General

A New Class Question and PLYAWAY 2017 Classes Posted

How often do you like teachers to have new classes? I’ve been teaching a lot the past couple of years and don’t know when to add new classes. For 2017 I tried to have at least one new class for each multi-day teaching gig. I’ve noticed some teachers don’t add new classes very often. What about exclusive classes for big shows and events? Is that something that appeals? I personally love designing new classes, but they take about four months to develop. So I need to be sane about how many I add. And let me know if there is something that you’d like to see me teach.   Do you like to ...

Obsession Thursday: Finally knitting again!

The saga is coming to a close, at least for my right hand. (Catch up with the story here.) It’s been 4 months since my surgery. I’ve tried to knit during the healing process, but haven’t found it very enjoyable. Which worried me. Last week, I went on a road trip with a friend, and got to sit in the passenger seat for the first time in a while (being single means you’re the one driving all the time). I started to knit. It ached as the muscles aren’t even vaguely as strong as they used to be (or NEED to be), but I kept at it, with little breaks. In a while, I noticed it was less achy. And ...

We’re Going to TNNA – What Do You Want to Know About?

Amy and I will be attending the summer TNNA show in a a couple of weeks. TNNA is the The National Needlearts Association trade show, the show that shops, designers and publishing types attend to see what’s new in our fuzzy world. The summer show has everything new for fall knitting (and spinning and weaving and stitching). I’ve been in our wonderful, crazy industry for more than 25 years and I think this may be my 20th TNNA. I’ve gone as an exhibitor, an author, a shop, and a publisher. My question for you, Knitty readers, is what do you want to know, what tidbits of information, photos, giveaways ...

Jane’s Knitting Kits – A Giveaway!

The fine and friendly folks over at Jane’s Knitting Kits have a kit for us to give away! Knit from gorgeous Universal Yarns Rozetti Brand Bamboo Glam (96% Bamboo 4% Glitz), the Midnight Wrap is a little bit slinky and a little bit sparkly. An easy knit, it’s just the perfect little something for mercurial spring days and nights. Think this is something you need to knit for this spring? We have one kit to giveaway! Leave a comment on this post between now and midnight eastern time, Tuesday April 19th. One comment will be chosen at random to answer a skill testing question. If the commenter answers ...

Jill Draper’s Studio Shindig at Rhinebeck!

Rhinebeck is this week!!! Are you done with your sweater? The years that I am lucky enough to go to Rhinebeck one of my first stops is always Jennie the Potter’s booth that she shares with Jill Draper. I have many mugs by Jennie in my cabinet, they are even a unit of measure in my house, “How much chocolate milk do you want?” “Jennie the Potter size!”. I have lots of smaller skeins of Jill Draper’s yarns, I love it. As a knitter, as a spinner, her yarns are so well done, from the initial fiber, to the spin and ply, to the gorgeous colors. I have been circling those huge skeins of ...

WWW: Sometimes baa is baa….

Who taught you how to knit?  When I read stories such as those from this knitter or this crocheter, I imagine their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren reading and cherishing same.  I was lucky enough to catch a snippet in my family history about a great aunt using her spinning wheel to ignite a stove fire — the equivalent of a party trick for rural living in the 19th century!  I imagine someone sharing the story in a stitching group or writing about it for a book.   Stories such as these are as important to the history of fiber arts as the craft itself, and the stories are meant to be preserved and ...

Obsession Thursday: the iconic NYC black+white cookie

My sister looked at me like I was nuts for being excited to find a black+white cookie at Max’s Deli in Highland Park, Il. “It’s just a sugar cookie,” she said. “Why are you so excited?” I used to think the same thing. A big cookie, iced half in black and half in white. What is all the fuss about? People, it is not what you think. The black+white cookie is not just a New York City specialty, it’s magical. First of all, when authentically made, that cookie is not a sugar cookie. Ha! It’s a beautifully firm-yet-soft lemony sponge. It’s more like cake than cookie, but ...

Test is on NOW! (ETA: 7:40pm — test is over)

TEST TIME! Everyone + their budgie, please click the link below. The follow links around for a while within the site: http://beta.knitty.com Pretend it’s new-issue day! Update at 7:07 pm: Please follow me here: http://twitter.com/knittydotcom — I’m posting updates as we have them. This is all good…the fact that it choked is just information. Our SysAdmin is going to tweak things so it won’t do that, but it may be a bit of a process to get there. Your help is appreciated! Update at 7:40 pm: TEST IS NOW OVER! THANK YOU! We learned a lot from the problems you all experienced, and so ...

WWW: Venus de Milo’s arms; Interweave book sale; knitting to help orphaned baby birds

Love this: using 3D printing to test a theory that the Venus de Milo’s missing arms were busy hand-spinning. This coming weekend, an epic book sale is being held at the old Interweave office, in Loveland, Colorado. Interweave outgrew the space – a beautiful old renovated bank, and were sad to move out. They’d been at that location for many years, and a huge collection of books amassed by the founders had been stored there. Now the building is up for sale, and the library is being sold off. The backstory on the extensive collection is here. In addition, there will be bargains available on old ...

WWW: Fundraiser Dishcloth, Building Cozy; Crocheting with Paint?

Lorilee Beltman is doing a good thing. She’s selling a knit dishcloth pattern for $2, with all proceeds going to support the Special Olympics. Her late brother Mark was a participant, and she does this in his memory. Lorilee says that Mark’s enthusiasm would sometimes get the better of him: he would disqualify himself swimming by standing in the middle of the pool to wave to everyone. Buy it here. Ok, we’ve all seen mug cozies and tea cozies and tree cozies… how about a building cozy? Well, ok, it’s only a scarf. But it’s still 700ft long. Fantastically cool: Artist Angela Teng ...
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