Anyone know why this book is so expensive?

My crocheting sister e-mails me that there is a wonderful book in her
library called "The Principles of Knitting" that she has tried to find a
secondhand copy of but only found it going for $225.00 and up! That's
my googling result, too. Does anyone have this book and can it really
be worth that much?!?

Just got back from two weeks in the Maritimes where I committed an
incredible series of missteps: I brought the Folk Socks book this sis
gave me for Xmas & decided on a pair with a sort of simplified Fair Isle
pattern in two colors, found some lovely Lily Chin yarn in Halifax,
happily knitted the cuff, then when I went to change colors and start
the pattern, on the day that we left Halifax for Cape Breton, found I
had left the second color skein at the Halifax hotel. So I pined until
we got back to Halifax, grabbed the second color and did the next two
rows...while my husband was out mailing back a box of stuff we'd decided
we didn't have room for in the suitcases...to which I had inadvertently
added the Folk Socks book. So now we're home and I still have to wait
for the box to arrive. Oh well, it's not like I don't have MORE than
enough to do w/post-holiday laundry & chores...

spampot wrote:
My crocheting sister e-mails me that there is a wonderful book in her
library called "The Principles of Knitting" that she has tried to
find a secondhand copy of but only found it going for $225.00 and up!
That's my googling result, too. Does anyone have this book and can
it really be worth that much?!?

Just got back from two weeks in the Maritimes where I committed an
incredible series of missteps: I brought the Folk Socks book this sis
gave me for Xmas & decided on a pair with a sort of simplified Fair
Isle pattern in two colors, found some lovely Lily Chin yarn in
Halifax, happily knitted the cuff, then when I went to change colors
and start the pattern, on the day that we left Halifax for Cape
Breton, found I had left the second color skein at the Halifax hotel.
So I pined until we got back to Halifax, grabbed the second color and
did the next two rows...while my husband was out mailing back a box
of stuff we'd decided we didn't have room for in the suitcases...to
which I had inadvertently added the Folk Socks book. So now we're
home and I still have to wait for the box to arrive. Oh well, it's
not like I don't have MORE than enough to do w/post-holiday laundry &
chores...

Hi did a search at Amazon and found the following customer review:

I was able to peruse this book once. I immediately knew I had to have it. I
never dreamed it would be so difficult to obtain a copy. Unfortunately, this
book is out of print, and I cannot afford the huge price tags that are being
placed on existing copies.
This is not a typical review where I explain the contents or details of this
book. This book is a masterpiece, and I want it to be reprinted. And I
believe I am not alone in this request.
WE NEED TO UNITE OUR EFFORTS TO GET THIS BOOK BACK INTO PRINT!
If you AGREE that it is time to have this wonderful masterpiece back in
print, then click "YES", and let our numbers be counted.

From Library Journal
This is a comprehensive handbook for the knitter who wants to know the
"whys" as well as the "hows" of hand-knitted fabric construction. Included
are chapters on stitch formation, fabric construction, pattern design,
project planning, and decorative work (e.g., multi-color knitting, inlay,
and needlework embellishment). Superior organization, layout, indexing, and
the numerous illustrations add to the value of this work as a basic knitting
reference, but the beginning knitter may be intimidated by the sheer bulk of
material presented--including, for example, 33 different methods for casting
on stitches. A less intimidating introduction to the craft is Maggie
Righetti's Knitting in Plain English ( LJ 3/15/86). Highly recommended for
libraries collecting in this area.
- Janice Zlendich, California State Univ. Lib., Fullerton
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Also has 579 pages.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...52333?v=glance

Donna

On Fri, 01 Sep 2006 21:22:03 -0400, spampot spewed
forth :

My crocheting sister e-mails me that there is a wonderful book in her
library called "The Principles of Knitting" that she has tried to find a
secondhand copy of but only found it going for $225.00 and up! That's
my googling result, too. Does anyone have this book and can it really
be worth that much?!?

It's supposed to be a knitting bible, and is long out of print after
but a short run. I've heard rumors of a reissue with updates but my
ears on the ground haven't heard anything more than that.

I've had a thumb-through, it's a nice book but I wouldn't pay more
than $40 for it, myself.

