In-Depth Review of Knitting Yarn

Knitter's Review
January 12, 2016

The yarn that got away—the one we pass up, that's gone when we try to find it again. The more time passes, the more impossibly perfect that skein becomes.

For me, it was a remarkable skein of textured cashmere I stumbled upon at the Knit East marketplace in San Andrews, New Brunswick. I was teaching, and my schedule barely gave me more than five minutes to sprint through the market—just enough time to discover this skein in the Hand Maiden booth. I'd never seen anything like it, and I had to have it.

I chose my skein and waited, but no staff appeared. I waited, and waited, checking my watch, until, crestfallen, I had to set the skein down and run to class. When I confessed my cashmere heartbreak, my students explained that I was supposed to buy that yarn in another booth. That's why nobody came to take my money.

Class ended, people lingered, asking questions and telling stories. I was interviewed for a podcast—all while watching the clock, hoping that some miracle would keep the market open. Finally, ten minutes after it closed, I ran back and begged my way inside. After much pleading, they pulled the skein out of its box and let me buy it—and that's the yarn I want to tell you about. It's called Helix.

HEIFER TALLY
Our year-end Heifer International fundraiser has gone gangbusters. I had set a pie-in-the-sky goal of $20,000 for this year's team total, and the Knitter's Review community—my lovely readers—took that ball and ran with it to the $30,000 mark. ($30,030, to be exact.) When I try to envision the lasting impact this contribution will have on individuals, families, and entire communities, I get goosebumps. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

In the next few days I'll be gathering together all the donors in a spreadsheet, assigning each of you a number, and picking 12 of you at random to receive a special gift. Ten of you will get mystery skeins from Clara Yarn, and two of you will soon be wearing beautiful handmade alpaca scarves, a gift from Heifer.

KNITTING ON STILTS?
The New York Public Library made news earlier this month when it released 187,000 images into the public domain. When I searched on the term "knitting," I discovered the story of the Tchankats. In the late 1800s, these shepherds in Landes, France, spent their days on stilts—allegedly to avoid dangerous snakes and to keep a closer eye on their flocks. By leaning against a third pole while standing on their stilts, they could sit comfortably for hours. And what did they do to pass the time? Among other things, they knit!

COMING UP
Vogue Knitting LIVE! is right around the corner. It takes place January 15-17 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. They have classes galore, plus the marketplace. But if I had to give you one reason to go this year, it would be to catch June Hemmons Hiatt and Hazel Tindall's talk about Shetland knitting on Friday the 15th. Snag a ticket before they're gone.

CHANGES?
Now that the Forums have passed to the great archive in the sky, we will be moving Knitter's Review onto a new server in the coming weeks. I've revamped our newsletter template to accommodate the new ad-free format, and I tidied up the Knitter's Review homepage, if you'd like to take a look. I also pulled all my event reviews and travel stories into a new section fittingly called Travels. Please let me know what you think.

As always, I thank you for your readership. I'll write again soon!

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On the Cover

My hard-won skein of Helix

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