Thursday, January 24, 2008

Knitting workshop


I'm on the Elizabeth Zimmermann bandwagon. She has many fans, including those who share their projects on the Zimmermania blog, the flickr Elizabeth Zimmermann group, and even everyone's favorite male knitter over at Brooklyn Tweed can be seen singing EZ's praises. I picked up her Knitting Workshopbook yesterday, and already have a bit of a knitterly crush on her. The book reads more like a novel than an instruction book. Elizabeth has strong opinions about how one should knit, but her opinions always help you knit easily and in your own individual manner. I decided to get her book because a lot of people use her ideas to design their own sweaters, instead of blindly following patterns. Her philosophy is also great if you can never seem to get the right fit from the patterns you choose. By reading her books, you will hopefully gain a better understanding of knitting techniques, garment fit and design. Plus she's really funny. I'm already thinking about picking up her other books!

5 comments:

Mary said...

ALL of her books are just as good. My personal favorites are "KNitting Around" and "The Opinionated Knitter," which both have lots of biographical info and great old pictures. Of course, the patterns are awesome, too!

Anonymous said...

I just made my first EZ pattern from this book, Baby Surprise Jacket. She is a genius. I can't wait to explore her more. I love your blog, found it from a comment on Wiksten's.

Anonymous said...

Have you seen this yet?
http://www.vintageknitting.net/
It hasn't been updated in a while, but there are some great free vintage knitting patterns.

Meghan said...

Hi Deborah--Yes! I loved that blog. It's a pity she seems to have lost steam. Maybe one day when I'm less busy, I'll have more time to knit and blog and will make the backlog of great vintage sweaters I've been dreaming about.

Nadine Fawell said...

Oooh, ahhhh, all hail Queen EZ! She so rocks, and her techniques are always the 'shortcut'.