Slight Return

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 . . .

10 Comments

  • Sean says:

    We do miss you terribly, you know…

  • Noelle says:

    its fun to read your blogs, too! hang in there with the book….I was just reading my (almost) five year old a story tonight about not giving up, so…..don’t give up!! 🙂

  • Dave says:

    Something I might actually want to knit AND wear? Wow. 🙂 How’s the sizing in it? Good range?

  • Helen says:

    Hey I just found yer blog, yarn boy, and I’m sorry you don’t post more often! I’ve read a number of yer previous post’s and I like the way you write.

    And the fact that yer a serious knitter is very groovy too. I taught both of my sons how to knit (now aged 18 and 12) and someone once asked me why did I do such a thing because men don’t knit….(I’d wished I’d had a Kaffe Fassett book handy to smack her upside the head with but I didn’t, so she escaped with merely a lecture on sexism being a two way street).

    I love yer patterns too. Good luck with the book.

  • Elemmaciltur says:

    Hmmmm…I might consider this book.

    And yes, do come back to blogging!

  • Laura says:

    Yes, come back!

  • Talena says:

    I don’t know if I’ve posted before–I found your blog not long before you went on hiatus. However, being as I am currently in the process of writing a cookbook and exploring options for publishing, I have to ask if you have thought about self-publishing your book through a company like iUniverse.com (or whatever the American equivalent is?)

    Thanks for promoing this book. With a family full of nothing but men, I struggle to find things to knit (beyond scarves) that those I love most will actually want to be seen in.

  • I can’t hide my jealousy when it comes to the free book thing. I’ll have to check that one out so I can knit something nice for my hubby.

    Best wishes getting published. I hope you hear some great news soon.

  • Eikon says:

    Awww …Come back to us. Just a harmless post now and then… Pretty Please?

    🙂

  • Jim says:

    *whine building to crescendo* ..but you just can’t tell us you’re done, then pop back and tease….well, ok. It’s your blog. You CAN do whatever you please. But keep us posted on your book. THAT I will wait for!

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