Knitters, do you feel a little lost in the real world and prefer your advice to be yarny? Then this may well be the book for you.
Keep Calm and Cast On, published by Quadrille, is a pretty little book (it measures approx 11 x 14cm) that is full of, as the back cover says "Good advice for knitters". It's been compiled by knit guru Erika Knight, best known for her knitwear and knitting and crochet pattern books.
Far from being like Erika's other books this is not a book of patterns or techniques at all. Think of it more as one of those little gift books you find on the counter at book shops. Every page has a knitty quote from people as varied as designer Jared Flood and author Kate Jacobs to the likes of a Professor of Psychology at Yale University and the Archbishop of Canterbury, all interspersed with Knight's own woolly wisdom.
It's an interesting mix. Quotes, such as Virginia Woolf's "Knitting is the saving of a life.", share a spine with a mish-mash of words from members of Stitchlinks (a group based around knitting as various kinds of therapy) and tips on how to get through some of knitting's more scary parts.
At £4.99 (less than the price of a ball of Noro) it would be a good gift for the kind of knitter whose life revolves so entirely around knitting they don't have time to seek out the books and sites featured inside, less so for those who would prefer less of the advice and a ball of Noro or a pattern book instead. Likely to end up filling many a handmade stocking this Christmas.
