One-Skein Wonders(r)

Full of fun projects. This is a must have, especially if you don't buy many knitting books. It's a great beginner book with a multitude of projects - makes an excellent stash-buster book for seasoned knitters. Beware, there are no supurbly-earth-shattering-original ideas. The patterns seem fairly easy and the general variety is great - more than just scarves for sure! There are lots of good ideas for gifts - easier to justify an expensive yarn if you only have to buy one skein. Pair this book with a yummy yarn for a thoughtful gift for a new knitter. The format is a little strange - the color photos all in the middle and the pattern in monochromatic pages in the front and back - don't let this turn you off - it actually simplifies finding projects - with only a few pages to flip through.

There are about a dozen of these books out right now, all about small bits -- bits of time, bits of yarn, bits of color.... Most of them have 1-2 dozen little things to make with a little yarn in a little while, or a lot of fat yarn in a weekend. Some are cute-- but some not. Some really original-- and some like bad Xerox copies of things we've all seen before. This book, however, is different. Different in that there are many many many (101) abreviated projects to choose from, and most are original and quite different from everything else in the book! Beat that! I have already made the lovely "filigree" lace collar on p187 and am very pleased with the ease following such simple and straightforward directions. There are a couple more collars and neck bits I can try next -- maybe after the hair ornaments, or the gauntlets, or one of the interesting flower decorations.... I also like the lay-out of the book with the center color photo index of projects (easy to re-find ideas that have flipped shut) AND the nifty table of contents that breaks down the projects by yarn size! This is a "knit up your scraps" book designed by real knitters! So, bravo and well done! I counted up those projects that I would either want to knit for myself, or would knit for friend/family, and came up with 42 out of 101. I don't know about you, but that's a high hit rate for me.

Being a constant yarn-impulse buyer, I am always looking for books like this. I too loved Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and Weekend Knitting, but this new book has over 100 patterns! That is amazing! Considering that the other two books are both $25 for only 30-50 patterns, 100+ projects for less than $20 is truly a rare find. I also read the comments about the projects being ugly and not very unique--I couldn't disagree more! I found them all adorable (I've made the easy mittens, the beaded bag, and the ice-scraper mitts so far) and not unique?! Did I mention the ice-scraper mitts?! There is a wine bottle gift bag, a doll shawl, felted evening bags, beaded napkin rings--I felt like there was SO much more than the socks and scarves I was expecting. And every knitter knows that there are many skeins out there that are 1000 yards or more. As a matter of fact, the reason I bought this book was because I found a skein of yarn that was 1100 yards of the most gorgeous hand-dyed cotton and I couldn't not buy it. Still it was $50 and I could only afford one so I am so happy that I found this book. The color photos all in the center of the book make it very easy to flip through and choose a project. I highly recommend this book! You will go back to it again and again.

This is a terrific knitting book with lots of variety. I found so many projects here that I'd like to start right away. And I did not notice anything "ugly" in this book (not sure where that comment in a previous review came from - everything here is so cute!). Yes, many of the projects are small items, but since the title clearly states they're made from "One Skein", the content is certainly what could be expected.

This book is different from any other knitting book I have. First of all the patterns are arranged by yarn weight which is really nice. The next thing is that the patterns are in the book one right after the other with a sketch near the pattern and all of the color photos in the middle of the book. At first I thought that was strange, but I really like just going through all of the color prints at one time to pick out what I want to make. All of the stories about the yarn shops are together in the back of the book. I've made 2 things (Felted Coasters and Cozy House Socks) so far and they've turned out really nicely. I'm going to start a scarf that looks like a ruffle around the neck next. I'm also interested in the knitted wine bottle gift bag. I would think this book would be a great addition to anyone's knitting library - especially because it will be fun to buy just one skein of a really nice yarn knowing you'll be able to find something to make with it.