EZ's Knitter's Almanac was, to me a beautifuly done book. Half story book, half knitting instruction, EZ's wit and wisdom really shine in this lovely colection of patterns and shared stories.

I do not, however, feel that this book is for everyone. If you are a straight forward, k1,p2 type of knitter, you may want to borrow a copy from the library or a knitting friend. What is meant by that is this book is a guide, not a set pattern book. (Do this with these needles and this yarn, then that, this is the result.)

EZ lets you decide how your item will look... If you like a lace pattern, insert it in the shawl! Don't like a certain stitch in your Aran sweater? Do something differant there! But overall, enjoy it for the process, not only the product.

In this great little book, elizabeth Zimmerman, that great knitting guru who is no longer with us, has given us a ton of great ideas to keep us busy much more than the 12 months of the almanac. She has included some of her true classics in a chatty format, so we learn not just how to make an item, but how she went about creating it in the first place. Then, for those that need a quick read for a pattern, at the end of each chatty pattern, she gives the pithy, no-nonsense version.

This is a book that will be used over and over many times, so it might be a wise ides, when using a patterns, to xerox the pithy version and keep that in your knitting bag.

But don't ignore the chatty parts of the book. You learn how her mind worked in the creative process, and you might decide that there are some techniques that don't suit you for this pattern. If so, just drop that part and use the rest as a springboard for your own techniques. After all, as Elizabeth said, you are the boss of your knitting.
Priscilla Bouic

As always, EZ gives great, although not specific, instructions. As many of us learned from making our first Baby Surprise Jacket, if you just have faith in her ability and follow through, the results are exactly what she said they would be. I bought this for the February Sweater pattern (baby sweater on two needles), but I think I'll be using many of the patterns here. EZ strikes again.

EZ is a wonderful writer - entertaining and also very informative. If this book was republished with better photographs, it would easily be a five-star product.

I love Zimmermann's technic and pattern. The only negative thing I could find is that the object isn't so top fashion. But the book is absolutely quality and something you need in your knitting collection.

If you knit you are missing something if you haven't read EZ's books yet. They are all wonderful--you will learn about knitting and EZ's wonderful philosophy of life. You don't need to knit her patterns (and nonpatterns) but you will learn about knitting.

Excellent book for knitters who like to take a pattern and do there own thing! Very entertaining.

I bought this for my mother for Christmas and she thinks it's great. A Zimmermann clasic. It's a good book for both knitters and non-knitters.

As usual, Elizabeth Zimmerman presents knitting in a fun, helpful way. The patterns are beautiful. Yet, if they're not exactly what you want, she gives hints on how to make them your own, limited only by your own creativity. Thanks to EZ, I've dared take my own knitting to places I never would've dreamed. She gave me the courage to try different things; sometimes failing, but more often designing patterns that exceeded my wildest dreams. Thank you Elizabeth Zimmerman. You've made me the knitter I am today.

Everyone has raved about EZ and I resisted for a while until it too difficult to ignore any longer. So, I decided that the Knitter's Almanac would be my first EZ. It is like sitting next to a favorite aunt who takes knitting as a total creative experience to be considered and worked on as though you were creating something for yourself and not because someone has written a pattern and decreed how it should be. You can take this spirit and feel liberated in a way. I shall probably buy another book about working in the round.....

I have wanted this book for a while after reading about it from other knitters. I haven't read the entire book but so far, it's a wonderful read.
Elizabeth Zimmerman is so knowledgeable...there is much to be learned from her.

It's a testimony to the appeal and utility of EZ's style that I have bought almost all her books but I have none of them. In a fit of knitting enthusiasm, I'd always give them away to some struggling knitter. So now I have to re-purchase them.

I'm re-purchasing this book for a couple of reasons. No, I don't think I'm going to make all the projects in the book. Some of them, like Christmas Fiddle-Faddle in the Wilds, are more amusing to read than to try to execute. On the other hand, the instructions for the Aran sweater (January) are amazingly intelligible, and probably the only ones that will ever get me going on such a project. EZ walks you through the whole pattern mentally before you ever get the wool on the needles. It's a process of visualization (which is mental work) but one well worth the effort, as you confidently cast on and roar away on your project.

