Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When I pre-order a book titled "Swedish Knits," I expect a book delivering a substantial number of patterns for exactly that--patterns based on traditional Swedish knitting designs. What I did not expect when I opened this volume, and do not want, is another in the unending parade of "how to knit" books. The first sentence in the foreword of "Swedish Knits" is this: "This book was written for those of you who already know how to knit." Then why, pray, devote 150 of 190 pages to knitting (and crocheting) instruction, starting with the most elementary of steps and repeating information available in dozens, if not hundreds, of other publications? (For me, the 150 pages are a waste: I have knitted for more than 50 years and have made a good many garments in the Scandinavian tradition--not that this is covered well or extensively in the 150 pages.) Tacked on at the end of the book, in the last 40 pages, are 21 patterns; of these, 17 have nothing to do with Scandinavian or Swedish knitting. Of the remaining four designs, three are based on the Norwegian tradition, not the Swedish, and there is nothing particularly new or special about these three patterns. Exactly one pattern in the entire volume is a Swedish design: a sweater in the Bohus tradition. The Bohus knitting tradition has, of course, been thoroughly and competently explored in other publications; for example, "Poems of Color," by Wendy Keele. "Swedish Knits," then, is a huge disappointment. I cannot fathom what either the two authors or the publisher (Skyhorse Publishing) were thinking when they brought forth this book under the title "Swedish Knits." "Another Volume of Knitting Instruction with a Few Miscellaneous Designs" would be a much more fitting title. At a list price of $27.95, the book titled this way would at least not mislead its purchasers.