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

I did a search and found it listed at allbookstores.com
http://www.allbookstores.com/book/0671552333
If you click on the link to compare prices it lists three vendors that have
it for less than $40.
Marilyn
"spampot" wrote in message
...
My crocheting sister e-mails me that there is a wonderful book in her
library called "The Principles of Knitting" that she has tried to find a
secondhand copy of but only found it going for $225.00 and up! That's my
googling result, too. Does anyone have this book and can it really be
worth that much?!?

Just got back from two weeks in the Maritimes where I committed an
incredible series of missteps: I brought the Folk Socks book this sis
gave me for Xmas & decided on a pair with a sort of simplified Fair Isle
pattern in two colors, found some lovely Lily Chin yarn in Halifax,
happily knitted the cuff, then when I went to change colors and start the
pattern, on the day that we left Halifax for Cape Breton, found I had left
the second color skein at the Halifax hotel. So I pined until we got back
to Halifax, grabbed the second color and did the next two rows...while my
husband was out mailing back a box of stuff we'd decided we didn't have
room for in the suitcases...to which I had inadvertently added the Folk
Socks book. So now we're home and I still have to wait for the box to
arrive. Oh well, it's not like I don't have MORE than enough to do
w/post-holiday laundry & chores...

On Fri, 1 Sep 2006 22:11:14 -0500, "Georgia"
spewed forth :


FWIW, I find Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Knitting without Tears" (that's tears as
in boo-hoo, not rips)
and Maggie Righietti's "Knitting in Plain English" much more useful.'

I couldn't agree more. Add Maggie's "Sweater Design in Plain English"
and Elizabeth's "Knitting Workshop" and you have my four
most-referenced how-to books.


IMHO, probably the best bargain, in terms of information per dollar (or
penny!) is Barbara Walker's "Knitting from the Top" (of course, you have to
be able to appreciate the benefits of knitting everything from the top down,
on circulars, but she does a good job of explaining that. (Ignore the photos
of hideous early 1970's styles; this book is about knitting to suit your
tastes, and your body.)

*chuckle* The one book of BW's that I don't have for the very reason
that I can't get past the pics. I'm fond of EZ's bottom-up method,
too, but Maggie taught me how to make a top-down sweater...

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

I own this book. Must have bought it when it came out, maybe through Book of
the Month Club, surely not for more than its list price of $29.95 (it is a
large-format book with about 600 pages, so it was surely worth that, even in
1988).

I never use it. (There is a post-it note in it, marking a page on mitered
corners--which might have been useful in finishing the interminable
Aran-style cardigan vest, but I just winged it; most likely I used it in
designing a sweater with a deep V-neck. Around 1988. ) If I ever decide to
learn to crochet, and it's possible to learn from a book, that will probably
be the book.

FWIW, I find Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Knitting without Tears" (that's tears as
in boo-hoo, not rips)
and Maggie Righietti's "Knitting in Plain English" much more useful.

IMHO, probably the best bargain, in terms of information per dollar (or
penny!) is Barbara Walker's "Knitting from the Top" (of course, you have to
be able to appreciate the benefits of knitting everything from the top down,
on circulars, but she does a good job of explaining that. (Ignore the photos
of hideous early 1970's styles; this book is about knitting to suit your
tastes, and your body.)

My $.02.

Georgia
www.georgiamorgan.net/html/knitting.htm

"spampot" wrote in message
...
My crocheting sister e-mails me that there is a wonderful book in her
library called "The Principles of Knitting" that she has tried to find a
secondhand copy of but only found it going for $225.00 and up! That's
my googling result, too. Does anyone have this book and can it really
be worth that much?!?

Just got back from two weeks in the Maritimes where I committed an
incredible series of missteps: I brought the Folk Socks book this sis
gave me for Xmas & decided on a pair with a sort of simplified Fair Isle
pattern in two colors, found some lovely Lily Chin yarn in Halifax,
happily knitted the cuff, then when I went to change colors and start
the pattern, on the day that we left Halifax for Cape Breton, found I
had left the second color skein at the Halifax hotel. So I pined until
we got back to Halifax, grabbed the second color and did the next two
rows...while my husband was out mailing back a box of stuff we'd decided
we didn't have room for in the suitcases...to which I had inadvertently
added the Folk Socks book. So now we're home and I still have to wait
for the box to arrive. Oh well, it's not like I don't have MORE than
enough to do w/post-holiday laundry & chores...

Now that's interesting. I depend on www.mxbf.com & had never heard of
allbookstores.com; sounds worth a try. Thanks to everyone else for
their comments, too. I'll pass them on to my sister, who's learning to
knit (I ran her through the basics, casting on, knitting & purling, a
while back, and she's really going great guns).

