Tradition meets modern technology in the best possible way with this new DVD edition of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Glossary. I can't begin to tell you how much fun I've had (and how much help I've received!) thinking of a technique, surfing through the menu and then "click," finding Elizabeth and/or Meg showing me exactly how to do it. Plus, in addition to the original 100 techniques that Elizabeth demonstrated, Meg has added another 30!!! If you have put off buying the old VHS version because of price (it was $30 more expensive) or just because futzing with VHS tape is not your cup of tea, I can guarantee that you will love this DVD. Sleek, simple, and packed, just packed with knitting knowledge - from 13 ways to Cast-On to Steeks to Grafting to 15 I-Cord variations to 7 ways to Cast-Off, it's all here!

The television show that launched a million knitters! It's hard to imagine it, but until Elizabeth Zimmermann came along, knitting was actually on the verge of extinction. Few people did it, almost no one could sit down and design their own sweater, and the idea that knitting was a creative endeavor, well, there was a thought few entertained for long. Knitting had become something that people who enjoyed and were skilled at reading line-by-line directions did -- the rest of the world found other ways to occupy their time.

Elizabeth changed all of that, and we are still reaping the fruits of the seeds she sowed. By 1981 her books were already pretty well known, but with the broadcast of this video, suddenly it seemed like worlds opened up that stretched into corners her books had not yet gone. Yarn stores stopped languishing and expanded, people began to see knitting as something that allowed them to create what they wanted, the way they wanted it, and a whole new day dawned on the world of fiber arts. In fact, it was this series that inspired the original Knitters magazine - which used to be not just a good magazine, but a truly great one (those first 20-30 issues are like walking into a room of knitting geniuses, all of whom want to sit down and teach you something wonderful).

This newly-produced DVD is just as wonderful and useful today as it was back in the 80s. You can begin at the beginning with Elizabeth showing you what has to be the very best way to wind a ball of yarn, move through casting-on and the basic stitches. And then, the real fun begins as you discover with her the magic of circular knitting, knit your own hat based on your own yarn and gauge, and dive head-long into sweater design. It is no exageration to say that by the time you finish, you will be a master at the honorable, creative, artistic craft of knitting. And have a pile of sweaters and hats to show for it, too.

Inside, you will find:

• Part 1: Beginnings. Follow along as Elizabeth winds a center-pull ball of wool to begin your first project: a hat knit in the round.
• Part 2: Intermediate. After completing the hat, you have learned enough basic technique to knit a seamless yoke sweater - discover how EPS (Elizabeth's Percentage System) can free you from patterns forever; then go on to make a color-patterned dropped-shoulder pullover.
• Part 3: Master Classes. Elizabeth discusses and shows examples of traditional Fair Isle and Guernsey knitting as well as garter-stitch and lace; seven seamless shoulder shapings!
• As a special feature, Part 3 also has a new interview with Meg Swansen about making this series with Elizabeth

Learn from the master, with the master. What could be better?

Elizabeth's Knitting Workshop book provides the basic material of her PBS Series in written form. Great by itself or as a way to reinforce what Elizabeth just showed you - this book is not just a classic, it is perhaps the most comprehensive, easy-to-follow knitting how-to ever written. Go from beginner to master in a little under 200 pages!

I didn't graduate from high school until 1969, so I didn't have the opportunity of being one of Elizabeth's original subscribers. However, in the early 1980's I discovered Elizabeth Zimmerman and the wonderful things she did with knitting -- I was hooked for life. I bought a huge stack of reprinted Newsletters and Spun-Outs (the directions-only Newsletter off-prints), studied them, knit myself and my children all sorts of things based on her instructions, and, well, simply allowed her love of yarn and handcraft to feed my soul. Her best-loved and most oft-knit classic designs are all included in The Opinionated Knitter, along with notes about improvements and "unventions" she added later.

These newsletters are really where our modern Joy of Knitting got its start. Elizabeth's voice became the voice all of us who love creating with wool and needles now share -- the voice of joyful discovery of form, texture, color, design and innovative, straightforward construction. It is hard to imagine how the vibrant knitting community that now exists could have developed had Elizabeth Zimmermann not determined to share her enthusiasm and techniques with all of us. If someone ever builds a Knitter's Hall of Fame, her typewriter should be enshrined at the front door for all to see and honor.

In addition to facsimile reproductions of each and every newsletter sent out from rural Wisconsin during the decade, you'll also find color and black-and-white photos of her garments and her family; wonderful commentary by her daughter, Meg Swansen; and bits and pieces from letters and journals Elizabeth wrote than offer a warm context to her work, her designs and her life.

I have spent several hours basking in the pages of this book and have come nowhere near exhausting my interest or its possibilities. This is a volume we all want on our shelves - though in my case, I keep pulling it off to have just "one more" look. I expect you will, too.

This recently released DVD set brings to life one of my very favorite knitting books - Elizabeth's Knitting Around. In it, you'll see demonstrated all the innovative designs that have made this book so beloved -- the bonus, of course, that in so doing, you'll also be able to spend 6 hours of knitting time with Elizabeth and Meg, and (if you're old enough, like me) relive some of the "good old days" of knitting history. To say that Knitting Around with Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen is a treat is to barely touch the surface of what watching each "garment episode" offers: I found that questions I had carried for years about how, exactly, to do a particular technique were answered, my trepedations put to rest and my creativity was inspired and renewed.

