WWW: Amazon Handmade, Clever Sweater Hanging Trick, Spinrite Sale; Learn to Knit Socks with Kate

Beth Casey, the owner of Lorna’s Laces.

Love this piece from the KnittingDaily blog and Lorna’s Laces. It’s a great history of Lorna’s Laces yarn company, and gives some insight into the fun and challenges of running a yarn company, and making the shift from knitting-as-hobby to knitting-as-work.

Louise Walker’s “Snappy”

How wool got cool: Nice round-up on the Guardian of knitting-(and-crochet)-as-art.

We’ll be watching this with interest: Amazon has launched a new marketplace called “Handmade“, for artisans to sell their work. It’s clearly designed to compete directly with Etsy.

This. Is. Brilliant. A way to safely hang your sweaters. The headline of the article feels awfully clickbaity – The Sweater Hanger Trick That Just Might Blow Your Mind – but it turns out they are entirely correct.

You might not know the name, but chances are they’re an important part of your life: the Spinrite company, based in Listowel, Ontario, has been sold. From the press release:

“Established in 1952, Spinrite is well known to the hobby market for its Patons, Bernat, Lily, Peaches & Creme, Caron and Phentex brands, which are sold through mass merchants, craft stores, and independent specialty stores. Spinrite markets approximately 4,000 SKUs across more than 100 product families, possesses the most diversified craft yarn manufacturing operation in North America, and is recognized as a market leader in new product development.”

Spinrite is important to me, as they are the makers of my beloved Kroy sock yarn. The press release makes clear that the intention is to keep the company functioning as it is, where it is, and to expand its content offerings. Phew!

Speaking of socks… want to learn how to knit socks, with our very own Kate? A month-long online class starts today. Work at your own pace, with lots of help and support through class materials, demos, discussion groups, etc. You can start over the weekend or even next week and still get the full class experience.

And still speaking of socks, fiber artist and spinner @purestrobin points me to this video she made for a school’s ‘Pioneer Days’, “From Flock to Sock” – it’s a cute summary of the how-sheep-become-yarn-becomes-sock story, very kid-friendly. Adorable sheep, shearing, cute socks – what’s not to love?