Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Sometimes the universe seems to say, "Ok, this is the moment for X." For me this summer, the universe is all about cables. Last weekend I bought a copy of Something New to Learn About Cables by Arnall-Culliford Knitwear. I am guessing Jen and Jim are a married couple in Frome, Somerset, the United Kingdom? After reading this book, I am already interested in their other books Something New to Learn About Lace and A Year of Techniques . And I would eagerly sign up for a class if I saw them on the schedule at a major knitting show. I will happily plop them into the knitting pantheon, right next to TECHknitter. Why do I like this book so much? First off, I like the small format. The book is 6¼ by 8¼ inches. While 8½ by 11 or 8 by 10 is a common size, it may or may not fit easily in a knitting bag. I like a smallish book that can be tucked into my bag. And there is a sticker inside with a download code for Ravelry, so I can have a digital copy on my iPad or print just ...

One of my weaknesses as a designer is that I tend to be too complicated. I get wrapped up in new techniques or projects that highlight extreme craftsmanship and forget that a lot of people just want to sit and knit and relax. Back in April, I had just taught my "Easy Reversible Cables" class at Unwind. I was still traveling when I read the e-mail announcing a second call for proposals for the autumn issue of Cast On magazine. I was surprised that more people weren't already familiar with the reversible cables technique, especially since Lily Chin has been teaching it for more than a decade. So I proposed a rather simple scarf. The autumn issue of Cast On went live last week. You can read it on and download it from the TKGA website , if you are a member and log in. "Legerdemain" is a good basic scarf. As with so many of my designs, I have thought about the details. Italian cast-on and a tubular bind-off gives the scarf a clean couture beginning a...