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It starts almost by accident: the women who buy their knitting needles and wool from Georgia Walker's little yarn shop linger for advice, for a coffee, for a chat and before they know it, every Friday night is knitting night. And as the needles clack, and the garments grow, the conversation moves on from patterns and yarn to life, love and everything. They may be different ages, from different backgrounds and facing different problems, but they are drawn together by threads of affection that prove as durable as the sweaters they knit.
When the residents of a Highland care home discover that the new owners are about to put up the fees substantially they know that dramatic action is called for. But what can a group of senior citizens do against a big organisation? For Dorothy, the situation is serious, if she can't raise the money she'll have to leave her friends, like dear Miss Ross. In protest, the residents barricade themselves into the lounge. However, their rebellion fails! So worldly wise Joan suggests a most unusual way to cover the rise....
Twenty-four-year-old Lucy needs a fresh start. Forever single, frustrated with her studies and dreaming of writing a novel she can’t start, she gives up everything to run a little library in the leafy village of Tilley Moreton. Lucy loves reading books almost as much as she loves fixing other people’s problems, so starting a book club seems like the perfect opportunity to do both. As she meets her new members, it’s clear she’s going to have her work cut out for her.
There's a little shop on Blossom Street in Seattle called A Good Yarn. You go there to buy knitting supplies and patterns, and now it's offering a knitting class. The first lesson: how to knit a baby blanket.
Meet the Reading Group: forever friends you can count on in good times and bad. No topic is off-limits: books, family, love and loss...and don't forget the glass of red! Grace, Anne-Marie, Kate, Jojo and Serena couldn't be more different, but each month they meet in Serena's clifftop cottage to discuss a good book - oh, and their lives, which are stranger than fiction. Or are they? Between new loves and old flames, cheating husbands and wayward children, there's always a surprise around the corner....
A brand-new audiobook by the number one best-selling author Katie Fforde containing never before published Christmas short stories. Perfect for anyone who loves romance, humour and happy-ever-after endings.
It starts almost by accident: the women who buy their knitting needles and wool from Georgia Walker's little yarn shop linger for advice, for a coffee, for a chat and before they know it, every Friday night is knitting night. And as the needles clack, and the garments grow, the conversation moves on from patterns and yarn to life, love and everything. They may be different ages, from different backgrounds and facing different problems, but they are drawn together by threads of affection that prove as durable as the sweaters they knit.
When the residents of a Highland care home discover that the new owners are about to put up the fees substantially they know that dramatic action is called for. But what can a group of senior citizens do against a big organisation? For Dorothy, the situation is serious, if she can't raise the money she'll have to leave her friends, like dear Miss Ross. In protest, the residents barricade themselves into the lounge. However, their rebellion fails! So worldly wise Joan suggests a most unusual way to cover the rise....
Twenty-four-year-old Lucy needs a fresh start. Forever single, frustrated with her studies and dreaming of writing a novel she can’t start, she gives up everything to run a little library in the leafy village of Tilley Moreton. Lucy loves reading books almost as much as she loves fixing other people’s problems, so starting a book club seems like the perfect opportunity to do both. As she meets her new members, it’s clear she’s going to have her work cut out for her.
There's a little shop on Blossom Street in Seattle called A Good Yarn. You go there to buy knitting supplies and patterns, and now it's offering a knitting class. The first lesson: how to knit a baby blanket.
Meet the Reading Group: forever friends you can count on in good times and bad. No topic is off-limits: books, family, love and loss...and don't forget the glass of red! Grace, Anne-Marie, Kate, Jojo and Serena couldn't be more different, but each month they meet in Serena's clifftop cottage to discuss a good book - oh, and their lives, which are stranger than fiction. Or are they? Between new loves and old flames, cheating husbands and wayward children, there's always a surprise around the corner....
A brand-new audiobook by the number one best-selling author Katie Fforde containing never before published Christmas short stories. Perfect for anyone who loves romance, humour and happy-ever-after endings.
It is 1911, and Jean is about to join the mass strike at the Singer factory. For her, nothing will be the same again. Decades later, Connie sews coded moments of her life into a notebook, as her mother did before her. More than 100 years after his grandmother's sewing machine was made, Fred unpicks the secrets of four generations, one stitch at a time.
On the quayside next to the Endless Beach sits the Summer Seaside Kitchen. It's a haven for tourists and locals alike, who all come to eat the freshest local produce on the island and catch up with the gossip. Flora, who runs the café, feels safe and content - unless she thinks too hard about her relationship with Joel, her gorgeous but emotionally (and physically) distant boyfriend. While Flora is in turmoil about her relationship, her best friend, Lorna, is pining after the local doctor.
