Mandy Moore's Blog, page 27

2016: Well, that was something, eh?

Challenging in ways many of us didn’t expect, 2016 has been a hell of a year. We’re starting to lose our cultural heroes, often unexpectedly, and we’re a bit raw with the changing political climate in the US, and crazy people with weapons worldwide. Yeah, 2016 has sucked.

But it’s also been joyous, surprising and a wonderful year for knitting and knitters.

Here are some things that happened:

Knitty didn’t close in Spring 2016. We would have had to without the financial support of our Patrons . We launched this new funding model in September 2015, and by March of 2016, Knitty Patrons had stepped up and were carrying 2/3 of the cost of producing the magazine. We are grateful on a daily basis for their support. Thanks to them and our fiercely loyal Advertisers , we…




Rewrote our website code, making our pages responsive , so that they’re much easier to view on mobile devices of all sizes. This was a big project and we completed it on time so that the First Fall 2016 issue launched when it was supposed to, and the cool auto-resizable pages worked from the get go.
Published four great issues , full of patterns like these:

Laurel, by Amy Christoffers, from the DF16

 

Anyadell by Senja Jarva from the DF16 issue

 

Pincha by Pinpilan Wangsai from the FF16 issue

 

Gocce by Paola Albergamo from the SS16 issue

 

Ennui by Justyna Lorkowska from our FF16 issue

And my favorite meta-meta crazypants pattern of the year:

Toilet Paper Toilet Paper Cozy by Christine Olea from the W16 issue

On the personal side:

O Canada!

I became a Canadian (after living in Canada since I was 8), and took a train across the country to celebrate! I welcomed a new rabbit, Tully, into my family, got rid of my misbehaving uterus, and had both my Carpal Tunnelly hands surgically fixed. I stepped back from teaching and concentrated on healing and taking care of myself. Rather lovely.

 

Jillian and Gwen Steege from Storey Publishing, celebrating Yarnitecture!

Jillian continued her crazy busy and successful year of travelling and teaching at legendary venues, while (at the same time, mind you) finishing her brilliant book about spinning the yarns you want to knit: Yarnitecture. And continued to raise her kids, along with her hubby, with love and compassion. She’s on the road in 2017, too…will you be lucky enough to be able to catch a class with her?

 

Kate and her groundbreaking book!

Kate was on the move too! She taught all over the US and Canada, and popped over to her homeland, hitting Bath, Manchester and Oxford in the UK in spring, as well as taping several new online classes. She’s added video columnist to her resume, as Knitty’s newest columnist on the subject of techniques. She wrote the book all knitwear designers need to read. And just for fun, she and her darling husband and nutso dog Dexter moved house, too. She’s already got a busy schedule lined up for 2017. Go Kate, go!

 

So that’s a lot of good stuff that happened in 2016. I’m glad to be able to celebrate it with you, and I’m honored to work with such great people as Jillian, Kate, Chris (Sysadmin gift from above), Ashley and Rachel (our gloriously wonderful Tech Editors). Thank you for being here, too.

Here’s to a happier, more joyous 2017!

Looking forward to 2017: Kate and Jillian on the road

Kate’s Teaching Schedule for the first part of 2017

January 25-27 – InTown Quilters, Decatur, Georgia

Introduction to Design, Continental Knitting, Best Methods/Expert Tips, Yarn Shopping Bootcamp, Soxpertise, Altering Patterns

Feb 26 & 27th – Sheep Shop, Cambridge UK

Introduction to Gloves, Two Socks at Once: The War & Peace Method, Introduction to Design

March 1 – Knit With Attitude, Stoke Newington, UK

Class TBA

March 4 & 5 – Purlescence, Leckhampstead, UK

Intro to Brioche, Advanced Brioche; -You do the maths” – a study in numbers and knitting patterns

March 9 – 12 – Edinburgh Yarn Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland

Classes sold, out, sorry, but I will be doing a book signing or two at the Purlescence booth.

March 17-19 – Madison Knitter’s Guild Knit-In, Madison, WI

March 30 – April 3 – Interweave Yarn Fest, Loveland, CO

Pi Shawl, Two Socks at Once: Side by Side, Fiber Care & Blocking, Math for Knitters, 2 Socks at Once: War & Peace, Pattern Writing, Custom Fit Socks

April 7-9 – Make Wear Love Spring Retreat, Pacific Grove, CA

Fearless Finishing, Pattern Reading, Working with Handpainted Yarns

 

Spinning with Jillian means color!

Jillian’s Teaching Schedule for Most of 2017

January 20-22 – Loop! Philadelphia, PA

Book Signing, Yarnitecture, Twist and Ply and 12 Ways to Spin Variegated Yarns

February 16-February 19 – Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat- Tacoma , WA

Yarnitecture #2: The Journey Continues: Sampling and Spinning for a Specific Project – Exclusive to Madrona for 2017

Twist and Ply #2: Texture and Color- new for 2017

All the Singles Ladies: Spin and Knit Sensational Singles – new for 2017

March 30 – April 3 – Interweave Yarn Fest, Loveland, CO

Yarnitecture, Twist and Ply 2: Texture and Color – new for 2017, Fractal Frolic, Cheaper by the Dozen: 12 Ways to Spin Variegated Top

April 26-29 – PLY Away 2 – Kansas City, MO

Yarnitecture – 2 days!

