EZ (or Elizabeth Zimmermann) is a god or to be politically correct, a goddess. I think Barbara Walker put it best in her “Appreciation” in Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Workshop – “Her written instructions combine two qualities all too seldom met together: they teach, and they amuse, both at once.” I am in awe of EZ (and BW for that matter but that is for another post). Unlike other knitting technique or pattern books, I can read her books over and over. I don’t just read them to find a specific instruction or to find a specific pattern. I read them for enjoyment like you would a novel or a biography. She states the obvious about knitting technique but it is often only obvious after she has stated it. How many a-ha or light bulb moments have you had when you are reading her books? It was several years after I started knitting in earnest and after I had read Knitting Without Tears that I realized I was knitting all wrong. “Stop knitting English style you left handed ninny!” the imaginary EZ voice in my head screamed. “Learn to knit Continental – it is the only way to knit after all.”

The reason for this rant is because my personal copies of Knitter’s Almanac and Knitting Workshop arrived today. I long to be on a beach somewhere with several days to read them cover to cover. Yes, this is beach reading to me. Or maybe an alpine retreat by a crackling fire under an afghan. Or maybe in an Adirondack style chair at Lake Crescent in Washington State. You get the point – I want to play hooky tomorrow so I can read my new books!