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Knitting Lessons
A celebration and cultural study of knitting follows the author's exploration of three interconnected knitting circles from different parts of the country, sharing the humorous and inspiring stories of knitters while explaining how knitting can enable a more peaceful and productive life. Reprint.
- GenresKnittingNonfictionCrafts
286 pages, Paperback
First published April 14, 2003
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95 people want to read
About the author
Lela Nargi
45 books42 followersI’m a writer of books for adults and children living in a leafy corner of Brooklyn, NY with my daughter, my husband and my dog.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 22, 2020
This book should be relished by everyone who ever found enjoyment with two needles and a ball of yarn. Knitting Lessons could inspire anyone to pick up those needles and yarn and discover the magic of creating something -- not with actual instruction but with stories by beginning and advanced knitters. The author sets out to find out why people knit and within the 280 pages I found 128 reasons. My favorite comes from a lady named Rita, who said, "I have no perspective on what's going on in the rest of the world. I assume everybody's knitting." I have to end this review now -- my knitting is calling me.
September 14, 2010
It is pure coincidence that I picked up this book from my huge to-read box on September 11, but it is apropos. This is part memoir, and part interviews. It was published shortly after the 2001 attacks, and though it does not deal directly with the subject, the inteviewees, especially those in New York, cannot avoid the subject.
The theme of this book seems to be "why I wanted to learn to knit and who taught me". It is an exploration of just what it is about knitting that draws devotees. I like that the author, Lela Nargi, shares her own reasons and those of others without academic detachment. She tells us how she came to research and write this, and how the stories she collected affected her. Reading it feels like listening to a friend share. Even her husband puts his two cents in, as if he'd stepped in from the den for a snack. There is none of the irreverence of a Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but there is plenty of Nargi's understated charm.
I will say that I would not recommend anyone to use this as a guide to the online knitting world, it is sadly out of date for that. Those who read it and want to connect to that world should start with the Ravelry website in my opinion, it is a lot like a knit and crochet version of Goodreads.
I feel anyone who enjoys quilting, crochet, or other handicrafts will like this book.
The theme of this book seems to be "why I wanted to learn to knit and who taught me". It is an exploration of just what it is about knitting that draws devotees. I like that the author, Lela Nargi, shares her own reasons and those of others without academic detachment. She tells us how she came to research and write this, and how the stories she collected affected her. Reading it feels like listening to a friend share. Even her husband puts his two cents in, as if he'd stepped in from the den for a snack. There is none of the irreverence of a Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, but there is plenty of Nargi's understated charm.
I will say that I would not recommend anyone to use this as a guide to the online knitting world, it is sadly out of date for that. Those who read it and want to connect to that world should start with the Ravelry website in my opinion, it is a lot like a knit and crochet version of Goodreads.
I feel anyone who enjoys quilting, crochet, or other handicrafts will like this book.
July 13, 2014
All this is is dozens of knitters describing their craft, but oh, how it fed my soul in ways I didn't even know I needed.
October 15, 2017
A great read for those that can live vicariously through an authors travels. Some of the stories have stayed with me for years!
December 9, 2020
Short review: Interesting stories but they need photographs!
When knitting became popular again a few years ago there was an explosion of these types of anecdotal books. I've read a few, and this is my favourite so far, but it has one major drawback and it's something I'd borrow, or read once and pass on, rather than keep.
I had bought this book to inspire a friend who is beginning to knit, but having read the contents, I won't be passing this on as it doesn't serve that purpose. This is more for readers who know and love knitting, not those new to the craft.
Lela writes well, with a friendly conversational tone. A failed wannabe knitter, she decides to interview every knitter she can find, traveling from her home in New York to California and Maine.
After introducing her interviewee and giving an idea of how they connected, she lets them describe their own knitting journeys in their own words - how they started, what they make, how they feel about the craft - which I greatly enjoyed and appreciated!
Interspersed throughout are Lela's experiences beginning to knit, which are disappointingly mostly limited to swatching. Despite her inspiring interviews, she quickly loses interest and nearly gives up entirely before a trio of friends require baby gifts, finally providing a focus for her experiments. Unfortunately, that's where the book ends - we have no idea if she did make the gifts, how successful they were, or even if she continued knitting.
The huge drawback for me is the lack of a visual element. Lela's "sketches" of her swatches are completely indecipherable and give no idea about her actual progress on her learning to knit journey. The chapter illustrations - all in black and white - are pretty drawings of socks, hats, etc. but they repeat and do not correspond to the stories (and neither do the quotes).
