Author: Amy Singer

WWW: interview with Maggie Menzel; how flax becomes linen, with bonus Irish accent; knitting, animated; cool sheepy design prototypes

We recently published a beautiful-bright cabled sock called Vinculum. On the Apocalypse Knitting blog, read an interview with Vinculum’s designer, Maggie Menzel. Those who know me know I am allergic to wool, and as a result, exceptionally fond of anything not-wool that’s worth knitting. Linen is at the top of my list. Thanks to the Mason-Dixon’s weekend newsletter, Snippets, I learned about the wonderfulness that is Colm Clarke of County Donegal (note his correct pronunciation: don-E-gal), who takes us, start to finish, through the process of growing flax and turning it into linen. Now you know why ...

WWW: TNNA, Knitting National Parks, a knit-loving Costume Designer; TCM Knitting Club is aces

Last week’s WWW update was lost in the pre-TNNA/Amy on vacation shuffle. Sorry about that. Kate did a much better job at making sure we never missed a week. I will endeavour to live up to her legacy in future. But on the positive side, TNNA (our industry’s trade show) was a fountain overflowing with great new products, inspiration, and quite a few connections made for new designs in future issues. Watch out for brand-new reviews when we launch the Surprise next month…we’re doing two sets of reviews every issue now, so you can see all the new stuff as soon as possible! And I’ll be writing ...

WWW on the fly:

The woman behind the Pussyhat and a team of awesome people have begun another wonderful initiative: the Welcome Blanket project. –> In Toronto, the arrival of warm weather means it’s almost time for the TTC Knitalong! I hope you’ll forgive the shortness of this post. Besides putting out the new First Fall issue (Patrons have access right now; the rest of the world gets access tomorrow morning at 10am), I’m prepping for TNNA which happens this weekend in Columbus, OH. OH the Jeni’s that will be consumed! Also this weekend, Squam. Oh, those lucky ducks who get to go! Maybe one year, it ...

WWW: Foot binding connected to textile production; Little Knittery forced to move; new New York craft festival; Danish elite buried in woollies

No, really. This fascinating article discusses research into the practise of foot binding in China as a means to keep girls in one place so they could contribute to the family’s income, making textiles. Wow. The Little Knittery, the shop that friend-of-Knitty Kat Coyle owns – which also happens to be the home of the legendary Pussyhat (which Kat designed!) – is being forced to move locations. But they’re not closing, so that’s good news, at least! –> Big craft festival coming up in NYC, June 3-4, 2017! The Craft in Focus Festival originated in Amsterdam, and this is its first year in New ...

WWW: The TCM Knitting club does Gable; missing Roger and his sweaters; an ode to our Kate

O the things I learn, writing the WWW blog post! Seems there’s an unofficial TCM knitting club which celebrates knitting + classic movies, and this month, their chosen patterns are inspired by “Gable’s casual yet snappy style.” They’ve picked out”a few patterns to suit a sharp-dressed man with outdoorsy tendencies.” Sounds yummy. Read lots more here — I’m signing up for this newsletter. It’s full of good juicy stuff! We lost Sir Roger Moore this week (he was my first Bond). Did you know he was also a sweater model back in the day?  —> I got to speak ...

WWW: Productive daydreaming; sewer pipe turned knitting machine; Pens’ Knitting Lady quoted; the circle of life as it applies to yarn shops

This is something I’ve always felt: Your brain can only take so much focus. (This is why I’m a happy acres-of-stockinette knitter.) Interesting reading! After building a knitting machine with tubing meant for sewers (the waste-transporting type, not tiny pointy needles and thread type), this lovely man has gone on to knit up thousands of pairs of socks for people in shelters in Saskatoon. You have to see what he came up with, the clever man. We’ve all heard about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Knitting Lady, right? Here’s some rather intelligent commentary on knitting as a behavior ...

WWW: Sweet Georgia goes Patreon; Knitty Patrons like Ninjas; Revolutionary Knitting Machine

As you likely know by now, Knitty loves Patreon. It allows our readers to support us, and they are doing just that! So we were thrilled to hear that our friends at Sweet Georgia Yarns have started up a Patreon themselves! Says owner Felicia Lo,  “I’m building an online school for craft and colour where I’m making video-based craft workshops on fibre arts topics like dyeing wool yarns and fibres, dyeing cellulose yarns, natural dyeing, hand-painting warps for weaving, spinning intentional yarns for socks or shawls, and working with colour in knitting, and so much more.” That sounds way cool, ...

WWW: Instagram is where it’s at; The Knit Show funded; Scarves for survivors; Flying sea urchins; Knitting+health; more Dingles!

Knitty finally has its own Instagram account. 100% fiber-craft related stuff! Follow us, would you? To get all matchy, our Twitter account is now also @knittymag. Our friend, designer Mercedes Tarasovich, spotted a worthwhile charity on Instagram. Through Unending Hugs, @rape_response provides scarves for survivors.  @knithacker always finds great stuff. Take a look at this incredible, huge, crocheted sea urchin, floating in the air! We’re thrilled to report that Vickie Howell’s The Knit Show project was funded on Kickstarter. Vickie and her experienced team are already lining up guests for the show! ...

WWW: Knitting as coping mechanism; Cape Town charity knitting; Icelandic and Danish knitting festivals; Liberty buys Sirdar (sorta)

Washington, DC:  Way-back Knitty contributor Suzyn Gonzalez writes about how knitting got her through a scary period in her life. Hint: it involves knitted representations of internal organs. Cape Town, Africa: Winter is setting in in South Africa, so the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day initiative has returned. Crochet, knitting and loom knitting are all welcome. Blönduós, Iceland: While Kate and I will be at TNNA in Columbus, OH, lucky knitters will be at the 2nd annual Prjónagleði Knitting Festival 2017. 20 cool lectures and workshops will be offered over the weekend. This festival is modeled after the one in ...

Obsession Thursday: Bunny behavior

So this happened. —> My first reaction, as Tully clamped down on my hand intentionally and angrily, was to be angry back. I didn’t lash out; I just removed him from my flesh. As I treated the wounds, it changed to sadness. This is the 2nd time he’s done this. The next morning, I remembered what I learned the last time he did this. Flash back to the two days before the bite: I’m trying to deal with the disaster that was Tully’s corral. A cage that he liked because it gave him a 2nd level to hide in (bunnies like to feel safe), and a big enclosure so he can run about when I’m not ...
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