Marilyn wrote:
I did a search and found it listed at allbookstores.com
http://www.allbookstores.com/book/0671552333
If you click on the link to compare prices it lists three vendors that have
it for less than $40.
Marilyn
"spampot" wrote in message
...

My crocheting sister e-mails me that there is a wonderful book in her
library called "The Principles of Knitting" that she has tried to find a
secondhand copy of but only found it going for $225.00 and up! That's my
googling result, too. Does anyone have this book and can it really be
worth that much?!?

Just got back from two weeks in the Maritimes where I committed an
incredible series of missteps: I brought the Folk Socks book this sis
gave me for Xmas & decided on a pair with a sort of simplified Fair Isle
pattern in two colors, found some lovely Lily Chin yarn in Halifax,
happily knitted the cuff, then when I went to change colors and start the
pattern, on the day that we left Halifax for Cape Breton, found I had left
the second color skein at the Halifax hotel. So I pined until we got back
to Halifax, grabbed the second color and did the next two rows...while my
husband was out mailing back a box of stuff we'd decided we didn't have
room for in the suitcases...to which I had inadvertently added the Folk
Socks book. So now we're home and I still have to wait for the box to
arrive. Oh well, it's not like I don't have MORE than enough to do
w/post-holiday laundry & chores...

Thanks, Georgia! Are you at Champaign-Urbana? I was born there!

Georgia wrote:
I own this book. Must have bought it when it came out, maybe through Book of
the Month Club, surely not for more than its list price of $29.95 (it is a
large-format book with about 600 pages, so it was surely worth that, even in
1988).

I never use it. (There is a post-it note in it, marking a page on mitered
corners--which might have been useful in finishing the interminable
Aran-style cardigan vest, but I just winged it; most likely I used it in
designing a sweater with a deep V-neck. Around 1988. ) If I ever decide to
learn to crochet, and it's possible to learn from a book, that will probably
be the book.

FWIW, I find Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Knitting without Tears" (that's tears as
in boo-hoo, not rips)
and Maggie Righietti's "Knitting in Plain English" much more useful.

IMHO, probably the best bargain, in terms of information per dollar (or
penny!) is Barbara Walker's "Knitting from the Top" (of course, you have to
be able to appreciate the benefits of knitting everything from the top down,
on circulars, but she does a good job of explaining that. (Ignore the photos
of hideous early 1970's styles; this book is about knitting to suit your
tastes, and your body.)

My $.02.

Georgia
www.georgiamorgan.net/html/knitting.htm

"spampot" wrote in message
...

My crocheting sister e-mails me that there is a wonderful book in her
library called "The Principles of Knitting" that she has tried to find a
secondhand copy of but only found it going for $225.00 and up! That's
my googling result, too. Does anyone have this book and can it really
be worth that much?!?

Just got back from two weeks in the Maritimes where I committed an
incredible series of missteps: I brought the Folk Socks book this sis
gave me for Xmas & decided on a pair with a sort of simplified Fair Isle
pattern in two colors, found some lovely Lily Chin yarn in Halifax,
happily knitted the cuff, then when I went to change colors and start
the pattern, on the day that we left Halifax for Cape Breton, found I
had left the second color skein at the Halifax hotel. So I pined until
we got back to Halifax, grabbed the second color and did the next two
rows...while my husband was out mailing back a box of stuff we'd decided
we didn't have room for in the suitcases...to which I had inadvertently
added the Folk Socks book. So now we're home and I still have to wait
for the box to arrive. Oh well, it's not like I don't have MORE than
enough to do w/post-holiday laundry & chores...

Yep. Been here, um, 36 years... Where are you now?

Georgia

"spampot" wrote in message
...
Thanks, Georgia! Are you at Champaign-Urbana? I was born there!

Georgia wrote:
Yep. Been here, um, 36 years... Where are you now?

Georgia

"spampot" wrote in message
...

Thanks, Georgia! Are you at Champaign-Urbana? I was born there!



I'm in Maryland, south of Baltimore. My family's from Champaign &
Moultrie Counties (Decatur area & Mahomet) & I was born & raised there &
in Michigan, lived out here for...well, as long as you've been there.
Dad was an Ag Ec at UIUC & Michigan State, USDA out here. Three of my
sisters are on their way out to Champaign next week for a visit and I'm
green with envy.