Let me say it again: there are no photos. This is completely bewildering!!! Even if the interviewees didn't want to share personal pics, hearing their unique knitting styles and creations described without images is PAINFUL. Ditto the yarn stores she profiles. And, at the very least, Lela should have shared photos of her own path, especially since the overall message is "It doesn't matter where you start or what you make, just enjoy the knitting experience."
It ends up giving the impression that she is ashamed of her attempts, which is entirely counterintuitive and not inspiring in the least. And again, this is lack of photographs goes entirely against the beginner-friendly message because true beginners would likely be unable to visualize the types of projects and stitches Lela talks about.
So, overall this is a pleasant read that feels very unfinished and isn't memorable or inspiring. Not at all what I had hoped!
When knitting became popular again a few years ago there was an explosion of these types of anecdotal books. I've read a few, and this is my favourite so far, but it has one major drawback and it's something I'd borrow, or read once and pass on, rather than keep.
I had bought this book to inspire a friend who is beginning to knit, but having read the contents, I won't be passing this on as it doesn't serve that purpose. This is more for readers who know and love knitting, not those new to the craft.
Lela writes well, with a friendly conversational tone. A failed wannabe knitter, she decides to interview every knitter she can find, traveling from her home in New York to California and Maine.
After introducing her interviewee and giving an idea of how they connected, she lets them describe their own knitting journeys in their own words - how they started, what they make, how they feel about the craft - which I greatly enjoyed and appreciated!
Interspersed throughout are Lela's experiences beginning to knit, which are disappointingly mostly limited to swatching. Despite her inspiring interviews, she quickly loses interest and nearly gives up entirely before a trio of friends require baby gifts, finally providing a focus for her experiments. Unfortunately, that's where the book ends - we have no idea if she did make the gifts, how successful they were, or even if she continued knitting.
The huge drawback for me is the lack of a visual element. Lela's "sketches" of her swatches are completely indecipherable and give no idea about her actual progress on her learning to knit journey. The chapter illustrations - all in black and white - are pretty drawings of socks, hats, etc. but they repeat and do not correspond to the stories (and neither do the quotes).
Let me say it again: there are no photos. This is completely bewildering!!! Even if the interviewees didn't want to share personal pics, hearing their unique knitting styles and creations described without images is PAINFUL. Ditto the yarn stores she profiles. And, at the very least, Lela should have shared photos of her own path, especially since the overall message is "It doesn't matter where you start or what you make, just enjoy the knitting experience."
It ends up giving the impression that she is ashamed of her attempts, which is entirely counterintuitive and not inspiring in the least. And again, this is lack of photographs goes entirely against the beginner-friendly message because true beginners would likely be unable to visualize the types of projects and stitches Lela talks about.
So, overall this is a pleasant read that feels very unfinished and isn't memorable or inspiring. Not at all what I had hoped!
January 22, 2019
Marginally interesting, Lela Nargi decided to take up knitting after thinking about it for a long time. Then she decided to find out why other people knit by talking to a lot of them. I guess, essentially, I was bored reading about other people talking about why they knit. I just don’t care. Some of the people were interesting and so were their stories, but a lot were very similar: “ I knit to keep my hands busy; I knit to create things; I knit because I like the feeling and colours of the fibres.” Some people (most) told stories of how and when they began knitting and those too were similar: family members or neighbors taught them or no one taught them and they went to a knitting shop and they learned there. There are some references to shops and websites which look interesting. I did enjoy some of the quotes and poems used as section introductions. The most profound thing I took away was the statement: “The way you do anything is the way you do everything.”
December 22, 2022
Literature with knitting as the main subject
These are not actually knitting lessons. It is literature containing knotting as the main subject. There is a small bibliography as other books are referenced.
These are not actually knitting lessons. It is literature containing knotting as the main subject. There is a small bibliography as other books are referenced.
March 5, 2019
makes you want to put the book down and knit.
September 9, 2011
I've been reading this book in bits and snatches for awhile. I mostly like it, but then sometimes she goes all introspective hippie on me and I have to take a break. The book is a selection of letters and interviews about knitting. As the author (or shall we call her a compiler?) travels around meeting knitters, she is also learning to knit. What I liked best about the book was the sense of knitting as a craft without generational, cultural or gender boundaries, that people who knit often knit for the same reasons I do, and get a similar mental/emotional result. Without becoming too introspectively hippie, I want to say that I believe that a craft like knitting connects us to others in a way that few other things can. Cooking and reading do come to mind.
I knit for many reasons: I have a hard time just sitting, I love to create things, it is relaxing, I don't have to play pinochle with my husband's family, but I can be in the room with them, I love the feel of the fiber in my hands and then the sense of accomplishment I get from a completed project. I have a hard time with meditation, but I know it's good for me. Knitting time is often meditative for me. My hands are busy, I am not fidgety, and I can then review my day and think over things that need working out. Many, many of the knitters interviewed for this book said the same things. It reminded me of LT - connecting with people around the world - because we have something in common.
