Hello everyone! I’m coming out of self-imposed exile for a moment to engage in some shameless promotion. Not self-promotion, mind you——today’s it’s all about Kristin Spurkland-promotion. See, it just so happens that Ms. Spurkland’s mother lives on the same street as a good friend of mine, and that friend happened to be at her mother’s house at the same time that she was there, and . . . well, to make a long story less long, I ended up with a free copy of The Knitting Man(ual).

Lest you think that I’m a pushover whose opinion can be swayed with free books (which isn’t the least bit true), let me say that I’m not a big fan of most books of men’s knitting patterns. I don’t own any——well, didn’t own any——and when I receive email asking for good sources for men’s knitting patterns, I find myself pointing in about ten different directions. And one of those directions is always the roll-neck raglan from Yankee Knitter Designs. It’s hard to find patterns for men that are elegant, stylish, and not boring as all hell to knit. As all knitters know, wanting to knit something isn’t the same thing as wanting to wear it, and vice versa.

But here’s The Knitting Man(ual); there’s a sock pattern that transcends the usual uber-masculine k2p2 ribbing; fair-isle charts that are both knittable and wearable; a ribbed v-neck sweater with a really cool stripe; and a vest that my wife says would look nice on me. This last item is a major coup, believe me.

There’s a lot more, of course, but you really should see it for yourself. And if you do go see for yourself, skip Amazon and get it at your local yarn shop or your local independent bookseller.

As for my own book (which has nothing to do with knitting at all) . . . well, no good news yet. Trying to get a book published is a truly brutal process, and sometimes I think it might be more pleasant to have my intestines pulled out through my nose. But keep your fingers crossed for me!

Hey . . . blog posting is fun. Maybe I should do it more . . .