Kaleidoscope Yarns: Color and Singles – new for 2017

Sheep Sampler: Spin & Nosh – new for 2017

July 19-23 – Super Summer Knitogether – Nashville, TN

Classes to be announced

September 29-October 1 – WEBS Spinning Summit

Classes to be announced

Yarnitecture Giveaway!

Win me!

 

What? You did’t get my book for a holiday gift?

Let’s fix that!

I am giving away a copy of my book Yarnitecture and 4 ounces of Into the Whirled Falkland in the colorway Vegetable Medley. So you can spin along with the book.

Our usual rules apply: Leave a comment on this post between now and midnight eastern time, Friday, December 30th. One comment will be chosen at random to answer a skill testing question. If the commenter answers correctly they will win the book and fiber. If you have already won a prize from us this year, please do give other knitters a chance. Giveaway value $49.00

Obsession Thursday: Getting back to cooking

This is an Instant Pot.

You’ve probably seen these things everywhere on social media. I sure had. It’s an Instant Pot, aka an electronic pressure cooker. Everyone I know has one (or one like it) or wants one. There was (unsurprisingly) a sale on Black Friday where it was about half the regular price. So I jumped.

Why do you want one of these? Here’s why I did:

Unlike a slow cooker, it keeps smells in the pot, not all over your house/apartment
You can cook delicious dishes from frozen ingredients in just a short time…some as fast as 3 minutes, once the machine reaches pressure (remember, it’s a pressure cooker)
It also does the functions of a rice cooker, slow cooker and even a saute pan

It was number 2 that did it for me. I keep forgetting to cook actual FOOD until it’s too close to dinner to do anything but defrost something I’ve precooked (I do batches of stuff from time to time, but not always) or order pizza. That is not healthy. And doesn’t feel very adult.

It arrived yesterday. Like others before me, I’m a bit intimidated by this large pot with a fancy lid and lots of buttons. I read the manual. I joined this Facebook group (it’s VERY helpful and encouraging). I started saving appealing recipes to my Pocket (I prefer Pocket to Pinterest, but that’s just me. There are TONS of recipes on Pinterest). And tonight, after I do my first water test, I’m going to cook some frozen chicken thighs into something delicious. I’ve been told that, once I get the hang of it, I’ll want to use it for almost every meal. You can even make cheesecake in this thing.

Do you have one of these? Share your tips and favorite recipes with me in the comments, will you?

*The link above takes you to Amazon, where Knitty will get a small fee if you purchase one of these things. Keep an eye out for sales…they pop up all the time.

WWW: Bristol’s Colours, Village-sized Yarn-bomb, Use Your Noodle

The winner of our Obliqua kit giveaway is Candi from Pennsylvania. We wish you happy knitting!

Ooh! Very exciting! The Yarn Collective has just announced a new line of yarns: Pembroke Worsted, in colourways designed by Knitty designer Bristol Ivy.  There are ten colors, described in Bristol’s own words:

“My whole collection is based on the rich, pure tones of gems and minerals. I’ve always loved these colors and their depth, complexity, and saturation. I think since they’re all based on naturally occurring colors, they all speak well to each other and come together into a coherent palette. I’m so excited to explore them further: the icy grey-greens, the deep copper oranges, the vivid coral-y carnelians, the soft neutral greys and sepias — all of them.”

Photo credit: Mayo Martin, from the Channel News Asia website.

I am willing to excuse the terrible pun – “noodlework” – in this story. Indonesian artist Cynthia Delaney Suwito has had a rather wonderful piece included in a show organized by the Visual Arts Development Association of Singapore… a fabric knitted from cooked instant noodles. It’s a statement about speed of life and gratification: knitting with cooked noodles is even slower than knitting with yarn, and highlights the contrast between the instant-readiness of the noodles with the slow and careful nature of handwork. She works on the fabric as part of the exhibition, treating with care and thoughtfulness a product that normally is prepared and consumed thoughtlessly, in moments.

Epic yarn-bombing: an entire village, Llwyngwril, in beautiful Wales. Click through for some fantastic images.

Weaving with Handspun Singles – Energy Edition

Liz’s cool scarf. I want one!

Usually when I spin singles to weave or knit I reduce the amount of twist so I can finish the yarn to bias very little. There are weavers and knitters who do the opposite, they use regular and even high twist in their singles and make that electric energy part of their knitting or weaving. I have done some knitting with energized singles after taking classes with Kathryn Alexander, but have never played with energy and weaving.

Liz Gipson’s latest Get Warped column is all about weaving with handspun singles and using that twist energy to make something very cool. I’ve read about controlling twist with sizing before, but it never much tickled my fancy. Liz  makes everything seem easy and fun, so I’m all in.