Two, the book is cheap. It packs a lot of the best of EZ--patterns, anecdotes, an index of techniques, and trademark EZ chattiness--in a slim $7 package. This is a working book. You might read it through once or twice before picking up needles, but you will eventually pick them up. And not having to lug around a hardback tome can be a blessing.

It's a natural for traveling...I remember laughing out loud and reading bits of it to my mom on my last visit. In fact I am buying an extra as a gift for her.

Styles come and go. You can take issue with the photos--they're not great. You probably can't get hold of the same yarns that EZ used to make the designs. But with EZ, that's not a problem. The very things that appeal about modern books are what will, in time, make them seem dated and all but useless. But you will never complete an EZ project and find it a waste of time. Her designs are eminently useful, practical, educational, and...made in today's yarns with your own variations, endlessly beautiful and timeless.

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac

I have read the book through as a novel, and a novel it is. Zimmermanns travels with her Old Man, fishing in beautiful lakes, canoing, all while the knitting and plan making for new projects popping up in her head. I celebrate the 50th anniversary for my first knitted garment, and what havent I learnt! Nodding when she tells me things that I found out long ago, and laughing when she tells about how easy you can do things. Her optimistic way of looking at problems impresses me. I will never start the long-tail cast-on with a knot anymore ...

This is such a value! I read the book cover-to-cover, including Zimmerman's written out patterns. She is amazing.

The book is a really enchanting introduction to the work of Elizabeth Zimmerman. Before needing to buy this title for a Knitalong, I had never heard of this knitter. I'm so glad I bought the book, since I find myself learning more about knitting as I read.

A good Zimmermann read about knitting---with good pattern ideas. This is a Dover publication in black and white. Not extensive, but nice.

Left to my own devices, I would had never bought this book. It's missing so many of things that I find essential like (1) schematics, of which there are none whatsoever (2) sizing is offered in general terms. with things like 'babies are different size' (3) The yarn is also offered in general terms, 3 ozs of worsted weight with stitch tension, nothing to allude to the meterage/yardage or row tension. (4) All the photos are in black and white and nothing is displayed on a model. (5) Instructions are brief and may require some interpretation.

However, I had to point out that this is a fabulous book. The designs are classics that are both pretty and wearable. I can easily see the baby cardigan and hat being a favourite. The fair-isle mittens are very wearable and easy to execute. The aran cardigan is superb and stylish. The pi shawl is elegant and worked in cotton or linen would also make a fantastic table cloth. I'm not sure how practical or comfortable the wool leggings would be, but I suppose that depends on where you live.

The anedoctal style and wandering style of writing adds to the charm. In addition to being extremely talented, EZ must had also been quite a character. Her no-nonsense approach to babies and shetland wool, cleverness in infiltrating wool into non-wool jumpers to test the wool allergy theory and love for 'the old man' shone through the book.

While I would recommend this book to all knitters, I would not recommend the projects to most beginners, especially those that require a lot of precision in their patterns. If you would like to see coloured photos/modelled of these projects or the projects worked up in current yarns (with yarn quantities), you can do so here [...].

Of all her books, I like this one the best,there are a variety of projects for all skill levels.Baby garments,leggings(my fav),circular shawls,hats, mitens and sweaters. Included are what she calls "pithy instructions" for each project which are written line by line instructions, instead of her usual instructions with chatter.
The index is sparse, you would need to know basic knitting techniques to attempt the projects and the black and whote photo instructions I found confusing.

A typically wonderful book from the doyenne of modern knitting. Her verve, common sense, and sense of humor will probably never be equaled!

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!

If only EZ had lived in the blog age! She would have been on everyone's blogroll. I haven't attempted to knit any of the projects here, but just reading the asides and digressions and then mentally following the thought process of each pattern is entertaining. The lady is a great writer and you sense what a great person she was.

If only the pictures didn't look so darn ugly. Wouldn't it be great if today's knitters could knit up fabulous versions of these patterns and have new color pictures inserted into the text?

