Stitch 'n Bitch Nation

October 25, 2004
With its spiffy prose and no-fail instructions, Stoller's 2003 Stitch 'n Bitch
made it doable—easy, even—for gals (and the occasional guy) to knit up a cool bag or a happening scarf in a few nights. The book's sequel is a bit like the follow-up to many great movies: it draws you in, but doesn't pack anywhere near the punch of the first one, probably because the first one set the bar so high. Still, Stoller should have no problem packing the theaters, as it were: readers who've mastered most of the lessons in Stitch 'n Bitch
will flock to it. Its opening section explains the complicated but worthwhile process of changing a pattern to suit your tastes: shortening sleeves, changing necklines, using a heavier or lighter yarn to create different effects, etc. Stoller uses her signature sharp, matter-of-fact voice to demystify these potentially confusing processes. After these lessons, the book takes a 180, launching into a smorgasbord of patterns for knitted designs ranging from the beautiful (sweaters like the Spiderweb Capelet and Clover Lace Wrap) to the hackneyed (a Two for Tea teapot cozy or been-there-done-that Roller Girl Legwarmers). Vignettes covering Stitch 'n Bitch knitting clubs from Arlington, Va., to Seattle, Wash., add a community feel, and the photos of models sporting knitwear superimposed on quintessential American backgrounds (Mount Rushmore, an urban Chinatown) add to the book's "knitting for the masses" spirit.

December 15, 2004
A sequel to the best-seller " Stitch 'n Bitch "(2003), this volume is just as entertaining and twice as useful as its predecessor. For entertainment value, Stoller takes readers on a whirlwind tour across the country, visiting women (mostly) who have set up their own stitch-'n-bitch groups and detailing just what they're bitching about. Stoller also provides kicky patterns that include everything from outfits for kids through outfits for dogs and on to purses, toys, foot warmers, and more. But the reason this book is so valuable is that Stoller takes readers by the hand and shows them how a pattern is written and how to adjust patterns to an individual's own body measurements. This vital aspect of knitting tends to be either mysterious or off-putting because it involves the " m "word--math. But Stoller speaks very clearly and peppers her explanations with humor. By the time she's finished, writing one's own patterns seems like a real possibility. Inadequately reproduced photographs in the galley copy made the pictures difficult to see, but what comes through the gray haze looks very cute.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)