Liz’s process involves spinning a singles yarn with regular or higher twist. When I say ‘regular twist’ I mean the twist I would need to make a balanced 2-ply yarn. She then coats the twisty yarn with sizing and dries it under tension. She weaves with it after it’s dry and controlled, then washes out the sizing and beautiful sproingy magic happens when the twist comes back. You can see the texture and collapse in the scarf.

Waiting to be spun and set.

 

I’ve chosen these fibers to spin. Cjkoho Designs (there’s an update coming Friday) Polwarth in the Tanya (variegated) colorway for the warp and Corriedale in the Jodi (golden) colorway.

I’ll be documenting it all here over the next few weeks.

I’d appreciate any and all tips from spinning weavers who have done this before!

 

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Introducing our newest columnist!

It’s kind of funny to be introducing Kate Atherley, because if you read this blog, you know her quite well already. Kate is our Lead Tech Editor, as well as being a very experienced teacher with a massive portfolio of classes. She may not know it all, but she knows a whole lot, has written four books (and counting), and she’s been a valued part of the Knitty team for so long, it’s hard to imagine Knitty without her.

We had a vacancy in our Techniques column, and I asked Kate if she’d be willing to take this on. Because we live in the same town, I’m able to be her Producer* (ooh! My Radio + TV degree finally becomes useful!), which frees her up to concentrate on content. And as Kate’s already created 12 online classes, she knows how to do this stuff really well.

Kate’s first video column went live in the most recent issue, Winter 2016. She decided she wanted to see what was in the issue, find a common thread (in this case, it’s a bulky one), and provide solid knitting knowledge and handy tips that could be used right away. Take a look and let us know what you think!

Going forward, Kate will continue to scan each issue and choose a theme (how Ira Glass of her!), then share her knowledge with you in detailed, helpful video tutorials. Her column is called Wiseknit™, a tip of the hat to her original online persona, Wisehilda. And, we think, an apt description of what she’ll be sharing with our readers!

*Our first video was a bit of a learning experience for me. Expect improved production values (better audio, for example) in future columns.

Early Winter Issue WIPs: The Frantic Gift Knitting Edition

It’s always fun to check in on an issue’s patterns, particularly so soon after launch. It tells me which patterns are catching on – and indeed, at this time of year, which ones are gifting-appropriate.

Love this Werewolf of Westport Hat, by EmmaE.

This photo shows off the construction brilliantly!

And ChaoticK’s is equally amazing, in a totally different way! This would be ideal for the dreariest days of winter!

Fantastically and ridiculously vibrant, in the best possible way.

PelicanGoddess’s Snowberry scarf is a winner. A statement in coziness!

Perfect.

HilaryO’s Obliqua cowl is coming along very nicely.

Beautiful colour choice: reminds me of roses.

And Zsazsazsu is making excellent progress on her Duvet mittens.

Are you doing any gift knitting this year?

WWW: Knitted chairs, baby rhinos in blankets and the TCM Knitting Club

IKEA launches a knitted chair. It’s hard to tell precisely what the fabric looks like from the photos, but I’m rather amused by the thought that I could have a knitted chair for knitting in.

And this week’s adorable-baby-animal-wrapped-in-handknits is a Rhino!

Although this horse is pretty fetching in his new blanket, too.

As the skies darken and the weather turns grim in the northern hemisphere, I find I’m rather excited about the announcement of Pantone’s colour of the year for 2017: Greenery!

Loved hearing some knitters on this BBC Radio program. It’s a series called The Chain, on the long-running Woman’s Hour program. Women are interviewed, talking about themselves, their work and their inspirations, and nominate the next woman to be interview, specifically a woman who has inspired their success.  Both Kate Davies and Felicity Ford appear, and talk about their yarny careers and work.

Love this: the TCM Knitting Club. I’ve enjoyed following The Nitrate Diva on Twitter for some time. She’s a lover of vintage movies, with an eye for an excellent photo, and a sharp wit. I was excited this week to learn of her new newsletter, highlighting classic movie-themed knits, knitting related anecdotes, and generally yarny fun. What’s not to love?

I rather enjoyed this, part of a meme that’s making its way around social media at the moment.

Me at the start of 2016 vs. me at the end of 2016. #TheRevolutionWillBeKnitted pic.twitter.com/qK0eIDAg5h

— The Nitrate Diva (@NitrateDiva) December 11, 2016

Who Should I Spin In 2017?

Three Waters Farm Finn, I can’t wait until it gets here!

I want some fresh color in my life, so I am on the hunt for new or new to me dyers to spin in 2017.  I certainly won’t be abandoning my go-to dyers, Into the Whirled, Cjkoho Designs, Sheepspot, Spunky Eclectic or Hello Yarn, they are always coming up with new tempting colors and fibers.

There is a world of color out there and some days I feel like I’m just scratching the surface. There are also dyers that I haven’t spun for years, that somehow have fallen off my radar, Like A Verb for Keeping Warm and Three Waters Farm (I might have just bought a braid of fiber from Three Waters Farm this morning, that one, to the left).

So far on my list Port Fiber, Hill Top Cloud, Fat Cat Knits  and Porpoise Fur.

So tell me you wonderful spinners, who are your favorite dyers to spin? Who should I check out in 2017? Who are you planning to spin?

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