I have been a fan of Clara Parkes' Knitters Review forever and have loved her other three books. This one is no exception. It is written with the yarn lover and knitter in mind. The book contains no patterns, but rather is a collection of reminiscences or essays by Ms. Parkes. She talks about her life as it relates to knitting and yarn. "This book is a collection of my own musings on stitches - why we work them, what they do to fabric, and how they have contributed to the fabric of my own life. For life really is a stitch. It has a beginning, a midpoint, and an end. It serves a purpose, and if we're lucky, it creates something beautiful and enduring."
There is one essay that relates to steeks - sometimes we have to make a cut in something in order to give it a chance to become whole. In the chapter about the choreography of stitches she discusses her move to Tucson and the discovery of the rodeo. She also learns square dancing. She looks at myriad stitches and designers and compares them to different types of choreography. For instance, Kaffe Fassett is a modern choreographer and other designers are more traditional. There is a poignant essay about her parents' divorce and her trip cross-country. The essay on stashes really spoke to me. I have so much yarn that I could open my own yarn shop. Ms. Parkes discusses the need to cull stashes and compares them to gardens. "As hard as it is to say, I should point out that a healthy stash requires frequent and prudent weeding. It can easily get overrun before we notice what's happening". In her essay called Stitch Traffic she gives very sound advice, that "putting blind faith in anything is rarely a good idea, whether it's a GPS or a knitting pattern. It's far better to develop your own instinct, learn for yourself what works and what doesn't - and learn why". The discussions on swatching and slipped stitches are both humorous and poignant, pointing to the importance of connection and standing firm. In The Great Whodunit, Ms. Parkes talks about how "a good mystery book can be like a good knitting pattern. It takes you on an adventure, engages your mind, paints a pretty landscape, maybe even surprises you now and then, but always reaches the expected resolution." In Coming Undone, the author takes on the negative connotation of unraveling and provides a more positive definition like disentangling or solving a problem. I know that when I undo my knitting it is always to make it look better or to correct an error. I like the idea proposed in Making Martha's Sandwich, that any knitter is a real knitter, no matter how advanced they may or may not be.
She writes with a serious, poignant and humorous manner, providing some history of knitting in several essays. As the book cover states, she "uses the metaphor of knitting to tell her own story". There are 22 essays that deal with topics such as divorce, leaving the bustle of dot coms for a more leisurely life in Maine where she lives in a town of 920 people with her partner, and the relationship of baking to knitting. I am an avowed knitter but do not read many knitting books. I read Clara Parkes for her wisdom, down-to-earth manner, knowledge and wisdom. I love it when she states that "'happily ever after' is a moving target. No matter how perfect any one sweater may be, it's only human to crave another. And another. And another." I would recommend this book to anyone who knits and loves yarns.
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Maria Teresa Morales HuertaReviewed in Mexico on February 20, 2021
Excelente libro.