What experienced knitter can't appreciate Mrs. Zimmermann's frank down-home perspective on knitting? I really enjoy (notice not past tense?) her terse commentary and instructive advise on the pleasures of solving the often times mysterious working of two sticks and a string. Not for beginners-- I recommend the Knitter's Almanac for the intermediate to advanced knitter-- who should not only enjoy these frank discussions but glean some great knitting insight. This is a classic knitters will go to again and again.

The book came on schedule & was in excellent condition. This book is full of helpful information

This is the first Elizabeth Zimmerman book I ever purchased. I was excited to start knitting the projects, but found myself reading for enjoyment before I could ever start knitting. I felt like I was getting to know a personality and I'm glad I did that before I tried to knit her designs. Elizabeth Zimmerman is the most down to earth and practical knitter I've ever encountered. She doesn't elevate knitting to an art form. She talks about it in terms of mathematics, geometry, and problem solving, as well as being a solution to everyday problems like keeping warm, dressing the family in long lasting and practical garments, passing the time and providing a challenge to keep the mind agile. She is also a great advocate of finding the path of least resistance and attention to detail.

I absolutely love to read this book, even now after many years. The story about using a knitting needle for a shear pin in an outboard motor is a great illustration of Mrs. Zimmerman's mindset of keeping all things in perspective. I love the "vague" directions that are given before the "pithy" directions for the "dear unsure knitter and the blind follower." I've learned to trust my own instincts and abilities and I've learned to think by following the vague instructions. I've turned to the "pithy" directions only when I found myself in danger of wasting quite a lot of yarn with my failure. My projects probably haven't turned out to look like the prototypes, but that's not the point, really, is it?

I've knitted nearly all of the projects in this book, although it surely has taken me much longer than the year allotted in this book. My favorites are the Pi shawl, which I've done more than once or twice, the Norwegian mittens and the moccasin socks. I found the pictures of the sweaters to be unbelievably ugly, but that doesn't mean that the directions for knitting them aren't brilliant. My choices of necklines, shaping and colors don't have to be like anyone else's. I also found that the moccasin socks were quite unattractive, but the practicality of being able to resole the stockings far outweighed their appearance at first blush. Who actually sees the foot of your sock after all?

This book gave me the confidence to make mistakes and not worry about them. It gave me a friend in a woman I've never met and will never meet. It opened my mind to possibilities and made me think for myself. It has been a great instrument for cultivating common sense. After reading this book, little by little I acquired the rest of Elizabeth Zimmerman's books and got to know her even better. Of all her books, this one is the least expensive and offers the most for a knitter who has a few years of experience under the belt.

I'm making the Aran Pullover for someone with narrow shoulders. What I find wonderful about this book is Elizabth explains how and where to make inc/dec within the aran pattern. She takes the control away from the pattern and puts it back with the knitter.

I discovered this book, to my delight, at a local bookstore. Although it shares qualities with EZ's other texts, I find it to be not quite as useful as "Knitting without Tears" or "Knitting in the round". Still, the patterns are interesting and the almanac is well-written.

There is so much information in her books and it is unbelievable to me how she figured out all the simple ways to get a pattern accomplished. Some of the patterns may be a little outdated but you can learn something new from each and every one of them that you will be able to use on other patterns.

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac is excellent! Not only does she take the inexperienced knitter through the basics, she challenges the experienced knitter to stretch their wings! Full of wonderful insight into this legend of the knitting world. You'll fall in love with her whimsey. She makes reading pattern directions engaging and funny! Add this to your library now!

This is one of the best, friendliest knitting books around,especially for traditional knitters, but really for any knitter. It has very practical advice and patterns, lively chit-chat and will never go out of date. I'm on my second one, have re-read it many times and have never been bored. Once you have read it you will understand why Elizabeth is so revered in the knitting community....now and forever!

I received this book as a gift from a friend, and it has really raised my enjoyment of knitting to another plane.

I am an intermediate to advanced knitter. I know lots of different increases, decreases and pattern stitches and I have made some pretty complicated stuff-mostly by following other people's patterns like a robot. I have designed a few simple things my own, with varying results, but I would never have thought that I could design something as complicated as a sweater on my own in a million years-that's something to be left to the "experts," or so I thought.

