Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously
Where to buy Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously books online?
Product Description
“I knit so I don’t kill people” —bumper sticker spotted at Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival
For Adrienne Martini, and countless others, knitting is the linchpin of sanity. As a effective mother of two, Martini wanted a challenge that would make her feel in charge. So she chose to make the Holy Grail of sweaters—her own Mary Tudor, whose mind-numbingly gorgeous pattern is so intricate to knit that its mere mention can hush a roomful of veteran knitters. Made by ascetic designer Alice Starmore, the Mary Tudor can be establish only in a rare, out-of-print book of Honest Isle–style patterns, Tudor Roses, and requires a discontinued, irreplaceable yarn. The sweater, Martini clarifies, “is a knitter’s Mount Everest, our curse, and our compulsion. I want one more than I can start to tell you.”
And so she took on the challenge: one year, two needles, and countless knits and purls to conquer Mary Tudor while also taking care of her two kids, two cats, two jobs, and (thankfully) one spouse—lacking unraveling in the process. Along the way, Adrienne investigates the tangled origins of the coveted pattern, inquires into the scenery of artistic creation, and details her quest to buy supplies on the knitting black market. As she tries not to pull out her hair along with rows gone incorrect, Martini gets guidance from some knitterati, who offer invaluable inspiration as she conquers her dread of Honest Isle. A wooly Julie and Julia, this epic yarn celebrates the profound joys of making—and aspiring to—remarkable achievements.
Buy Cheap Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously Online
Related posts:
- The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
- Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Five: Lace Knitting: The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary from the Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine
- Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot’s Bag of Knitting Tricks
- Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book
- The Letter Sweater
I was willing to overlook the bone idle writing – it’s clear that the leader bit off more than she could chew, or unraveled more than she could knit, or something – in exchange for the excellent list of resources/yarn shops sprinkled throughout. But if the quality of the knitting became as messy as she neared the end of that sweater as did her writing, I’m not surprised it didn’t fit, as I learned from another review. I really place the book down with about 15 pages to go and didn’t care whether or not she finished the darn thing for this reason: Why does the leader reflect it’s necessary to trumpet her anti-conservative politics in a stupid small knitting book? Got news for you, women who vote Republican knit, too. When I get together at my local yarn shop to share knitting tales, tips and tricks, yarn suggestions, patterns, etc., we’re not there to chat about politics and current events. We go to get away from that world and enter a more genteel state where we can argue over the merits of aluminum vs. bamboo, wool or cotton, lace or cable, and to encourage each additional to make it at something we all like. I don’t care who my knitting friends voted for, and I expect them to not care who I choose to cast a vote for, and I certainly don’t expect to be insulted in a book about knitting a sweater – or cooking recipes by Julia Child – just so the leader can show off her “see how enlightened I am” credentials.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
Disappointing. I was expecting more along the lines of Stepanie Pearl McPhee from the reviews I read, but this book was dull and not particularly humourous.
Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5
This is the perfect book for a new knitter, because it’s choke full of appealing tid-bits, facts and additional miscellany in the current online knitting world and community, with interviews with some of today’s brightest knitting stars, and loads of information about knitting itself, but for me I loved the tale about the Staremore sweater and all of the conspiracy and history behind it. I was very surprised and liked it very much. I don’t normally like knitting books (and I knit!). This was very entertaining and I dare say educational but certainly not in the dull sort of way.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
Knitters around the world are going to sigh with delight when they pick up a copy of Sweater Quest. Not only is leader Adrienne Martini amusing and irresistibly odd, she understands our like of all things fiber-related, even the most arcane element involved in sheep-raising or pattern-crafty.
Part mystery (who is the elusive Alice Starmore, and why do knitters world-wide call her “She Who Must Not Be Named?”), part history (Where exactly are the Honest Isles, and who was the Mary that the Mary Tudor sweater was named for?), part knitting manifesto, part like letter… this book is not for the faint of heart. But anyone who’s held yarn in their hands and coddled it like a newborn babe, even going so far as to sniff its lovely scent, will get it.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
You owe it to yourself to read this book if you are a knitter. I am still smiling. Her book is a delight. A light and enjoyable journey of a sweater from beginning to end. Don’t miss this…it’s a real treat.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5