The Crafty Princess Diaries

Liat from Knitfreedom.com has another amazing E-Book out called Fair Isle Knitting. Right now, she has an early release of the book for newsletter subscribers, but since I subscribe to her email, I spilling the beans to everyone. From now until Wednesday (4/18/12), she has a deal going on where you can buy this e-book course plus the ipad version as a package for $22.49. So you save 25%. If you don’t already subscribe, it’s free. So do that and you can get in on this discount. If you follow this link, you can view a brief video she has where she walks you through the ipad version of her new book.

I was lucky enough to get a review peek at this new e-book of hers, and one of the points that always hits home with me when I use her e-courses is that she does not assume you know something, but at the same time, she doesn’t make you feel stupid for not knowing some basic concepts. For example, I wasn’t 100% sure what Fair Isle was. I had a vague idea, but it was not crystal clear. In fact, I sort of thought Fair Isle and Intarsia were pretty much the same thing. In this new e-book of hers, she starts right at the beginning and explains the difference between the two. Whenever I read about or listen to knitting podcasts, terms like this are very often used, and I sometimes feel like it’s some kind of language I’ll never understand. Even if Liat does use a term, like “a float,” at some point she explains the term for you. She never just jumps in and assumes that her users or readers know it all already.

In this e-book, she starts with a bag project that is really cute. It’s pictured on the front of the e-book above. Through this project, she teaches you everything you need to know about the concepts and techniques associated with Fair Isle, such as knitting in the round and reading charts. This is another part of her courses that I like. You actually make something while you learn techniques. You don’t just make a swatch.

Then there is the added bonus of her videos embedded in the e-book (I counted 20 videos), and with this book you can opt for an ipad version as well. I just got an ipad 2 for Christmas, and at first, I thought I would use it mainly for reading. I didn’t see much of a difference between the ipad and my Kindle, other than the price. But I have to admit that I find more and more uses for my ipad and have come to the point where I really depend on it for both my school work and for play. For example, if I want to sit on the porch and knit, I can bring my ipad with me and work through some of the Knitfreedom videos. I’m not required to sit at the computer.

As I said before, I hear terms like Fair Isle all the time when I’m listening to podcasts or I see it mentioned a lot on Ravelry. It is a technique that many knitters want to learn but feel intimidated by it. In this latest e-book, Liat uses her amazing teaching abilities and videos to break down the concepts. Even if you could get a lesson from a LYS, with an e-book like this, you can return to it over and over again or you can just work through it at your own pace.