new to knitting: how's this book?

[salty]

i'm a crocheter (somewhat amateurish - i've only made blankets, scarves, and hats, but i'me pretty confident with all stitches and changing colors and things like that) and i'm interested in learning to knit. i just went to the library to see what learn-to-knit books they have. i found "Knitting Basics" by Betty Barnden and it looks pretty good. does anyone have an opinion about this book? good? bad? or are there any other books that people strongly recommend as a good tutorial and reference for a new knitter?

thanks!

[funkygranolamama]

stitch n bitch is a MUST!

[joshs_girl]

ditto funky....s-n-b is what converted me from a crochet-er to a knitter. it made it all click for me.

[salty]

well, i checked out both books from the library. i've been looking at the stitch-n-bitch so far. pretty cool! i haven't tried anything more difficult than ribbing yet (just doing swatches to get the hang of things) but i have my eyes on the "manly sweater" (i think that's what it's called) for my first big knitting project. thanks for the feedback!

[Leilalu]

I would also recomend some Ann Budd books. She has soem great basic patterns you can totally customize. It's good for learnign basics.
S&B is what taught me to knit though.

[mamasthree]

not a book, but don't forget knittinghelp.com. lots of helpful "watch someone knit" videos

[feminist~mama]

I learned with S 'n B too- but I've now sworn off purchasing books for "a while". Here's what my experience was/has been.

S 'n B was great at first, and I made a bag and then the kittyville hat. I COULD NOT understand how to pick up stitches, so I turned to the internet and found knittinghelp.com. AWESOME site! It made a world of difference to watch someone do it.

Then I found Ravelry. I own several books, and almost never knit anything out of them/use them at all. Plus I have some magazines too! I find that I tend to use free patterns and that I can find something similar free most of the time when I see a pattern I like. Or, I can modify it myself!

I'd recommend the S 'n B if you want to buy a book, but wait a bit before buying a bunch of books! And get over to Ravelry if you haven't already!

[salty]

thanks for all of the tips!
i think i probably will get one book, just because i don't think i'll be knitting super often, so i'll probably need a handy reference when picking up and trying new patterns. i like having something that doesn't tie me to the computer to use, kwim? but a bunch of books? not any time soon.

[JustJamie]

SnB is a definite must; my mom had been knitting for 20 years, and learned new stuff from it. I've only been knitting for like 2 years, but just bought the book, and it's amazing what *clicks* now that didn't before. Also at least get SnB Nation from your library and read through it once; I wouldn't buy that one unless you plan on knitting fairly frequently though.