Wild Thing

Knitted Wild Animals: 15 Adorable, Easy-To-Knit Toys

by Sarah Keen

Words can't do this book justice, but I'm going to try anyway.  I confess I haven't made anything from the book, but my daughter has already selected the rhino for my next project.  What I love about these patterns is that the animals look like real stuffed (is that an oxymoron?) animals, not those oddly shaped creatures that look like you were on drugs when you made them.  The pictures in the book are clear, close-up and cute.  The patterns read as easy-to-understand.  There even is information about the real animals.  Best of all, it really doesn't matter if you have the correct weight yarn or knit to the correct gauge -- the only difference at the end of the day will be the size of the animal you create!  Sounds just like the ideal project for the knitter who wants to move on from making rectangles of various sizes (shawls, scarfs, blankets).

I told a friend of mine that I was going to buy this book.  She asked me to order a copy for her.  As she put it, "If I start now, by the time I have grandchildren [her oldest is 20 with no spouse in sight], I may have one animal done."