that her five year old had (sort of) figured out how to knit on her own and made a dolly blanket without any help to the frustration of dealing with a twelve year old who is attempting to knit a hat (without being very careful about stuff), to her reflections on the fact that the very attributes that made her daughter so hard to raise would serve her in good stead if they could both survive long enough to see her reach adulthood, Stephanie writes with a wry survivor’s humor that is a pleasure to read.
I was fascinated by a running series of essays that reflected on the way several people in Stephanie’s life knit, their motions and the way they approached it, and how it reflected something about their lives or personalities. From the challengingly active four year old to the woman who (in coordination with therapy and medication) literally knit her way out of a bad bout of depression I really enjoyed Stephanie’s thoughtfulness and insight.
The “Dear John” letters to a sweater that was just not working out and the story of the time when Stephanie, so smug that she had knitted a just-in-case baby sweater so she wouldn’t be caught empty handed by an unexpected baby shower, found out her neighbor was expecting twins were laugh-out-loud funny.
In addition to be a knitter, Stephanie is a mother of three girls and she writes with a wry survivor’s humor about raising children, particularly children who knit. From her pride when she discovered that her five year old had (sort of) figured out how to knit on her own and made a dolly blanket without any help to the frustration of dealing with a twelve year old who is attempting to knit a hat (without being very careful about stuff), to her reflections on the fact that the very attributes that made her daughter so hard to raise would serve her in good stead if they could both survive long enough to see her reach adulthood, Stephanie writes with a wry survivor’s humor that is a pleasure to read.
February 28, 2015
I let this book sit on my shelf for two or three years before I cycled back into a knitting phase. I go through periods where I don't knit for years, in between periods of knitting obsessively. But since knitting has been consuming my mind lately, I thought, "What if there was a book I could read about knitting that was neither a book of patterns, nor a lame chick lit knitting fiction?" And this book came to the rescue.
So, the first half of this book, I was thinking, okay, this is entertaining, but it's not really as funny as the cover describes it to be. But when Pearl-Mcphee started talking about all the awkward social encounters she had been through, I actually did laugh out loud. I empathize with a lot of those stories.
And when she started talking about knitting and its perceptions to the outside world and how it seems to bring out the worst in everyone's ideas of gender roles, I got pretty fired up. I don't knit in public because of all the things people say and think and it's often not worth the trouble or the disgust. When she came to the realization that knitting is seen as a niche, strange archaic hobby while fishing and golfing are regarded as common, noble pursuits that get TV coverage and magazines in grocery stores...she was able to eloquently word the core of the issue: activities that are regarded as feminine are respected and admired less than hobbies that are seen as masculine. That seems to be the only reason golf and fishing would get more open publicity. She pulled up stats that showed that more people knit than golf...but you'd never guess by looking at the media coverage. Okay, my rant is over. This was a good book.
So, the first half of this book, I was thinking, okay, this is entertaining, but it's not really as funny as the cover describes it to be. But when Pearl-Mcphee started talking about all the awkward social encounters she had been through, I actually did laugh out loud. I empathize with a lot of those stories.
And when she started talking about knitting and its perceptions to the outside world and how it seems to bring out the worst in everyone's ideas of gender roles, I got pretty fired up. I don't knit in public because of all the things people say and think and it's often not worth the trouble or the disgust. When she came to the realization that knitting is seen as a niche, strange archaic hobby while fishing and golfing are regarded as common, noble pursuits that get TV coverage and magazines in grocery stores...she was able to eloquently word the core of the issue: activities that are regarded as feminine are respected and admired less than hobbies that are seen as masculine. That seems to be the only reason golf and fishing would get more open publicity. She pulled up stats that showed that more people knit than golf...but you'd never guess by looking at the media coverage. Okay, my rant is over. This was a good book.
April 15, 2018
I admittedly have struggled to finish a book in far too long. I picked up this book because I knew I liked Stephanie's blog, and this book is very much in the spirit of her blog. It's an orderly collection of essays, sketches, and possibly a short story or two. Knitting is so much a part of Stephanie's professional and personal life that it feels like in all of her writing, knitting is a gateway to understanding-kind of the standard analogy or metaphor she uses throughout her writing (and I imagine, in her mind too). So, this is a book that is and isn't about knitting. I laughed out loud multiple times, and thouroughly enjoyed the book. My only criticism is I think some of the sections could have been edited to maintain the pace of the writing.
January 11, 2018
I love crochet and knitting and hearing someone else talk about their life as a knitter was great. While most of the stories do revolve around knitting and what it has taught her about life, Stephanie does have some stories that really are not about that and more about her family or philosophizing. The book is funny and rings true, but after a while, it seemed a little self important. I don't know if that is the right word, but it started to seem repetitive to me and I sort of had to force myself to finish.
March 24, 2009
I smiled while reading this book by an obsessive knitter. I see myself and have had to purchase a small project bag especially for socks which have become my new addiction. I have not read any of Pearl-McPhee's other writings but now know where to turn when I need a lift in spririts and a place to go when I feel judged and misunderstood by those who see knitting as a waste of time, which is most anyone who does not knit!
March 30, 2009
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.
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