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This Is Not Your Grandma's Knitting. This Is Your Great-Grandma's Knitting,...
My friend Jane is in town from London, acting (in part) as chief cheerleader for her fetching sweetheart–he being one of the 40,000 or so who ran in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday.The sweetheart...
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As I Was Saying
Seventeen weeks in a row on the road, kids. Seventeen weeks.It all went well, I am pleased to report. But I confess to being a smidge tired. I started in Florida (with a private engagement in Key...
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As I Was Still Saying
I was going to blog again yesterday, yeah; but I had to do stuff. Christmas-type stuff, with the ribbons and the glitter glue and the peace on Earth and the what–another party, and the hey–what did you...
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Christmas Package
Around the time that Melissa Leapman's "Nautical Knitting" cruise was announced, I said that I (as Melissa's guest teacher) would use the trip as an excuse to knit up a pattern that had intrigued me...
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YO, Mama
There is no other way to start than with a word of thanks. Your reaction to the bathing drawers was everything I could have wished. Quite aside from the compliments, for which I am grateful, I was so...
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Miniature Entry: New York
The desk clerk on the second floor at The Strand looked exactly like a Fred Armisen character from Portlandia and I was going to snicker and then I realized that I was wearing a bow tie and a 1930s...
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New Tat
This month I was out in Tacoma, Washington for one of the grooviest fiber gatherings you'll ever encounter–the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat. I was enjoying a rare morning off when I found a bunch...
View ArticleMiniature Entry: On Pattern Writing
When you design knitting patterns for multiple clients, part of the deal is sending in your finished patterns using each client's house style. This can become confusing when three patterns for three...
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Miniature Entry: Intern
I decided that before one of this week's finished pieces goes to its forever home, it needs a little extra love. Pride in your finishing isn't everything, but it's almost everything.I brought it with...
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Miniature Entry: Other String
I'm in Madison, Wisconsin. This weekend was the local (enormous) guild's annual Knit-In, and they asked me to come up and do a bunch of fun stuff. On Friday I gave a talk. It was all very prim, as is...
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Loretta
You may not know that the chief residents of our little household are all on Twitter. I am @franklinhabit. Dolores is @doloresvanh. Harry is @yarnpoetharry.That was how I found out about our newest...
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Miniature Entry: Life at Sea
At present I am aboard the Cunard liner Queen Victoria, sailing from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale via the Panama Canal.If you've been reading for a long time you know I love Cunard ships, past and...
View ArticleMiniature Entry: On the Loss of a Great Writer
I wish I had something poetic to say about the wonderful Gabriel García Márquez, who has just died; but I don't.Instead, I can tell you that in my freshman expository writing/fiction writing class at...
View ArticleMiniature Entry: Advice That Made a Difference
My favorite quote by the late Maya Angelou isn't from one of her poems, and in fact there's not even a trace of it (that I can find) online.It came from an answer to a college student's question about...
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Miniature Entry: Cheat Sheet from the Past
A dear friend recently gave me a magnificent present that deserves (and will get) its own entry. But tucked inside this gift was a piece of paper, the survival of which amazes me.It's a sheet of the...
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That's What Friends Are For
I was in Seattle, enjoying a weekend of lectures and classes at Makers' Mercantile, when a long-time reader came forward with a magnificent gift.She remembered that I am (in a very small way) a print...
View ArticleStrongly Disagree
I taught at Vogue Knitting LIVE! Chicago once again this year, and it's always kind of a kick to do a gig in my own town. No jet lag, no airport security lines, and I already know where to get lunch.I...
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All About That Lace
I am nothing if not easily distracted. What's below is the kind of thing that creeps into my notebooks when I am supposed to be doing serious work.If Meghan Trainor's bouncy ode to the curvaceous...
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Magic
I've been taking a multi-week course in bookbinding.This will surprise absolutely nobody who knows me well and has therefore heard me pine wistfully for a press and a bindery to call my own.I'm...
View ArticleMe, Elsewhere: Twist Collective
The newest issue of Twist Collective was published yesterday. My contribution is a paean to Elizabeth Zimmermann's knitting videos, plus a drinking game.In our time, what greater tribute can a devoted...
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Pins and Needles, Needles and Pins
Remember Ethel?You may or may not, it's been a while since I wrote about her.She came into my life via a tray of miscellaneous junk at a flea market, lacking everything from the waist down. But I took...
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Me, Elsewhere: Lion Brand Blog and Knitty, Winter 2014
I don't know if I've mentioned here before that I produce a monthly illustrated essay for none other than Lion Brand Yarns. Have I mentioned that? Well, now I've mentioned that.The December edition is...
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The Exciting Adventure of the German Lace Manuscript
How long ago was I in Iceland? Good grief, 2011.While I was there, exciting things happened–including this. (Go take a look, please. I'll wait.)On how many trips do you find a manuscript lace chart in...
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