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5elementknitr's review
5.0
I thought this was just going to be a book of patterns.
What a wonderful surprise to find it is a book of fairy tale-type stories AND patterns
The author of the stories and the designer of the patterns are cousins. How fortuitous for us that such a talented family exists.
My favorite story was "Brokenhearted". The actions taken by the carpenter to help the brokenhearted woman was very touching.
Each story, no more than two pages, showed real skill in the art of the short story.
The patterns are wonderful as well!
The book overall has a beautiful look to it.
What a wonderful surprise to find it is a book of fairy tale-type stories AND patterns
The author of the stories and the designer of the patterns are cousins. How fortuitous for us that such a talented family exists.
My favorite story was "Brokenhearted". The actions taken by the carpenter to help the brokenhearted woman was very touching.
Each story, no more than two pages, showed real skill in the art of the short story.
The patterns are wonderful as well!
The book overall has a beautiful look to it.
book_case7's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this and I don’t even knit hah I can only imagine how awesome it would be to listen along while following/knitting the patterns!
I can always using longer books when they’re great short magical stories like this
I can always using longer books when they’re great short magical stories like this
srivalli's review
4.0
3.7 stars
The fairytales are small, mostly told, but have a refreshing, positive outlook with the gore minimized to almost zero. Though I'm a knitting-illiterate, I enjoyed the pictures of various items so artfully knit.
The fairytales are small, mostly told, but have a refreshing, positive outlook with the gore minimized to almost zero. Though I'm a knitting-illiterate, I enjoyed the pictures of various items so artfully knit.
casdena's review
3.0
Both the knitting patterns and the fairy tales were average, not particularly exciting or memorable.
kittarlin's review
2.0
Interesting premise. But I found the knitting projects to be uninspiring (very little I'd actually use if I made it) and the fairy tales to be thin on details. I guess I've read too many novels "inspired by fairy tales" to really enjoy the slimmed down versions.
anne_seebach's review
2.0
Two and a half stars. This book itself is very attractively presented, and is a charmingly pretty concept - which possibly influences my extra half star. The stories and the illustrations are whimsical and easy to digest, but I did very much feel they lacked that dark sting one expects of a really good fairy tale. I think perhaps the stories felt a little too distant and misty... and 'nice'. Still, a pleasant afternoon read, and I enjoyed picking out the patterns I'd most like to inveigle a knitting friend to make for me.
a_h_haga's review
2.0
I discovered Alice Hoffman in 2020, and I have been a knitter for most of my life, and so I thought that this book would be just right for me. I loved the idea of knitting something inspired by fairytales, and I thought the Hoffman-ladies must make a great creative team!
Unfortunately, that was not my experience of this book. The cover is beautiful, and there are some nice patterns in this book, but nothing amazing. All the patterns were rather pedestrian, if you ask me, and some even seemed un-finished or rushed. Like the hood, that was just a random hood but nothing more. I think if you combine some of the patterns, they might make a good, wearable piece, but alone, most of them seemed… well, as I said, unfinished.
Then there were the stories. They were rather repetitive and uninspiring, as well, not to mention they felt rushed and some of them didn’t make any sense at all. And some were the same stories but with new elements. Or the same elements but just a new setting/thing to knit.
I was left rather uninspired by the whole book, unfortunately. There were so many possibilities for them to make something amazing, and instead it was just filled with boring things.
The only reason I’m not giving this book a 1/5 star rating is because some of the patterns were ok. I made the Lilac Tree Scarf for my bonus-mother as a Solstice gift, and am considering making it for a lot of other family-members for next Solstice. Part of that is that it is very simple, even if it looks pretty, which is the general mood of this whole book, to be honest!
Unfortunately, that was not my experience of this book. The cover is beautiful, and there are some nice patterns in this book, but nothing amazing. All the patterns were rather pedestrian, if you ask me, and some even seemed un-finished or rushed. Like the hood, that was just a random hood but nothing more. I think if you combine some of the patterns, they might make a good, wearable piece, but alone, most of them seemed… well, as I said, unfinished.
Then there were the stories. They were rather repetitive and uninspiring, as well, not to mention they felt rushed and some of them didn’t make any sense at all. And some were the same stories but with new elements. Or the same elements but just a new setting/thing to knit.
I was left rather uninspired by the whole book, unfortunately. There were so many possibilities for them to make something amazing, and instead it was just filled with boring things.
The only reason I’m not giving this book a 1/5 star rating is because some of the patterns were ok. I made the Lilac Tree Scarf for my bonus-mother as a Solstice gift, and am considering making it for a lot of other family-members for next Solstice. Part of that is that it is very simple, even if it looks pretty, which is the general mood of this whole book, to be honest!
shirtypantser's review
5.0
Hoffman's style certainly isn't for everyone and these short stories seemed to highlight her style, but I enjoyed this collection. It took a couple stories to get there, but I still devoured this in a single sitting. Each story is short and to the point. I particularly loved the heron story.
toad_maiden's review
3.0
What a delightful concept--a collection of original fairy tales with knitting patterns to match. I really enjoyed reading these tales, and I loved the variety in the knitting patterns. The patterns are suitable for a variety of levels of knitters as well. I saved a couple of patterns that I definitely intend to knit up one of these weekends.
woolandbooksmagick's review
2.0
The writing and stories were fab, but the patterns were not my style.