The Knitting Almanac has shown me that there is no mysterious, arcane knowledge or mystical formula required to design your own project. Knitting can be much, much more than just following a series of individual stitches row-by-row until, miraculously, you have a finished product sitting in your lap. Every project in the Almanac is visualized as a whole, and the reader comes to understand how those individual stitches are part of an overall design that gives form to the work.

Zimmerman provides a rough framework for making mittens, sweaters, and other garments, along with complete directions for a finished project. This gives the reader the opportunity to follow along, keeping the larger design principles in mind, and create the garment that's pictured, but one is also encouraged to try different design choices and create something unique. The text is sprinkled with helpful techniques and valuable insights into knitting as a practical hobby, a mechanical process, and a lifelong love.

The style is anecdotal, rather than technical, which has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it gives you insight into the design process that takes the author, one of the world's greatest knitters, from idea to finished project. It's also very readable and fun. On the other hand, the patterns are written much less formally than what the modern knit-from-a-pattern knitter is used to, and they can be vague and just plain confusing at times.

At first, I found this maddening, but I realize now that to become a better knitter I need to apply what I have learned about knitting and bring my own ideas to the work. If I don't have the courage test my knowledge, skill and my creativity, I will be forever shackled to patterns written by somebody else.

For knitters who are ready to stretch their wings and fly, this book is a push out of the nest into a larger world.

I will admit that I have only made one project from this book, which was the baby pants. They are fantastic. It is true what EZ says, that the more outlandish you make these pants, the cuter they look on a baby. My pants looked bizarre until I put them on chubby legs. Irresistible! I have several things I want to make next, and I know I can trust her, and they will work out. Even though I have only made one project, my copy of this book is dog-eared from reading it cover-to-cover. I have also used the techniques presented for my own projects.

This book is a wonderful deal. The projects are interesting, the text is witty, and I am actually setting out to follow the Almanac for the entire year of 2002 (it is January and I am almost done with the January project). This is a knitter's paradise. HOWEVER, there are two things you should know before buying:

1) I would be lost if I did not also own E Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears. Her instructions in the Almanac are somewhat abbreviated, and I need the other book as a cross-reference. Knitting Without Tears has the pictures and the more elaborate descriptions to help me understand what she means in the Almanac.

2) The binding of this book is extremely flimsy and cheap. I purchased my book new in October, and, by December, pages were already falling out! It is now not even four months old and it is full of tape (I used clear packing tape to bind the pages in so that I did not lose any of the precious instruction!)

This is a small book that packs a lot of knitting punch. The Knitting Almanac is very useful for many types of projects. The book is arranged by season as Elizabeth knits her way through the year, making warm things for her entire family. There's some fun commentary, too.

Let me list some of the most useful patterns in this book:

Best baby sweater. This is a lacy cardigan with a round yoke, easy to make, and so pretty. I made so many of these I can't even count. The lace stretches a bit, so the growing infant gets a lot of wear out of the cardigan. And it's easier to dress Baby with something that doesn't pull over the head.

Leggings. If you want to make warm tights for babies, kids or even adults. It's HARD to find such a pattern.

"PI" shawl: this is a round shawl that folds into a semi-circle. Very elegant, you can add your own lace stitches to make it unique.

Shirt Collar sweater--good for summer, short sleeved with an open collar. Can be made in any size.

Mittens, socks, an Aran sweater, there's more. This book, packed as it is, still fits into even a small knitting bag or purse and is not expensive. This has to be the biggest bang for the knitting buck I know of. I'm on my second copy. I wore out the first one.

This is a delightful book just to read--I know because I owned it for five years before I felt brave enough to tackle any of the projects. The story-style directions are a bit intimidating for someone just starting out, but the "pithy directions" are surprisingly easy to follow. I wish I hadn't waited so long to make my first Triangular Beret, but now I feel like I can do anything. If you're a new-ish knitter and want to move beyond potholders and scarves, this book is an entertaining springboard.