Needless to say, I hope you'll treat yourself to this long visit with Elizabeth and Meg - and that you'll find all I found and more.*

A partial list of its vast contents:

• The Moccasin Sock
• Fair Isle Yoke Sweater
• Knitted Dickies
• Knitted Moebius
• Bog Jacket
• Pie Are Square Shawl
• Norwegian Pullover
• Mittful of Mittens
• Aran Coat
• Elizabeth's "Digressions"

*Please note that all necessary charts and written instructions are to be found in the accompanying book, Knitting Around (below).

What a feast of a book this one is! There are nine of my favorite Elizabeth Zimmermann designs, clearly explained with copious photos showing every bit of technique and construction you might ever have a question about. Here is Elizabeth's final word -- and most detailed and useful explanation -- on her E.P.S. system of sweater design. And each design has multiple possible variations, as well. Why, there's even a Pablo Neruda poem, "Ode to My Socks" to accompany her Wearable Art Socks!

And then there are the Digressions, where Elizabeth talks about her life in what is to us a very different time and place. How she began in England, born 1910, in a home with maids and nannies; her homeschooling by governesses; her art education in Lausanne and Munich (we discovered that she lived about 2 blocks from where Bob lived when he was working there); her meeting with Arnold, the move to America, children and how her life as a knitter's knitter got its start.

And the photographs, paintings and drawings, taken from the full course of her life! My! It's like a tour of Europe through a time machine -- wonderful stuff!

If you don't already have this one on your shelves, keeping your other Zimmermann books company, you'll want it. A gift to both heart and hands.

Knitter's Almanac is one of those small books that packs an enormous punch. It was my constant companion in my early days of venturing out with my knitting into the realms on beyond patterns. Not only did Elizabeth's chatty stories about this and that keep me company along the road to knitting freedom, but she very cleverly tucked an enormous amount of technique, advice, innovation and just plain old guidance into each of her projects. As a result, I learned as much from the projects I didn't make as from the ones that I did make; and, I found a kindred spirit who warmed my heart as she opened door after door of knitting adventure.

This is a great book, the perfect companion to Knitting without Tears. I know of no knitter who has read it who does not rank it in the top 5 knitting books they treasure. If you don't already have a copy, I can assure you that you will love it.

Elizabeth Zimmermann is really the godmother of the creative joy that modern knitting has become. Had it not been for her, blazing past line-by-line directions to set us all free to knit what we wanted, free to shape and design as our bodies, lives and taste demanded, I would not have this bookshop and you would not be reading about these wonderful knitting books. There is not a single book on this page or any other in the Knitter's Bookshelf that does not owe its existence to this amazing woman.

Elizabeth starts with the basics and quickly moves on to teach you how to design all manner of sweaters, jackets, hats, mittens and socks with only the measurements of the intended wearer as your starting point. In less than 120 pages, she takes her readers from beginner to expert -- no small task, but then Elizabeth was no small woman.

If you haven't discovered the joy of Elizabeth's writing and the wisdom of her approach to knitting, I can only say that you've got a treat in store for you. Knitting Without Tears is not just a classic knitting text -- it is the foundation and heart of everything there is to love about knitting.

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Ribwarmer is one of her signature designs - for good reason. It is classic in its looks and delightful in its knitting. What was practically unknown until very recently is that Elizabeth also designed a more "dressy" version, the Butterfly Jacket which was published only one time in a 1956 McCall's Needlework magazine. So that it does not go back into near oblivion, this DVD contains instructions and demonstrations for the classic Ribwarmer, sized for 36" chest (adult) and 24" chest (child) (consider Fleece Artist Aran Alpaca), the Butterfly Jacket in two yarn weights sized for 36" (try Fleece Artist Organic Wool) and 42" (Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester Aran) chest, and Meg Swansen's Knee Length Ribwarmer sized for 53" around the hips and 38" around the chest (Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester DK would be lovely), with instructions for creating a narrower hip measurement if desired. Altogether great fun!

Demonstrated Techniques include:

• Invisble Cast On
• Increasing
• Short Rows
• Garter-stitch Weaving
• After-Thought Pockets
• EZ's Applied I-Cord
• 3-Needle-I-Cord Cast Off
• Reversible Phoney Seams
• Sport-jacket Vent

Now you can follow along step-by-step with Meg as she knits (and explains) one of Elizabeth Zimmermann's most unique and ingenius designs. Meg guides you through each phase of the jacket's construction, including:

• long tail cast on
• double decreasing/increasing
• adding colors
• baby buttonholes
• casting off in purl
• sewing a seam/darning in ends.
  

As a bonus, Meg also shows us some variations on the original design, including jacket the addition of collar, “continuous line” throughout the jacket, a Baby Surprise matching bonnet, knitting small circumferences on 2 circular needles, invisible cast on, and I-cord techniques.

We recommend both Blue Face Leicester DK (1 250g skein), Fleece Artist Organic Wool (1 250g skein), or Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester 2/8 (1 250g skein replaces the Shetland in the DVD) as being "just right" for the Baby Surprise Jacket.