Knitting Book Review: Leave Me Alone!

I know, this doesn’t sound like a knitting book. Bear with me.

I was looking through the Publishers Weekly best books of the year lists and this one caught my eye in the children’s book list. I was a little ashamed I hadn’t heard of it earlier, because it combines two of my family’s favorite passions: fiber arts and science fiction. And reading, for that matter.

Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brogsol is a story I think we can all relate to this time of year.

Winter is coming, and grandma has a lot of knitting to do. Her gaggle of grandkids need new sweaters for the season, but she just can’t seem to get any knitting done.

Her grandchildren were curious about her knitting.
Were you supposed to hit the ball with a stick?
Could you eat it?
Could you make your brother eat it?
Why did the ball get smaller as you chased it?

She tries to find some more privacy by going out into the woods and climbing the mountain, but animals turn out to be as curious as grandchildren.

So she walks to the top of the mountain and onto the moon, which is no help, but finally finds the peace she’s looking for in the void on the other side of a wormhole.

This book is really cute, both the story and the illustrations, and if you knit for kids who are picture book aged they’re sure to love it. Or gift it to a friend who is always knitting for other people.

Have you read this book? I’d love to know what you thought of it!

Adding a bit of knitting to your fall decor is a lot of fun, whether it’s knit pumpkins or a bunch of adorable knit ghosts like these.

Knit ghosts can be super simple like this free ghost knitting pattern from Trixie Zynch on Ravelry. Using about 50 yards of worsted weight yarn, they’re worked from the bottom up and are super cute as a pair.

This fuzzy little ghost from Forest Knitting Toys is holding a pumpkin and wearing a witch hat, though of course the accessories are optional, as is the fuzzy yarn. The main yarn is chunky and the ghost measures about 10 cm/4 inches tall. It’s worked in the round.

Another fuzzy ghost in more of a Pacman style is this ghost plushie form South Stitch Girls. It’s worked in the round with bulky yarn and includes a sweet little bow you can make in whatever color you like.

The ghost doll from Edith Grace Designs has little arms and a curl at the top of its head. The body is worked flat using DK weight yarn and you could also work it in glow in the dark yarn for extra fun. The body and head are worked in one piece with the arms knit separately.

The Grim Grinning Ghosts from Susan Claudino are super cute and you can knit them in any yarn and gauge you like to make ghosts of different sizes. These are worked in the round with the body done in one piece and the arms are knit separately. The ghosts shown were knit in sock yarn, DK and worsted weight yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Make a ghost with funny striped legs with this ghost shelf sitter design from Claire Fairall Designs. It’s worked in three colors of DK weight yarn, and the letters spelling out boo are made with strips of garter stitch sewn into shape.

Have you read?