One-Skein Wonders
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Book Reviews of One-Skein Wonders
Book Review: Good pattern selections, great concept, wish it had been better proofread
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this book last year, and have been using it semi-regularly for patterns. I've knitted on and off for years, but I don't think of myself as an expert, just an intermediate beginner. I was happy to see shawls and scarves, socks and arm/hand pieces, as that is what I wanted to make quickly with some old yarn I had hanging around.
I notice that at least some of the yarns mentioned are not cheap, more like luxury yarn to me, and several have been discontinued at this time, or are hard to find. I don't mind substitutions, as I have yarns I just want to use, so as long as my yarn amount is enough, either alone or with another as contrast, then I'm happy. I made a shawl from one of the patterns that used several different types of yarn not specified in the original pattern, and it came out absolutely gorgeous. It was a gift for a friend who is very happy with it.
I have knit most of the easy shawls and one scarf, and one or two others. I didn't have any problems, though, until I tried the Diotima shell top, using different yarns and a circular needle, as I hate seaming. I found a minor problem that was mostly due to the method I used, but I sorted it out. Just realize if you try this pattern that the rib formed is the same orientation on each part of the piece, which doesn't make it look as seamless as the photo, but I snuck an increase of an extra stitch in each side to balance it out.
However, while I do like the picture gallery in one area, I still wish they had done a better job of depicting the piece you are about to make in the instruction area - the illustrations are a bit ghostly and not detailed enough to provide additional aid. I also wish they had done a better job of proofreading, as I want to try other designs, which turn out to have errors, but I'll have to add the many corrections to my book. Tedious, but I still like the book a lot. This is a nice book with interesting patterns that a knitter like me hasn't seen before, and certainly not all in the same place. Having one book instead of several patterns that do the same thing appeals greatly to me.
Book Review: More than Satisfactory, Less than Perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
On the cover of "One Skein Wonders", one will note the appearance of several hats, sweaters, and collars. This is a fairly accurate representation of what lies within the book.
Make-up: "One-Skein" is divided into sections by the weight of the yarn used to complete the project. I find this useful, personally, because I can search for a leftover ball of a certain weight in my stash prior to choosing a project. The book feels sturdy enough, and is almost entirely new-looking after six months of use. However, I am very irritated by the layout: patterns with tiny black-and-white images for most of the book with color images sandwiched in a color section in the middle. This is, as far as I can tell, simply a money-saving maneuver by the publisher.
Patterns- Most of them are rather original and useful: A garter-ridged hat, adorable openwork scarves worked in every weight from fingering to extra-chunky (Gossamer Shell Scarf, Pandora Scarf, and the Pink Aura Scarf), a few lightweight shawls, and some functional socks. What really bothers me, though, is that there are 5 patterns for collars, none of which are attractive. Several are worked in chunky yarn and are meant to look like polo shirts. Two are ruffled and are made to please Great-Aunty Edna Mae. As I teenager, I am flabbergasted. There are also a few cowls, which do not appeal to me in particular. And the hideous curlicued Curtain Tiebacks are something straight out of a horror film. There is also an ice-scraper mitt, which I think totally pointless. The pattern for needle-felted coasters is next to useless; there are no instructions, simply a few sentences telling you to needle-felt the coasters you make. The three armwarmer patterns are cute and seem very wearable. The only cute crochet patterns in the book, however, were childrens' hats: a ruffled one and a zigzag one.
That said, I do recommend that one purchase this book because, out of its 101 projects, at least half are practical to make. It is affordable and worth its weight in yarn.
Book Review: Some Gems, Some Duds
Summary: 4 Stars
I have inherited many orphan skeins from my grandmother's stash, and was looking to this book to make some use of them. All in all, I can say that this book was somewhat helpful. I think that the cell-phone case, while not original, was one of the coolest patterns in here!
Pros (the first two are its greatest strengths):
--The center of the book has color-photos of each and every project, cross-referenced to the page where its pattern can be found
--Patterns are organized by yarn type/weight, which is one of the most useful features I have ever seen in a knitting pattern book!
--IMHO, Two-thirds of the patterns are useful/wearable/would make great gifts
--Most of the patterns are easy for us newbie-knitters
--A good variety of items to knit
--Even the ubiquitous scarves and knits hats were creative
Cons:
--About a third of the projects were just not things that I would ever wear or make for someone else (weird things, like knit cravats, or funky purses and hats that just were not my style)
--Yarns detailed in each project were usually not commonly-found ones and had odd combinations of material types or were more expensive yarns, even though one would expect them to be easily "substitutable" in a one-skein project book.
More pros than cons make this a recommended knitting book for those of you with orphan skeins that you don't know how to use. It is worth its price!
Book Review: Excellent variety! of mini-bits
Summary: 5 Stars
There are about a dozen of these books out right now, all about small bits -- bits of time, bits of yarn, bits of color....
Most of them have 1-2 dozen little things to make with a little yarn in a little while, or a lot of fat yarn in a weekend. Some are cute-- but some not. Some really original-- and some like bad Xerox copies of things we've all seen before.
This book, however, is different. Different in that there are many many many (101) abreviated projects to choose from, and most are original and quite different from everything else in the book! Beat that!
I have already made the lovely "filigree" lace collar on p187 and am very pleased with the ease following such simple and straightforward directions. There are a couple more collars and neck bits I can try next -- maybe after the hair ornaments, or the gauntlets, or one of the interesting flower decorations....
I also like the lay-out of the book with the center color photo index of projects (easy to re-find ideas that have flipped shut) AND the nifty table of contents that breaks down the projects by yarn size! This is a "knit up your scraps" book designed by real knitters!
So, bravo and well done! I counted up those projects that I would either want to knit for myself, or would knit for friend/family, and came up with 42 out of 101. I don't know about you, but that's a high hit rate for me.
Book Review: I can't wait to try these patterns!
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this book yesterday and am already keen to try about a dozen projects in it! I have picked up lots of yarn in groups of two or three skeins or even just one skein. (It's in the sale bin, and you have no idea of what to do with it, but you know you must have it -- haven't we all been there?) Well, this book is just full of patterns of things that can be made with one skein of yarn (according to the types of yarn recommended in each pattern, of course). Patterns for things we all think of when we think of small projects: hats, socks, scarves, shawls, baby items, bags. And patterns of things I hadn't thought much of: fingerless mittens (why are those everywhere now?), a coffee mitt, a wine gift bag, barrettes, an ice scraper mitt (how did we live without those?)...
The patterns seem easy to follow. They are sorted by weight of yarn, which should help with substitution. The full-color photos in the middle of the book show the items very well, without taking too much space (and are cross-referenced pattern-to-photo and vice versa). And the items themselves? There are very few (mabye none) that made me go "eeew." They're fun, creative, and funky, but also classy.
If your yarn stash is starting to take over your life, or even if it isn't and you just want short, fun projects, get this book!