Great Mail Day

Yesterday I got home from work and was ecstatic to see two of my favorite things in the mail: the latest issues of Wild Fibers and Interweave Knits.

I've been an IK subscriber for several years now. The Spring 2009 issue focuses on lightweight projects, lacy sweaters and shells and garments suitable for the warmer months ahead. The one I'm most likely to knit is Diminishing Rib Cardigan, a 3/4 sleeve cardi with shaping and just a little stitch detail created by three different rib patterns in a merino/silk blend (p. 36, 74 if you've got your issue handy). I'm still deep in my Must Have Cardigan project, though, and there are other sweaters on my to-knit list.

I couldn't help but notice a nice big half-page ad for Sock Summit 2009. I am seriously considering going to this. It's in Portland, OR, August 6-9, 2009. My friend Ed has a place in Portland, and I already "reserved" it. Steven, are you in? Let's do it! C'mon, for my 40th birthday...?

There is a delectable full-page ad for Cookie A's new book, Sock Innovation: Knitting Techniques & Patterns. It sounds like it encourages modifications, which is definitely where I am in my sock knitting life. I almost never knit the pattern as presented anymore (more about my current sock mods later).

I've been interested in Wild Fibers for a few years now and have picked up random issues at my LYS, but for Christmas, I got a subscription. Since I started learning more about spinning, the magazine speaks to me even more. If you're not familiar with this great resource, it's been described as "the National Geographic of the fiber world." Check out the website and listen to a wonderful interview with magazine editor Linda Cortright on the Y Knit podcast. The photographs are stunning and the articles are about fiber animals and products around the world. The front cover of this issue shows a picture of 4 huge sheep lying in a net - they are being rescued by helicopter after wandering lost for years in the mountains of New Zealand. (Domesticated sheep will eventually die if they are not shorn, so this rescue truly is a rescue, not a capture.) Fascinating. There is another article about weaving in Morocco that includes a picture of a tree filled with goats. Yes, the goats are IN the tree. I know!

One thing I learned from Linda Cortright and her magazine is that 2009 is the United Nations International Year of Natural Fibres. Linda spoke at the U.N. about fiber and is very involved in this event. Check out Keep the Fleece to learn more. Note that there is an exciting culminating event at the NY Sheep & Wool Festival (aka Rhinebeck) on 10/16/09. Kristina and I are planning to go to Rhinebeck this year for the first time. We're saying it's to celebrate my 40th birthday, which falls a few days after the festival, but we've been talking about going for years.

My younger child has been tugging on my sleeve as I type this, asking when I am going to spin more yarn in the living room. I'd better go do that right away!