Socks, mittens, hats, chunky sweaters, ponchos, boleros and shawls – you'll be busy for a year of weekends with this excellent book edited by Melanie Falick with patterns contributed by a long list of knitting luminaries, including Wendy Easton, Pam Allen, Jo Sharp and one of my favorite designers, Veronik Avery. The projects run the gamut from easy to intermediate and, even more impressive, cover a range of knitting styles, including lace, fair isle and felting. My personal favorite – flower washcloths (p. 10) which are perfect to take on a weekend away and then present to your hostess with a bar of soap wrapped up inside. One quibble – a few of these projects may take more than a weekend, especially if you like living in a home where the dishes get washed and the dog gets walked. Exhibit One: the Berkshire Pullover (p. 74). Nice man-sweater, but I am not finishing that in a weekend – especially not for that guy in the picture! But I digress. The coolest thing about this book is that the majority of these projects can be completed by the new knitter with a mastery of the knit and purl stitches. Any more difficult techniques are well explained in a "notes" section in each pattern. Take this book and a couple of balls of yarn on a weekend getaway and you'll have plenty of room left in your suitcase for souvenirs. –Kimberly Ligocki

The Facts:

Number of Patterns: 50
*PPP Ratio: Less than 50 cents
Skills required to complete most patterns: knit, pearl, seaming
Level of Difficulty: - Easy to Intermediate
Bottom line – Great book for knitters of all levels who like the occasional quick, easy and portable project.
* Price Per Pattern