12.04.2005 | 20:24

It's my party and I knit if I want to

I always do this. I always fall for books that tell about knitting. I already got Zen and the Art of Knitting but I guess I did not become enlightened enough so I skipped The Knitting Goddess. (Phew?)

But I did get The Joy of Knitting and also The Joy of Knitting Companion. In fact I got The Joy of Knitting Companion first and then The Joy of Knitting...

And now I got Sharon Aris' It's My Party and I Knit If I Want To.

I bet these books must be fun to write: you get to meet other people who enjoy doing the same thing you do, you can share experiences, go yarn shopping, have a cup of coffee and chat about fun things. You'll find many things to talk about, you can share opinions, anecdotes and funny stories, try something new or teach some new tips...

But are the knitting books fun to read? I really can't say. I would very much like to read about the history of knitting or learn new techniques and I do not know what to think about this light-hearted, fun approach. Am I boring? Am I dull? I guess I am. I guess I'm too involved with facts and practical texts that I feel like I cannot read and enjoy prose that easily anymore.

Anyway, I've just started to read the book. It consists of short sections that tell about different knitters and in-between are excerpts from the author's (imaginary?) knitting diary that reveals us how she started to knit. (That's fun to read.)

Well, what the book tells us is that's it's trendy to knit and more and more people learn to knit (including people you wouldn't expect to do that). It handles the clichés "Knitting is the new feminism" and "Knitting is the new yoga" and tells about knitting circles, trendsetters, and knitters who have kept the craft alive. Also, there are Knit or Myth sections as well as Q&A sections where the author answers to questions with her tongue in cheeck, and of course there are some basic patterns.

Sometimes the book is funny and hilarious and makes me smile, sometimes I just skip parts of it when the author starts to describe another knitter or when the subject is not that interesting to me. I'll finish this book, though, but I cannot say the same of Zen and the Art of Knitting...

I also wonder who would be the first one to write this kind of a book in Finnish... Would it have readers? Would it be a best seller? Publishers, feel free to contact me and we'll figure out a deal!

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