Recently I was able to acquire a review copy of one of Classic Elite's new book, Quick Knits. Usually when I review a knitting or crocheting book, I like to be able to share lots of photos of projects from the book so you can enjoy them along with me, but this book is yet on ravelry. The book comes out next week on Oct 18, & is available for sale through amazon. A bit of googling only led me to one other review for the book here, though there are several reviews on goodreads.

Let me start by saying, I love Classic Elite, I love their patterns & yarn, & I love the fact that they are out of Lowell, MA, which is a couple of hours away from me & is the classic, New England, fiber town. The book has several catagories, such as hats, gloves, mittens, & socks. Most are very basic patterns, like the striped hat or the garter stitch hat, but there are also pretty patterns such as the Child's Fair Isle hat, using Wool Bam Boo. There's a very beautiful crochet hat (called Crochet Hat; you'd think they'd come up with a name a little nicer). The knitted patterns all are charted, though the crochet patterns are not, and most of the patterns I'd rate at easy/beginner level. There's a ton of lace hats that I really want to knit up, & a beautiful fair isle hat I'd love to make called Fresco Beaumont. I'm not a fan of cabled work, but there are several very nice cabled hats in the mix.

There's a cute fair isle mitten pattern called Fluffy Mitts that I think would make for an excellent scrap project, as would the Veritas Fair Isle Mitts, a pair of fingerless gloves in two sizes. The book also includes 8 patterns for socks, all of them very nice but nothing that screamed "knit me".

My favorite section should be no surprise to anyone who reads this blog or is friends with me on ravelry: the scarves, shawls, capelet & cowl section. There's a good mix here, from the super cute "Little Leaf Scarf" to great looking but still functional shawls.

My only negative is I wish there were more crochet patterns in the book, but for knitters, this book is worth adding to your library.

My Opinion: Classic Elite yarns are some of my all time favorites to work with, and I love anything that is quick to make (I get distracted easily so long involved patterns are sometimes hard for me to stick with until they are finished!), so saying this is the perfect book for me is indeed an understatement! I also crochet and there are some crochet patterns in the book so that was a bonus for me.

The description above describes the book perfectly so I'm not going to go over how many patterns there were, how many photos, etc. What I am going to say is that I loved this book! They have patterns that range from beginner to experienced and the photos are spot on! I love making lace projects and they had plenty of those in the book, and I've been wanting to try some more advanced sock patterns, which they also had plenty of. Hats, scarves and mittens are always needed in my house, and are great quick projects to make for friends and family.

In summary, this is now one of my favorite quick knits books and I can't wait to delve into some of the projects! I would highly recommend it for beginning knitters all the way up to advanced knitters, with a touch of crochet thrown in to keep it interesting for people who enjoy both. This is a great book to check out when you have to make a gift quickly for someone you care about, or just to treat yourself.

I give this book a very enthusiastic 5 stars :D

I received a copy of this book free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )

CLASSIC ELITE QUICK KNITS 100 Fabulous Patterns for Wraps, Socks, Hats, and More by Classic Elite
I was hoping this book would be about some basic patterns and it is that and more. It covers patterns for average and advanced knitters. I feel one has to know or learn quick how to use knitters charts to be able to knit items from this book.
Patterns are for clothing and/or accessories for many members of your family..
What a treasure this book is: the patterns, color sequences and the items themselves.
I am sitting here trying to decide which needs to be started today.
For the patterns with charts, the written instructions are not included but they do point out when a new pattern starts, but you really have to know how to use charts.
Head coverings, sock section, neck/shoulder adornments, and blankets/bags.
Has an extensive glossary of terms used along with other information to help you select your yarn thickness.
Very good resource book. ( )

This is an interesting compendium of projects. It appears that the patterns have been accumulated over time, so that some items have been produced with yarns which are currently not available. There also seems to have been limited editorial control over the items chosen within each category, producing a collection of mixed quality. A reader glancing quickly at the illustrations will find some very fine and exciting items as well as projects which look "quick n easy", but lack finesse. There is also a somewhat disconcerting mix of colors in the projects, again reflecting the gradual accumulation of the patterns over many years. These are merely observations, not necessarily criticisms.

Classic Elite Quick Knits is a very worthwhile compilation of pattern and project ideas. Knitters of many skill levels with find inspiration for projects they will be delighted to be able to produce. Because this is a single source for many different kinds of knit articles, it will be a great resource for knitters in need of a project idea and for those with ideas in need of "how to" instructions. Recommended. ( )

Book Title: Classic Elite Quick Knits
Publisher: Taunton
Author: Classic Elite
Publication Date: 10-18-2011
Received Date: 3/17/2012
Completed Date: 3/11/2012
Reviewed by: Kathy Brandt

This book was published by a yarn company, Classic Elite, and features their yarns for the patterns in this book.

The book gives us some direction with their general pattern instructions telling us about gauges, blocking, explaining the skill levels in this book and the abbreviations used. They also give us a substitute yarn guide but it only includes their yarns.

The patterns in this book are lovely and give you instruction on how to make various hats, mittens, gloves, socks, scarves, wraps, capelets, blankets, bags and toys. By page 13 we are right into the pattern section of this book.

I received this book free from the publisher for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. These opinions about this book are my own.

Blog post: http://kathysscraps.blogspot.com/2012/04/book-review-classic-elite-quick-knits.h... ( )