October 2010

Books

Brooklyn Tweed Shelter

Letting a designer create his or her own yarn from scratch is like giving a child the keys to a candy store. It's easy to lose focus and get overwhelmed by all the choices. It takes maturity and willpower to go slowly, be patient, and

October 7, 2010

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Quince & Co. Yarn Preview

Pam Allen has worn many hats in the knitting world. She was a knitwear designer, she wrote Knitting for Dummies, she edited Interweave Knits magazine, and she was the creative director for Classic Elite Yarns. Then, in January of this year, she appeared to have vanished from the knitting

July 8, 2010

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Filatura di Crosa Nirvana and Superior

Superior has long been one of my favorite yarns. It's an airy confection of cashmere fibers that are held together by a luminous silk core and then brushed to produce a soft, ethereal yarn with a gossamer halo. That same heavenly lightness keeps Superior from having its

May 24, 2010

Catskill Merino

Just 60 miles north of New York is a 100-acre farm populated with some extraordinary sheep. These animals are all direct descendants of five prize-winning Saxon Merino studs that Eugene Wyatt flew to the U.S. from Australia in 1990, just four years after Australia lifted

May 20, 2010

How Much Yarn is in that Skein? Kitchen Scale to the Rescue!

What on earth could a kitchen scale have to do with knitting? A lot more than you may think. Take a look at your stash. See all those leftovers from projects past? Assorted oddballs and mini-skeins of this and that? What if you wanted to use

April 29, 2010

How-Tos, Tools

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Sweet Grass Wool

In October 2014, Sweet Grass Wool was purchased by Kristine Vejar of A Verb for Keeping Warm. This review has been kept up here because it was one of my favorite breed-specific wools ever, and because Patti deserves to be remembered. Patti's legacy is in

April 9, 2010

Fiber Preview: Quackmere

China has brought us many exciting fiber innovations over the last decade, from bamboo to crab shells, jade, milk, and soy. Today, thanks to an enterprising ex-reindeer-herder in the Evenk Autonomous Banner of Inner Mongolia, we have an extraordinary new fiber on the horizon. The Evenk

April 1, 2010

Potpourri

The Haapsalu Shawl: A Knitted Lace Tradition from Estonia by Siiri Reimann and Aime Edasi

After 40-plus years of Soviet occupation, the people of Estonia are still trying to sort out who they are. To restore the cultural, religious, and historic traditions that had been so nearly erased is an ongoing challenge. For those in Haapsalu, a small seaside resort town

March 4, 2010

Books

1 Comment

The Very Easy Guide to Cable Knitting by Lynne Patterson

If you want to feel smart, sit yourself down and swatch a few cables. They look far harder than they actually are, and you'll quickly become so engrossed in your work that you'll have a hard time putting it down. Cables are just that way. The

January 8, 2010

Books