Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac (Dover Knitting, Crochet, Tatting, Lace)

Calling all HKers! This book, Knitter’s Almanac (KA), is a 150-page paper-back-sized book, first written in 1974 (and with necessary corrections made in stitches and patterns in later editions like this 1981 edition), by Elizabeth Zimmermann (EZ). KA is actually a calendar filled in with 12 HK projects – 1 per month. KA, along with The Opinionated Knitter (TOK [Please read my review: https://www.amazon.com/Opinionated-Knitter-Elizabeth-Zimmermann/dp/0942018265/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 The Opinionated Knitter ])and the Knitting Workshop (KW [Please read my review: https://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Zimmermanns-Knitting-Zimmermann-1981-12-01/dp/B017MYPOCA/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop by Elizabeth Zimmermann (1981-12-01) ]) make up a mighty triad of great knitting books by the late maven, master knitter EZ. This book, like her others, sprinkles in parts of her own life with her husband (whom she affectionately calls ‘Old Man’) and her 3 children in a 1-room schoolhouse in Wisconsin (after the couple immigrated to the US from Europe right before WWII). TOK and KW give a lot more details about their lives. KA lays out a great 1-year curriculum for creating 12 knitted projects. This book contains some black and white photo and pattern-stitch graphics, but much less so than those in TOK and KW. At the end of KA, is a 6-page Appendix, with black and white stitch – needle graphics. There is also a 2-page Index following this section. As with the patterns/ lessons learned in KW, EZ set up her patterns and curricula and also arranged them in KA, from simple to complex. The 12 patterns/ chapters of this book are: 1. A Aran Sweater; 2. Some Babies’ Things; 3. Difficult Sweater (Not Really); 4. Mystery Blanket – Weaving; 5. Mittens for Next Winter; 6. Borders, Small Stuff for Summer Knitting – 3 Hats; 7. A Shawl: Good Travel Knitting, One-Row Buttonhole; 8 Christmas Fiddle-Faddle in the Wilds; 9. Nether Garments; 10. Open-Collared Pullover; 11. Moccasin Socks; and 12. Hurry-Up Last Minute Sweater (my favorite pattern in this book). This book, plus TOK and KW, should be on the bookshelves of all HK and EZ enthusiasts – as an integrated book about HK, but also a highly interesting book by a knitting genius who wants every HKer to ‘play’/ experiment, themselves, to develop their own new stitches and patterns.

This little book of a pattern for each month is the best money any knitter can invest in a knitting book. Good gift item for a new knitter or a secret sister in your knitting club, that is if your knitting pal does not already own it! (check her Ravelry page!) Some of these patterns have been adapted into other patterns by other designers for their techniques. The Pi Shawl (July) is an innovative way for designing a circular or half circular shawl based on the mathematical pi. It is one of those "Ah ha" moments when you read the instructions. And then you realize that knitting a round circular shawl does not have to be that difficult. Another favorite is the February Baby Sweater. As a baby sweater, it is a cute quick knit. This has been adapted for an adult pattern, and is a favorite on the knitting website Ravelry. For a long time, I discounted the EZ philosophy, but once I started reading her down to earth writing and instructions, I realized that this is what knitting was about. It is a practical art. Knitting should not be made so hard as to cause anyone heartburn. EZ was all about taking a lot of the mystery and complications out of knitting with her frankness and honesty.

This book does contain patterns. The writer "talks through" her inspiration, each pattern's significant design features and how to knit to fit a body. At the end of the chapter, she briefly summarizes it in a more traditional pattern form. But only in one size, be warned. If you are a step-by-step, highlighter-in-hand pattern slave, impatient for the next stitch count to be given to you, this is not the book for you. This is the book about knitting that I really wanted. This is the book that shows you how knit fearlessly and pattern-free, improvising, ripping and re-knitting to suit your own wishes and designs. The writer is self-deprecating, ironic and wry. She has a truly developed writing style; that is, only she could have written this book this way. I love this book. But that's because I never can and never feel the need or desire to follow a commercial knitting pattern word-by-word. If you like knitting that way, you probably would enjoy this book (but you don't need it).

Elizabeth Zimmerman is one of the pioneers of knitting as an art and a craft and helped develop knitting in the round and knitting from the top down as a construction method. Her witty prose that covers not only the knitting but her travels, opinions on crochet, the laundry methods of daughter in laws and wool are interspersed with the twelve projects that comprise this knitter's year. I bought this book to make the famous February Baby Sweater and this is the only place the pattern is available. It isn't even available from Schoolhouse Press, the company that showcases the work and philosophy of Zimmerman and her daughter and knit designers with similar taste. The problem? I would have been better off recalculating the pattern for infant size from the adult February Lady Sweater available on ravelry. The instructions for the pattern are scattered throughout the chapter and are incomplete. Zimmerman's essays are amusing in places, but I would like the patterns and tips about pattern construction made available entirely separately from the text of the accompanying essay, which may or may not have anything to do with the pattern of the month. This was an annoyance no doubt contributed to my dislike of the book. Furthermore, unlike everyone else, I found Zimmerman's "amusing" commentary often drifted toward the smug and self-satisfied end of the spectrum. In terms of instruction, the number one review for this book stated that to follow the patterns included in the Knitter's Almanac, the knitter needed to own Knitting Without Tears in addition to the almanac. This is upsetting full stop because a book should not be sold, saying it has full instructions for the patterns presented, if in fact it doesn't have those instructions. Zimmerman's top down methods are useful for the intermediate and advanced knitter and some of the patterns are indeed classics, but many of them are dated and boxy as other reviewers have stated. Nor is top down knitting and instructions to accomplish same revolutionary any longer. I know Zimmerman is a knitting pioneer and I hate to seem like I am trashing her incredible contributions to knitting, but it is annoying to buy a book for a specific pattern and find that you have to either buy a second book or spend an inordinate amount of time calculating the pattern. Then there is Zimmerman's percentage method for top down knitting - something that is in fact useful and refers to the percentage of stitches for the front(s), back and sleeves of a sweater and what percentages these entail. This should have been discussed in detail explaining the rules and the exceptions as it is useful information, instead it is mentioned as an aside, in the middle of another essay straining for sarcastic laughs and the reader is left to make inductions and deductions. Reading and applying the directions for old Victorian patterns is in some ways easier than this. In short, this is a knitting classic, there is quality information here and patterns that are useful, but the useful bits are so scattered that the reader will have to work very hard indeed to get complete patterns and information that is useful. I am willing to do this for the famous baby sweater, but I doubt I am willing to do it for any of the other patterns. If you are a huge fan of Zimmerman's, Schoolhouse Press has modern versions of many Zimmerman patterns that are JUST the pattern without the interference of the essays. I will buy single patterns for any other Zimmerman work I wish to pursue. The essays are fine as far as they go and might be more entertaining if they didn't break up the patterns and the information about the patterns. In short a book of knitting essays with some pattern information included, but the reader will have to work hard to get all of the information for each pattern collected in one place. Not an efficient book, even if it is a classic.

