Mason-Dixon Knitting

First, I should warn you, I am writing this book review as a non-knitter. If you want an experienced knitter's take on this book, read Sarah's review. Don't get me wrong, I have tried my hand at knitting, and it is not that I did not enjoy knitting, I am just too lazy to pursue it only because I can crochet without paying too much attention.

This is not a book for someone who wants to learn how to knit. They do offer plenty of projects a beginner can handle, but first you need to know the basics of how to knit. Sarah, the About.com Guide to Knitting, can teach you how to knit. Once you know how to use those knitting needles, this book will surely inspire and entertain you.

The full title of this book is Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitter's Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures, and I will tell it it is full off all of those things and more. I enjoyed reading about how Ann and Kay met online and how their friendship grew, thanks in part to their love of knitting and knitting books. I think maybe I enjoyed reading all of the stories dispersed throughout this book more than the amazing patterns they share. This might be because, as I mentioned before, I am a non-knitter.

It is a rare thing for me to read a craft book of any kind from cover to cover, mainly I just jump around to the projects that interest me; but, I found myself so entertained by the stories, knitting rules, and everything else this book offered that I did pretty much that. It is one of the most entertaining craft books I have read lately. My only disappointment... In chapter 4, Fambly Projecks, where the authors tackle the subject of teaching kids to knit, I really got into Ann's story about her son's 8 pound ball of 'yarn' and the rug that was made out of it... I really wanted to a picture of that "totally kooky" finished rug!

For those interested in the projects you will find in this book, you can take your choice from 34 different projects. The projects span all ages and abilities. You can start out by making a wonderful Bandball dishcloth and end up 'Scribbling' with yarn and knitting needles. I think the log cabin knitting, examined in Chapter 3, might be something I would enjoy. I could totally related to the section titled How to Cope With Disaster: Save The Evidence; this is not only a good rule of thumb to follow for knitting but for any craft you do.

I also wanted to share a little background information about Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. They first met online, in an online chat room. Ann was frustrated about a pattern and decided to post a question on a knitting website. Kay, who was working on the same pattern, responded. After a year of lively emails, Ann and Kay decided to turn their correspondence into a blog, masondixonknitting.com. Stories like this really make you appreciate how wonderful a place Cyberspace is!