‘When he saw I knew what I was talking about as a knitter, it helped me to create a bond.‘ Irene Waggener is an anthropologist, textile conservator and a knitter. She’s talking to me over Zoom from her home in Yerevan about her book, Keepers of the Sheep, an account of her time learning from the knitters in the High… Read more →
Perhaps when it’s a light weight top which isn’t about keeping you warm? Or when it’s got short sleeves? When it looks nice on its own, not worn over something else? When you want to wear it on a hot day! Now I know what you’re thinking – ‘Here she goes again – banging on about knitting for the summer,… Read more →
Lots of new faces and new knitters in the shop this week, also old knitters trying new things. It’s a good reminder that however familiar a technique becomes, it always starts life as a new way of doing things. And as the beginning is often the most exciting bit, it’s a total joy getting to join you for that bit… Read more →
Isn’t it supposed to be on Saturday? Whoa, slow down! We haven’t said what we’re talking about yet. You can’t just jump into the date issue without explaining what the event is. It’s just that I’m so excited – it only comes around once a year and I want to make sure I’m there on time. Ok, let’s take a… Read more →
By all accounts Sisyphus was a pretty crafty guy and not in a nice way: He plotted to kill his brother, seduced his niece and then twice managed to scheme his way out of dying and exiting through the underworld as he was supposed to. Not surprisingly this didn’t go down well with the gods which is how he got… Read more →
Cost of living, cozzie-livs, feeling the pinch, straightened times.. Whatever you want to call it, there’s a lot of us feeling it right now. It can be stressful, sometimes awkward, and all the things which we know knitting should be able to relieve – but if you’re priced out of the knitting, that doesn’t work so well. There are no… Read more →
‘It’s a just a hat – why do I need 2 different sorts of needles?’ ‘Finally reached the sleeve decreases and now even my 40cm circular is too long. What’s the best way to get to the cuff?’ ‘I want to make my first pair of socks – is it better to use DPNs or a long circular with the… Read more →
Summer, the meterolgical calendar tells us, is not far away. But given how the spring has (not) turned out in this corner of east London, we’ve decided it pays to plan for all eventualities, and not just the hot-hot-hot one. We’ve been investigating tops of the sort that are cool enough for when it’s too warm for wool and not… Read more →
‘This pattern should be impossibly frustrating,’ I wrote of a pattern I was knitting back in early 2020, ‘and yet it’s the most delightfully compulsive knitting… the littleness of the stitches and Odile’s diminutive form are just so inexplicably pleasing.’ The pattern was Bunny Odile, and making it marked the beginning of one of the most enchanting and kooky knitting… Read more →
In the English speaking knitting world, travelling to the Shetland islands, 130 miles north of the Scottish mainland, has become something of a Haj-like pilgrimage. Those who are lucky enough to make the journey, return with stories of mill trip adventures and fairisle masterclasses, photos of beautiful sheepy hillsides and coastline sunsets, and suitcases bursting with heathered shetland wool inspired… Read more →