Sorry if my english is so poor that either you won't understand me or either I will not express myself as correctly as I would like. I had Knitter's Almanac after Knitting without tears, from the same author. Once I begun to read, I could not stop because I really felt identified with Elizabeth Zimmermann: how many times I also "unvented" stitches and motifs! How many times I could wrote on a diary a day filled with yarns, needles and decisions about what to do and how to achieve it! Besides the fascinating daily story, there are many many models that you will want to start inmediately. EZ really inspires knitters because you will conclude that we are all the same: we see family, life and world through yarns and needles. To whom will I knit this winter? What will be the surprise for my children on summer? I'm sure that nobody can follow the calendar and achieve all those wonderful models in a year, but be sure that EZ creations are, now, classics, so see this book as a classic to return and review each time you have to cherish somebody, specially YOU!

This is one of my favorite knitting books. The first copy I bought, because it had refootable socks in it. I hadnt knitted much of anything but socks at that point. I got intrigued by the pi shawl and knit one, which actually ended up an afghan. EZ knitted the way my grandmother did, a few measurments then went at it and made us all sweaters that fit. It was the first EZ book I read, I then bought a couple more of her books, and found them usefull. Knitting without Tears taught me a lot as I ws learning to knit something other than socks. I let someone else borrow my Knitters Almanac, never got it back, and just re ordered it because I miss it. Its small enough to go in my purse, and I enjoy re reading it. I recomend this book to anyone who likes to knit and has an open mind about not following patterns exactly.The patterns in the book work well, and she encourages experamentation.

This is a great book. I have it for my kindle and wanted a hard copy so I purchased one. This format is terrible for knitting from. It is a small book, about the same size as a short story anthology usually is and it's thin, so they put all that information into small print. Also, the back is glued, so when I spread the pages apart so the book would lay flat the pages came loose. I took it to have spiral bound and that made it much better to read from, but it still isn't a book to have on a side table and read the knitting instructions from while you knit. I have to put the knitting down, pick up the book to read, put the book back down, then try to remember what I read to knit it. I'll stick to my kindle one and just save this as an example of why I should pay attention to ALL details before I pay for something.

Whether you are a raw beginner or an expert knitter, you can't go wrong with Elizabeth Zimmermann. In my case, back when I decided to learn to knit, I was having a problem with - what was it? I don't remember. Two stitches that were supposed to be different from each other kept coming out the same. I found EZ's "Knitting Without Tears" in the library, read it, and bingo! Problem solved. With this book, you can knit your way around the year. Like all of her books, you can also use it as a jumping off point; as inspiration to design your own project. ("Unventing," EZ calls it.)

Everything I expected and very prompt. Thank you

If you are expecting the usual array of patterns etc. you will be disappointed although there are some lovely items in this book. No, the real benefit of this book depends upon your being a Zimmerman fan i.e. someone who enjoys her conversational style and sense of humour. The designs can be described as somewhat "rustic" and utililitarian for a cold climate but you will be amazed at her mastery of construction of knitted garments. I have her other books and it is like listening to a lovely aunt being supportive, encouraging and witty as you tackle your knitting projects.

Un des livres les plus connus de la grande dame du tricot, regorge comme à l'accoutumée d'informations et de conseils très intéressants, mêlés à des tranches de vie de l'auteur. Attention, le livre est en anglais et les détails personnels peuvent en rendre la lecture assez ardue. Mais c'est également ce foisonnement de détails qui en rend la lecture délicieuse. Les patrons sont un peu datés, mais les conseils toujours d'actualité. Ce n'est donc pas vraiment un livre à acheter pour ses patrons, mais plutôt pour qui souhaiterait des conseils pour s'aventurer un peu plus loin dans le tricot, ou si l'on s'intéresse d'une manière générale aux travaux d'Elizabeth Zimmerman. Contient entre autres le patron du fameux châle Pi.

Maravilhoso e em perfeito estado.

Un libro da leggere, non un libro di modelli, anche se ci sono alcuni modelli da cui sviluppare poi i propri. I calzini e le mutande lunghe di lana da uomo sono mitici. Zimmermann è un pilastro nella storia della maglia, il libro risale a qualche decennio fa, ma ancora è un tuffo nell'America di Piccole donne con Jo che sferruzza nei lunghi viaggi in macchina per tutta la famiglia. Purtroppo non è tradotto. Questa è una copia che ho comprato per un regalo. Un libro del cuore