Building on the success of The Yarn Whisperer, Clara Parkes' rich personal essays invite listeners and devoted crafters on excursions to be savored, from a guide who quickly comes to feel like a trusted confidante. In Knitlandia, she takes listeners along on 17 of her most memorable journeys across the globe over the last 15 years, with stories spanning from the fjords of Iceland to a cozy yarn shop in Paris' 13th arrondissement.
Sometimes all it takes to make the world a better place is a small act of kindness.... When Ceri Price arrives in the small seaside village of Dwynwen in West Wales, she only means to stay for a couple of nights - long enough to scatter her mother's ashes and then go back to her life as a successful makeup entrepreneur. But a case of mistaken identities means she lands a job as the barmaid in the local pub, unexpectedly finds friendship and wonders if love might follow....
In The Yarn Whisperer: Reflections on a Life in Knitting, renowned knitter and author Clara Parkes ponders the roles knitting plays in her life via 22 captivating, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny essays. Recounting tales of childhood and adulthood, family, friends, adventure, privacy, disappointment, love, and celebration, she hits upon the universal truths that drive knitters to create and explores the ways in which knitting can be looked at as a metaphor for so many other things.
Random House presents the audiobook edition of A Good Heart is Hard to Find by Trisha Ashley, read by Eva Haddon. 'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man of over 40 is in possession of a major defect....' Cassandra Leigh has woken as if from a bad dream: 44, childless and 20-plus years into an affair with a married man. Max assures her they just need a little more patience and for his wife to die (!), but Cass is desperate for a baby and running out of time.
Thoroughly enjoyed this story brought very much to life by Beverley Dunn. An excellent voice. Any yarn crafter will love this, I'm an avid crocheter and I felt the author totally understood the textile world.
My favourite bit was when Martha takes the doctor by the arm and has a little word, classic !! Hope it becomes a film one day. Thanks x x
Thought the characters were poorly written and unengaging. The narrator made these women sound even older and whinier than they ought to have been. Not a good novel about grief, mental illness, friendship, or even knitting. Sorry I wasted time and money on this one
13 of 14 people found this review helpful
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The description of the story used to entice the reader.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Erase it and start over.
Which scene was your favorite?
I didn't have a favorite.
Could you see Knitting being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
no.
Any additional comments?
The story was ok. A bit sad. It would be nice if the description of the story (any story) indicated the tone. I didn't agree with the description. It lead you to believe that even though the main character's husband died, she found a new life. There was not a happier ending. The sadness/sense of loss was from start to finish.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
We are knitted together with a yarn called life. I enjoyed this story very much. There was lots of detail about yarn and knitting that connected to my life. I too want to knit perfectly, and have a host of unfinished projects. Knitting joined five people together, who because of their social status, were not likely to have met. I also liked the pairing and juxtaposition of the characters. The slightly odd, Martha and Cliff contrasted with the socially polished Kate/her husband and Sandra.
The death of Sandra's husband also resonated for me -in that my husband died 2 years ago, January 2015. It helped to hear the character's struggle with death, and it gave me one more outlet to process my grief. This story unwound my life, and knitted me (continentally) in to the next row. Knitting was such a great story, that I stopped listening a quarter of the way through, to search for additional titles from the author.
If you could sum up Knitting in three words, what would they be?
Melancholy, tender, redeeming
Any additional comments?
Not the most exciting book and sometimes even felt a bit slow but wrapped up very nicely and left the listener with things to ponder. Narrator was excellent and used different voices for each character.
This is an enjoyable listen, with a meaningful, layered story I enjoyed listening to, while knitting :) The character development is okay, but I'd have preferred more insight into the women early in the story line. The two main characters, Sandra and Martha, begin with one seemingly strong and sympathetic and the other talented but seemingly flawed. By the final scene, the descriptions have switched between the characters, but still with too little real insight into Sandra as a person.
My primary hesitation comes as a knitter. The knitting details do not always ring true, despite the acknowledgments section at the end where the author professes to be a knitter. I'd also love to know if the "feather" stitch is in fact "feather and fan" and more definitive information about the other stitches mentioned - none of which are referred to with an American name - and not even one that comes up when googled. Why the tease?
The book and narrator seemed a bit quirky at first, but I found it refreshing and enjoyable.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful