How much is that pattern in the (browser) window?
Knitting Twitter is the best Twitter, full of witty people sharing both banter and thoughtful conversation. Hunter Hammersen's tweet last week caught my eye, and the linked article, which you can find here did not disappoint. Beatrice Perron Dahlen analyzes the steps that culminate in a published knitting pattern, and gently explains why that work is worthy of being paid work. Brilliant hat designer Wooly Wormhead has written about this in the past, and just updated that post here.
What knit and crochet designers do requires them to have specialized skills: the ability to conceptualize a design, to work it out in three-dimensions, to communicate a series of physical motions entirely with words and pictures, often to make it accessible in a variety of sizes, to illustrate it, to market it, and to support the user. Sometimes parts of the process are hired out, but designers are doing the bulk of these tasks themselves, as small business owners. It's really quite amazing.
...to learn
CURRENT CLASSES & EVENTS
Magic Loop: Maize Mitts (3 enrollments remaining)
May 16, 23, 30, 5-7pm | $30 + materials | Ann Miner
The Maize Mitts from Tin Can Knits are sized for toddlers to large adults, and are a perfect vehicle for learning the magic loop technique for knitting small circumference tubes on one long circular needle. You should be comfortable with casting on, knitting, purling, and casting off.
Worldwide Knit in Public Day
June 9, 1-4pm | all welcome
Weather permitting, we'll gather on the sidewalk in front of Yarn Folk for an afternoon of knitting, crochet, and, invariably, questions from passersby!
Crochet Market Bag (or Hat!)
June 16, 10am-2pm | $40 + materials | Sandy Buzzelli
Learn to crochet in the round as you make a hat or a market bag (or both!). We'll learn how to do the magic ring, how to increase and how to read basic crochet patterns.
Prerequisite: you should know how to chain and half double crochet.
Choose Your Own Sweater
June 6, 13, 20, 27 5-7pm | $40 + materials | Ann Miner
You'll choose your own baby, child, or adult sweater pattern, and work at your own pace in a supported environment. A portion of each class meeting will feature a demonstration and discussion of a basic technique commonly used in sweater patterns.
...to anticipate
Unboxing
Every 4-6 weeks or so, there are a couple of big boxes from Plymouth to unpack. Encore is one of the best acrylic and wool blends out there--great for afghans, children's garments, and easy-care items of all kinds. With such a big range of colors (there are 116; I usually have around 70 in stock), there's something for anyone. So many other great workhorse yarns, too--the DK Select Merino Superwash, Galway Sport, Homestead and Homestead Tweed, Baby Alpaca Grande. And Plymouth is a company committed to the local yarn shop and our customers. Love them!
...to inspire
Knitted Anatomy
The DNA Scarf pictured here falls under the rubric of microscopic anatomy, but what happens when a knitting medical student sets to illustrating gross anatomy for instructional purposes? Daniel Lam is profiled in this article at Atlas Obscura, but his own blog is even more delightful, as his post on his intra-abdominal viscera also features knitted kittens, and more than a few puns. Enjoy!
...to stitch
Thurmont
Thurmont combines texture and lace in pleasing rhythm. The linen, silk, and hemp blend of Daisy has a firmer twist than we often see with linen yarns--I experienced very little splitting.
Making a shawl or wrap isn't necessarily the first thing I think of when considering a plant fiber yarn, but really, there are plenty of times when the weather changes in a flash and you find yourself needing just a little warmth. The drape of this fabric is elegant, and the high silk content gives it high luster.
Purlbreak
Stripes! Purlbreak is the garter stitch version of Stephen West's Daybreak. (So, by Purlbreak, we mean a break from purling. Mostly.)
Purlbreak is also larger than even the largest size of Daybreak. I'm using a mostly-solid skein of Wollmeise, combined with two related skeins of the Malabrigo Mechita speckles. The yarns are very different--the Wollmeise is pretty firmly plied, uniform, and smooth, while the Mechita is a single ply and fuzzier. It works, though--somehow.
