Knitting (and Writing) with Soul

I've enjoyed Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's writing for a long time. I read her At Knit's End about the time I was really starting to get into knitting again after a hiatus and I felt like I had found a kindred spirit. I wanted to be this woman's friend, to have a beer on the back porch with her and talk about our knitting while we were knitting.

Her latest book, Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again feels a little more introspective and maybe not quite as funny as some of her older works, but I found the maturity (that's all I can think to call it) of this book really nice. This book is more personal, more about the people in her life, than the other books have been, and it gives us more insight into her world and, by connection, the world of all knitters.

Usually I read Pearl-McPhee's books really quickly, in an afternoon or over a weekend. I spent more time with this one, savoring and thinking about how these essays relate to my own knitting life. Maybe I'm maturing a bit as a knitter, too. That can only be a good thing.