Montse Stanley "Knitter's Handbook" - book review

A good source of information is always valued and appreciated. When I knit or crochet I often use some of my handbooks to guide me through the new techniques or to help me solve a problem. When I had finished my first crochet star garland I needed some decent information on blocking. Very few books offer professional knowledge on this topic except for this one - Montse Stanley Knitter's Handbook.

I came across this book in a local library. Borrowed it and had a good look at home. I was amazed at the vast and thorough content of this book. I knew I would be buying one for myself soon. To me Knitter's Handbook like one of those oldie-worldie books that apart from a load of nice photos it has actually got SOME CONTENT in it. I bought my copy on Ebay. To be honest, it wasn't so easy to find it and it looks like this book is slowly disappearing from the bookstores. I don't think the publishers are making it anymore actually. So if you would like one for yourself, hurry up, you still stand a chance of finding one. Mine is a new book but the edition is from 1993.

Here is the content of the book:

The chapter on blocking your knitted garments is very extensive and offers a good explanation how to do it. I was very pleased to read about it.

The book itself shows as many as 18 different methods of casting on! Who would have known?!

The pictures are detailed and clear. The two coloured way of showing techniques makes it easy to understand and it also helps visually.

There are also coloured photos interleaved with the chapters. They mostly present some ready made pieces of garment. Perhaps you could tell the fashion presented in the book isn't from the latest catwalks but does it really matter? The knitting techniques don't change over time.

I am really pleased with this book and from now on I reach for it each time I need some advice. I can highly recommend it to any demanding and advanced knitter.

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In the meantime here is my little yarn shopping :) In Dunelm Mill one day I came across these variegated yarns. The little yarn bowl is a mixutre of cotton and acrylic (I love working with cotton yarns) and the big ball of yarn is acrylic only. I love the gradual shading on both. Perfect spring colours!

The other Sunday my bf has kindly presented me with this yarn supply from Aldi :) I went for lots of yellow and a mint green shade :) This yellow shade makes one think of Easter chicks, don't you think?

The yarns are all acrylic. Good for practicing on new projects :)

I have also knitted another egg for my Easter decoration :) One by one in my free time...

The "egg shells" will be filled up with stuffing later on :)

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Do you perhaps remember my post about buying a new set of KnitPro needles? Well, my blog post about the Knitpro needles has been spotted by someone who is a Knitpro producer or perhaps a Knitpro seller and they tweeted their thank-you to me on Twitter :) How nice! :)

Isn't it amazing how all things are these days linked together on the internet? We definitely live in a global village. Hope you're having a good weekend :)