Knitting for Anarchists

I bought this book and didn't actually get around to reading it until a couple months later. At the time I was mostly knitting socks, and tried her color pattern knitting ideas on some socks, with good results. Now that I am knitting a sweater, I can really see the usefulness of this book. This book has helped me understand much more of what I am doing. I would expect that anyone would find something of use in this little book. I also have several of Elizabeth Zimmerman's books, this book is a nice addition for anyone wanting to knit without blindly following patterns, and understanding what is going on in their knitting.I enjoy this book,every time I re read it I learn something new, or get more ideas.

If you are thinking about learning to knit or if you are a long-time knitter, Knitting for Anarchists is a wonderful read. I thought I understood knitting--after all, only 2 stitches--but, in this book, Anna Zilboorg, in her unique style, teaches her readers to think in the language of knitting. My knitting and my time spent knitting has been enriched by her influence. Love this book!

I only just picked up a copy of this book the other day, but already it's having a profound effect on the way I look at my knitting. It's not a pattern book, and it won't make you hip, but it will explain how knitting actually works, and how knitters can make that work for them. Zilboorg's book is a real eye opener, and equips those of us who do our stitches a little differently with the knowledge and ability to deflect purists, stitch nazis, and other fiber arts authoritarians when they tell us we're doing it wrong, and show them that our stitches are perfect regardless of whether we knit Continental or English, leading leg in front or back, or if we wrap clockwise or counterclockwise.

For several years I've been told by friends that I ought to lay hands on a copy of this book, before it goes out of print. When I finally found one and spent an evening reading it, I discovered why there is such a buzz about the book. Although you may be drawn to the colorful pages and designs (which are only a small part of the volume), what lies at the heart of this book are its sensible, clear, illuminating explanations of how those loops operate as they slide across your needles, leaning this way and that. Anna admits that it was not particularly appealing to her to so thoroughly describe the characteristics of stitches, but she seems to have dedicated herself to the task and succeeded very well. In fact, her explanations are really quite engaging, because they are so illuminating. Once you take the time to read through her pages, studying her illustrations, you will never again knit without understanding what your stitches are doing. Basically, Anna has taken the time to open her eyes to the movements of stitches, and articulated and illustrated it well enough for the rest of us to benefit from her examination. If this sounds hopelessly abstract, it isn't - it's liberating and right before you. Now that I've read the book myself, I have begun to recommend it in all the workshops I teach. It answers one question I hear several times every workshop, which is: "Why does this stitch lean the wrong way/what should I do about it?" This question will never mystify you again, and the concept of a wrong way will vanish. Cat Bordhi, author of Socks Soar on two Circular Needles, A Treasury of Magical Knitting, and A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting.

This is likely among the best knitting books ever written, reminding me of another design classic, architect Christopher Alexander's masterful A Pattern Language. Anna Zilboorg insists that knitters understand what they are doing, not lamely follow instructions for techniques or patterns. Starting with first principles, she takes her readers step by step from the most fundamental concepts about how stitches are formed all the way through the most sophisticated techniques. She asks us to stop, observe, and think, and in so doing assumes the best of us--that we are aspiring to be artisans, not knitting machines.This is a must-have book for any serious knitter, novice or advanced. Brava, Anna!