Letters From The Editors

The scoop from the editors

One year on

It's been a year since I pressed the button to launch our Patreon campaign. In those 365+ days, things have changed in the most beautiful way.

As the trend was showing, advertising continued to plummet. We love our advertisers and are thrilled to feature those who are still with us! In fact, we're welcoming some new advertisers this issue! Hi, guys!

By the end of September, though, Knitty readers had stepped up and pledged enough support to keep us going another issue. And by the time the Winter issue went live, we were Patron-funded to a level that compensated for our lost advertising and got us back to a level where we could actually start planning for the future.

A fact: without Knitty's Patrons, we would have had to close the magazine early this year. Instead, thanks to Patron support, we were able to:
• pay our staff and contributors a much better wage
• rework the design of the magazine to be mobile-device friendly, starting with the First Fall 2016 issue
• begin the planning to get the back issues converted to a more mobile-friendly design
• continue the tradition of attending the annual fiber industry trade show (TNNA) to learn about what’s new in our world, make connections with yarn companies and designers, and arrange patterns for the 2016-17 publishing year

2015 Patron rewards are with the fulfillment house now. A sheltered workshop for intellectually disabled adults is assembling the envelopes with the correct rewards, labelling and getting them ready for me to take to the post office.

I'll soon be announcing the new rewards for the 2016-17 Patron program. Some will stay the same, like the really cool stickers we do. Some will change. We're constantly trying to make this program better and smarter. Stay tuned! And if you're not already a Patron, please consider joining us. We won't survive without ongoing support, and lots of little donations make such a huge difference to us!

---

After the record-breaking heat of the summer of 2016, we are thrilled to feel a tiny chill in the air. To celebrate, we've got a great selection of sweaters and lush knitwear for you to cast on. Which will you want to start first?

Check out the columns this issue: Lorilee helps us get the hang of long floats in stranded colorwork, and Liz Gipson has designed a really cool woven pockety cowl.

Keep in touch with us!

Twitter | Ravelry | Patreon 2-way news feed (for Patrons only)

Amy Singer
[editor, Knitty]

Bring on the shovel!

I’ve had it with my stash. It is everywhere and I really have no idea what I have. To make things more complex, I have my personal spinning stash and my teaching fiber stash mixed together.

This summer I am not doing Tour de Fleece, I am doing Tour de Dumpster. No, I won’t be throwing fiber away, unless I find mildew or moths, but I am determined to get a handle on my stash. My fiber stash, not yarn or books yet. I am not insane.

I even have a plan of sorts. I will do stash work in the afternoon when it is hot. The majority of my stash is in the basement where it is very cool. I will start sorting with dessert, all of the fibers I enjoy spinning. That pile will be fiber I have plans for, dyers and colorways that I love especially. Next, I’ll make a keep for teaching pile, then personal piles of maybe, fix me or get rid of me. It won’t be a quick process, but I will be happy when I’m done.

My treat after that will be to make something smallish from fiber to knitting maybe a shawl or maybe the Wristicuffs mitts by Charlotte Marjoribanks that are in this issue.

What are your summer fiber plans? Tell us on our Facebook page!

If you have an idea for a project or article for knittyspin write me. Knittyspin submission guidelines are here.

If you have fiber, spindles, books, or other spinny products or tools that you'd like us to review, you'll find information how how to get your products in to the hands of our reviewers here. I love to talk about it all.

Jillian Moreno
[editor, Knittyspin]