The scoop from the editors

Never has fall been so welcome

For me, anyway. My lovely partner is thrilled when it's hot, though even he hit his limit this summer when we realized how hot our new bedroom gets at night. But we've made it through the worst of it, and the first blissful cool days have finally arrived in southern Ontario. I made it through the hottest weather with fans and mostly functioning air conditioning, and lightweight projects on my lap.

Now that fall is here, my new little friend, my Electric Eel Nano tiny budget spinning wheel has arrived, and once this issue goes live, I'll have time to get to know it better. In my first quick experiments, it seems to really like spinning tussah silk – my favorite fiber. And I have a sweater's worth of this yummy stuff in the acid yellow color from my friends at Berroco, just waiting to be knit into the perfect soft, cushy overlayer for when the freezing temperatures arrive. We know they will. It's a tube of nylon filled with fluffy cotton. Such a great non-wool-yet-warm-and-cozy yarn for wool-allergic me!

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Some news: effective September 1, the KnittyBlog has been retired. The full story of why we've made the change, and where that great content will reside in the future is over here. A reminder that Knitty continues to be free and will always be free, thanks to the support of our Patrons.

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This issue (on the cover even), one of our patterns has a big ole swear word in its name. We won't apologize for that: we'd like cancer to go fuck itself and go the fuck away forever. We've all known someone who has either had cancer or been touched by it in their family or friend circles. Politeness is wasted on such a horrible disease. Plus the pattern is super creative and, if you're going to wear profanity on your head, it might as well be executed beautifully.

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Although it officially launches in the Winter issue, this issue is the first to feature an expanded size range in sweater patterns. Where possible, sweaters will go from XS to 5X. Some cabled (or highly complex) designs may not feature the full range, but we're trying to make sure that as many as possible do.

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Our Kate is back, and this time, she's sharing all her best cable tips with us. And we have a neat tutorial on how to color-design a Magic Knot Ball, and then a cowl that you can make with it!

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We want to send a special thank you to our Patrons who continue to support us and keep us alive and thriving! We absolutely would not be here without their support. Every dollar they contribute helps, and we'd love you to join them. We offer really neat rewards, too, starting at the $5/issue level!

We are also grateful for the Advertisers who choose to place their messages on our pages. If you can, please support them when you need to make a purchase. We all take care of each other, right? A reminder: ads now start as low as $60 per issue! To learn more about advertising with Knitty, pop over to our Rate Card.

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Keep in touch with us!

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Amy Singer
[editor, Knitty]

Spinning to Clear My Mind

This year has been a little rocky for me. I have illness in my family, politics are getting to me, and I’ve come to the realization that hanging out on social media isn’t great for me.

I started spinning, like a lot of people, to relax and make yarn. I’ve been lucky enough to turn my passion of making and using yarn into my career. But with that shift comes deadlines, and with deadlines come stress. I never lost my passion for spinning – there are so many questions to answer and samples to make – but the relaxing element disappeared.

I made a conscious decision a few months ago to quietly take spinning back, to find a way back to the soothing side of spinning.

For me it was harder than I thought it would be. My mind clicks on to experimental mode as soon as I sit at a wheel. I had to approach spinning in a different way. Not the kind of spinning where I challenge myself to anything, answering questions, the question for yardage, honing skills, or deadline spinning.

I started to slide tiny bits of this type of spinning into my day. Some days it’s five minutes, some days it stretches to thirty.

I spin with nothing in mind, quite literally. I spin to clear my mind letting the motion of drafting wash out the crud that’s racing around.

I let my hands choose the fiber, usually it’s something not finicky from the nest next to my chair. Some days I hunt for shine or color deep in my stash before I spin. I use wheels or spindles that I don’t use a lot of deadlines, and sink into an intuitive style of spinning.

This type of spinning has helped me a lot. I feel less distressed and it reminds me that spinning is not a race.

Do you use spinning to step away from your worries or find a little mental quiet?

In this issue of Knitty, my Knittyspin column is about how the size of yarn changes how your eyes perceive colors.

I hope you find lots of time this fall for peaceful spinning!

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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.

Happy Spinning!

Jillian Moreno
[editor, Knittyspin]