Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter
by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
List Price:
Our Price: $7.85
You Save: $5.14 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.25 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Stephanie Pearl-McPheeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-09-01
ISBN: 0740750372
Number of pages: 219
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Book Reviews of Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter
Book Review: Horrifying
Summary: 1 Stars
I adored Stephanie's first book (At Knit's End), but this book just horrified me. The vignettes paint a portrait of an obsessive-compulsive who has a complete disregard for anyone else--friends, family, and probably pets and strangers.
I might go along with the 35 unfinished projects (Adult Attention Deficit Disorder?), but the description of her yarn stash, which spans the freezer, every available empty sleeve in the closet, and the space behind the washing machine, sounds just sick. It isn't as if she uses any of it either--one essay described why she just doesn't have anything to knit, because none of this yarn can be used for projects (souvenirs, ugly but on sale...)
The most terrifying essay, though, relates her attempts to get a friend used to wool. Her friend, like me, is allergic to the stuff. But that doesn't deter Stephanie, who forced a pair of knitted socks onto her friend's feet. I had a similar experience once--someone insisted I experience her merino and slapped a lace shawl upside my neck. The doctor was puzzled by the fan-and-feather-shaped welts, but we finally beat it into submission with a month of cortisone treatments. This sort of behavior is at best disrepectful, at worst, assault with an itchy weapon. It's certainly not funny.
The final straw was her essay describing a hunt for a lost knitting needle. She dropped it somewhere (she thought) in a rental car, which had to be returned within the hour or they would be charged for another day. If I had been her husband, I would probably have grabbed the car keys, strapped her in the car, driven her to a local mental hospital, and then returned the vehicle. I sure can't blame him for being completely furious with her. She deserved it.
My husband, who actually read her first book with glee, thinks she was just exaggerating in this one to get her points across. I sure hope so, for her sake. Anyone who exhibits these sorts of behavior patterns has problems that cannot be solved with a pair of knitting needles.
Summary of Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's deepest wish is that everyone understand that knitting is at least as fun as baseball and way cooler than the evil looped path of crochet. Every project, from a misshapen hat to the most magnificent sweater, holds a story. Yarn Harlot tells all those stories with humor, insight, and sympathy for the obsessed.Over 50 million people in America knit. The average knitter spends between $500 and $1,700 a year on yarn, patterns, needles, and books. No longer just a fad or a hobby, knitting has advanced to a lifestyle.
Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter moves beyond instructions and patterns into the purest elements of knitting: obsession, frustration, reflection, and fun. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's humorous and poignant essays find humor in knitting an enormous afghan that requires a whopping 30 balls of wool, having a husband with size 13 feet who loves to wear hand-knit socks, and earns her "yarn harlot" title with her love of any new yarn--she'll quickly drop an old project for the fresh saucy look of a new interesting yarn.
Since the upsurge in knitting began in the early '90s, the number of women under 45 who knit has doubled. Knitting is no longer a hobby for just grandmothers--women and men of all ages are embracing this art. Describing its allure is best left to Stephanie who explains: "It is a well-known fact that knitting is a sparkling form of entertainment, as spiritual as yoga, as relaxing as a massage, and as funny as Erma Bombeck trapped in a PTA meeting."
Crafts & Hobbies Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Crafts & Hobbies Books
Collins Complete Artist's Manualby Simon Jennings
HARPER COLLINS 0 PUB; Published: 2005-10-03; Hardcover; Book
Indoor Artistby Linda Birch
Harper Collins; Published: 2004-02-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.39
Drawing on the Artist Withinby Betty Edwards
Harpercollins; Published: 1988-04-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $176.90
Carolyn Warrender's Book of Colour Scheming: How to Identify the Colours That Are Right for Your Homeby CAROLYN WARRENDER
HARPERCOLLINS ILLUSTRATED; Published: 1999; Paperback; Book
Learn to Paint Gouache Pbby Moira Huntly
Harpercollins; Published: 1995-10; Paperback; Book
Learn to Frame (Collins Learn to Paint)by Sheila Fairbrass
Collins; Published: 1990-06-04; Paperback; Book
Art of Preserved Flower Arrangementby Maureen Foster
HarperCollins Distribution Services; Published: 1984-03-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.94
Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplifiedby Cal Patch
Potter Craft; Published: 2009-09-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.88
Price in other shops:
Continuous Cables: An Exploration of Knitted Cabled Knots, Rings, Swirls, and Curlicuesby Melissa Leapman
Potter Craft Books; Potter Craft; Published: 2008-10-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.82
Price in other shops:
How Not to Look Fatby Danica Lo
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2006-05-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.45
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
10 Secrets of the LaidBack Knitters: A Guide to Holistic Knitting, Yarn, and Lifeby Vicki Stiefel, Lisa Souza
Macmillan Publishers; St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2011-05-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.48
Price in other shops:
It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoonsby Franklin Habit
Interweave Press; Published: 2008-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
The Knitter's Life List: To Do, To Know, To Explore, To Makeby Gwen W. Steege
Workman Publishing; Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 2011-10-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.16
Price in other shops:
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knittingby Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 2007-03-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.67
Price in other shops:
Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Againby Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Andrews McMeel Publishing; Published: 2010-04-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.11
Price in other shops:
At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Muchby Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Workman Publishing; Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 2005-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.48
Price in other shops:
Things I Learned From Knitting: ...whether I wanted to or notby Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 2008-03-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.80
Price in other shops:
Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Againby Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Andrews McMeel Publishing; Published: 2008-09-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.80
Price in other shops:
All Wound Up: The Yarn Harlot Writes for a Spinby Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Andrews McMeel Publishing; Published: 2011-10-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.61
Price in other shops:
Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricksby Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Storey Publishing, LLC; Published: 2006-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.65
Price in other shops: