Bags That Rock: Knitting on the Road with Kelley Deal

I bought this book used. It arrived quickly, and was in such good shape that I even forgot that it wasn't brand new. I was not a knitter when I bought this book. But glancing online through the bags that she features, I was inspired. Kelley Deal has rad patterns for great bags, and the instructions are easy enough for a total novice like me. I did have someone show me some simple stitches, but I am still impressed at how much of the information I've picked up on just from the pages... and I didn't even know what 'stockinette' meant before the book arrived at my door. If you like to make stuff, and you want that stuff to be cool stuff that holds your other cool stuff, then this book is a pretty solid investment.

First off, let me say that I have never been able to follow directions. I can knit but until this book, only made scarves as I couldn't figure patterns out. Kelley clearly explains how to make these bags and they whip up pretty quick. I made cute purses for my nieces and now am making the "road bag" for myself. Learning how to work with double pointed needles! This book is fun, easy to follow and the bags ROCK! Way to go Kelley!!

What a well made and well put together book. Lots of detailed photos and guidelines. Very specific with what was used (yarn types and notions) and what you could use instead. That also makes it fun, to figure out how to put your own spin on Kelley's already amazing bags. I feel like each one is its own piece of art. All the while being full of form and function. Also, reasonably priced for what's inside. The best part is, I don't knit, but this book made me want to! Great stuff.

These bags do rock. There are only two bags in this book that I don't want really want to make. It is true that a few them are, as the previous reviewer noted, basically felted rectangles, but that didn't really bother me even though I have been knitting for years. Sometimes it's nice to knit something really easy like a rectangle while watching a movie or on the bus, and then felt it and add a few details to make a great little bag. In addition to having patterns for bags that I personally think are fantastic, I found the pattern instructions easy to read. Yarn weight, required yardage, and fiber content are given as well as the yarn used so it's easy to either use the exact yarn in the photo or substitute another yarn from your stash.

I bought the book because my 13 year old daughter said that she had to have the "Road" bag. How can a knitting mom refuse that? I found the pictures to be clear and the notes on the patterns to be useful as well as entertaining. While perhaps four of the patterns fall into the "felted rectangles with a handle" genre, there are fourteen that are noteworthy and make the purchase of the book a bargain for the pattern buying knitter. The use of found objects as handles is amazingly cool: her "Sari" bag with bent wood handles and the recycled sari yarn is particularly cool. She also offers many suggestions in a "remix" section after the pattern to encourage knitters to make each project unique. For those of us doing massive holiday knitting, it's got some bags with fantastic impact that require minimal time. I plan on churning out a few more from this book for gifts. Summary: Easy patterns, quick knits, great pictures, well worth the money.