Knitting can be a challenging craft, but even more challenging than knitting itself is the cryptic language - a mixture of abbreviations, numbers, unfamiliar jargon, punctuation marks and other symbols - in which knitting patterns, even the most basic, are usually written. It's no wonder that so many beginning knitters (and even some whose skills are quite advanced) are intimidated by the bewildering code when they see it in knitting books and magazines - or that so many yarnshop owners grow frustrated by the amount of time they must spend deciphering patterns for the uninitiated.Enter "Knitspeak", a knitter's dictionary that disentangles the mysteries of pattern language and translates it into plain English. Andrea Berman Price's essential guide - formatted for quick reference - begins with an overview of how knitting patterns are organized. It then offers a comprehensive alphabetical listing of all the abbreviations, words, phrases and symbols typically encountered in knitting patterns." Knitspeak's" many easy-to-understand drawings clarify basic and not-so-basic needle techniques, and a series of sidebars deals with issues ranging from keeping track of simultaneous shaping to substituting yarns and reading a yarn label. The book's appendix is filled with valuable tips, charts and worksheets.