Here's a link to a Pablo Neruda poem that was quoted in the book: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ode-to...
Maybe I'll start my next thread with that...
Quotes:
Knitting in a multicultural community is fascinating, since one can see how the craft has developed and how it is taught around the world. Bhutanese knitting looks nothing like German knitting, though the product is very much the same...In some cultures, for example, weaving and fiberwork are the man's domain.
The reason I knit is because I didn't know how to play pinochle.
Knitting is very calming and very soothing, and no pill can do that for me... I knit when I am sad, happy, worried - it helps me. But when my husband died six years ago, I didn't knit for six months. He loved my knitting so much, and I even taught him to knit. I just couldn't face anything without him. But I am better now, and I know that he would be so happy to have me "knit just one more row" - I always said that to him when he wanted to go somewhere.
I knit for many reasons: I have a hard time just sitting, I love to create things, it is relaxing, I don't have to play pinochle with my husband's family, but I can be in the room with them, I love the feel of the fiber in my hands and then the sense of accomplishment I get from a completed project. I have a hard time with meditation, but I know it's good for me. Knitting time is often meditative for me. My hands are busy, I am not fidgety, and I can then review my day and think over things that need working out. Many, many of the knitters interviewed for this book said the same things. It reminded me of LT - connecting with people around the world - because we have something in common.
Here's a link to a Pablo Neruda poem that was quoted in the book: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ode-to...
Maybe I'll start my next thread with that...
Quotes:
Knitting in a multicultural community is fascinating, since one can see how the craft has developed and how it is taught around the world. Bhutanese knitting looks nothing like German knitting, though the product is very much the same...In some cultures, for example, weaving and fiberwork are the man's domain.
The reason I knit is because I didn't know how to play pinochle.
Knitting is very calming and very soothing, and no pill can do that for me... I knit when I am sad, happy, worried - it helps me. But when my husband died six years ago, I didn't knit for six months. He loved my knitting so much, and I even taught him to knit. I just couldn't face anything without him. But I am better now, and I know that he would be so happy to have me "knit just one more row" - I always said that to him when he wanted to go somewhere.
January 17, 2008
The author travels the country, pulling at a yarn string as it were, uncovering personal stories, to find out why so many need their knitting fix. Suprisingly philosphical - knitting as meditation, as a symbol of the fates, as a metaphor for the patterns of living things, as a glue for communities. As well as occasionally frustrating. A very cozy and neatly structured book though I would have liked to hear perspectives from people other than those on the coasts of the US.
December 29, 2014
I've read several books describing what knitters think and feel about knitting, but this one drew me in more than others. The conversation about the creative process as a journey, how knitting can give you insight into your personality, as well as calm, simple enjoyment, was a pleasure to read. The chapters cover all types of personalities and knitters. You're sure to find yourself among them.
July 5, 2010
Weird to say the least. The interpolated sections where Nargi talks about her own knitting experiences are a record of pure frustration, eyes bigger than needles, too much ambition and far too little patience.
June 4, 2011
This book was a nice dose of much needed inspiration. It was written in the early 2000s, and it was nice to take a little trip back to when knitting was much newer and exciting for me. It features lots of well written profiles of creative people, and got me excited about my knitting again!
August 26, 2011
I've read this book probably 10-15 times. It's comfort, easy reading about my most beloved topic. I pick it up at random times when I just feel drawn to it. It's really a good read, although somewhat dated since the explosion of knitting blogs and ravelry.
June 22, 2012
This told the stories of many knitters, how they kearned to knit and what kniiting meant to them. It was touching and inspiring. I made me realize that what I do is art even if I mostly follow the patterns written by others. I love what I do and do it well, and that is art.
August 17, 2007
started out good, by end --- "get me out of here"
September 3, 2008
nice book- I enjoyed reading it immensely
April 15, 2010
Short stories about knitters and why they knit. Interesting and enjoyable.
January 23, 2011
More tales of other knitters across the world. Engaging and perfect to knit along to.
Read
March 13, 2014Lately I find myself wanting to learn how to knit. I grabbed this book at the library today, I thought it was an instruction one. It's not, but, I've been reading it tonight and I like it.
June 7, 2013
After a while I just couldn't stay interested in any more interviews with knitters. But what I did read was fine.
February 5, 2013
I'm sure that the people interviewed for this book are actually interesting, but I couldn't tell fromt he way the author wrote about them.
December 27, 2014
Charming.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews