Encyclopedia of Knitting by Donna Kooler is a wonderful knitting resource for the beginning and experienced knitter alike.
Great history of knitting.
And includes pictures of knitted items from past centuries
Of course it covers the basics of knitting including:
How to read a pattern
Supplies you need for knitting
Reading the labels on yarn
And how to knit and purl using the American/English, Contiental/German, and Blended/Comination styles
She goes beyond the basics and covers more advanced topics like
Button holes
Decorative stitches and cabling
Adding beads to your knitting
There is also a section of wonderful patterns from great designers including
Beaded scarf by Jane Davis
Illumination Lace Scarf by Evelyn A. Clark
Some cuted felted Lambs by Bev Galeskas. I plan on making for a friend’s baby who’s nursery’s theme is lambs
A lovely Kaleidoscope wrap out of Noro Silk by Lisa Daniels I also want to make. I just love Noro Silk Garden and this wrap really plays on the color changes in the yarn to form a kaleidoscope of colored squares.
The Knitting Pattern Gallery in the back of the book is a great resource of stitch patterns.
It includes pictures of each stitch pattern, the chart for it along with written instructions.
The Encyclopeida of Knitting is a wonderful knitting reference that every knitter should have in their library.