Dear Ann, Last Sunday I spent a glorious day at French General’s indigo dyeing workshop in a 19th century building at the South Street Seaport. (19th-Century turns out to mean “very badly lit,” but intrepid dyers were not deterred.) All I can say is, here are some photos of heaven in a 5-gallon bucket.   The background music: vinyl.  There is no digital in indigo. Our leader, Kaari Meng, a tower of indigo power, at the...

    Dear Ann, In celebration of Fashion Revolution, make yourself something cute, of course–that is a priority. But also please run over to Gael Towey’s brand-new website, and watch her short film telling the story of Natalie Chanin and the Alabama Chanin clothing line. Three members of our sewing circle are involved, along with assorted sons-in-law-to-be and husbands (the call of the sewing circle is irresistible). Leaving...

Dear Ann, Wow. Wow. Wow. Your India Instagrams of sissy’s wedding are thrilling. The vibrancy of color and texture make my white Leaves of Grass shawl feel pasty by comparison. But hey, I’m a pasty person. All my people are pasty. Pasty is as pasty does. My point, and I do have one: everybody go follow @annshayne on Instagram. The hashtags #sagarmeadorwedding and #Bangalorewedding are also excellent. Here, I find myself at round 25...

Dear Ann, How is India? How was your flight(s)? Did you get a lot of knitting done? Have you bought any bangles yet? Don’t wait for the good bangles. They’re all good bangles. With bangles, more is more. While you’re blasting us with colorful Instagrams (you are @annshayne on Instagram, for those who want to be able to watch your little videos over there), I’m still here, knitting 1500 yards of laceweight merino/silk...

Dear Ann, The results are in. In the last 48 hours, I’ve looked at a large, rich assortment of  beautiful shawls to knit for my young friend’s wedding. (Note: not necessarily to be worn at the wedding, but in honor of the occasion.)  It was an awesome group curation project.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to dig a link for me.  You are the wind beneath my wings, and the chains on my spinning tires. The shawl I will be...

Dear Ann: Good morning! First, an FO. At least my part of this O is F’d. Niece Kristin has been steadily knitting away on dishrags and Honey Cowls, and wanted to make her first sweater. After some Ravelry browsing, she chose Sambuca. Sambuca is the perfect sweater for someone with a perfect waistline. I also love the placement of the colorwork in the body instead of the yoke.   As an extension of my cast-on service for new knitters,...

Dear Ann, Earlier this week, I was digging through my denim stash in search of pom pom fixings (as you do), and I came across this artifact. It’s a Baby Surprise Jacket made of denim pom pom fixings. I do not recall when I made it, but I believe it was during the 2006-2008 period when we were renovating and life was a cycle of packing, unpacking and dust protection efforts. I remember pondering how to seam this little sweater. Because I...

Dear Ann, Yesterday I posted an instagram of my current LIP (lopapeysa in progress), as you do. Susan S piped up to request my tips on lopapeysa construction. Specifically, she wanted to know how the sleeves and body get joined up into a unified garment so that the colorwork yoke can be knitted on in the round. Someone else joined in, testifying that she had been deterred from knitting a lopapeysa when she saw some pithy pattern instructions on...

Dear Ann, Recently I got a little package in the mail from dear Annie Modesitt. Being an inventive knitwear architect and globe-trotting teacher, Annie is pretty much always up to something, but even so, this was news: Annie is in the yarn business. This was in the package: a luscious hank of ModeSock, a fingering weight wool blend that includes bamboo.  Like all of the ModeKnit yarns, ModeSock is hand-dyed. The collection will grow as Annie...

Dear Ann, Last night was a dark night of the knitting soul. As I was doing the final (500+-stitch) rounds of Quadrature, I had to consult the pattern again to read the bit about some increases required only in the final rows of the B cables. (The B cables are the ones on the sides; the A cables are the ones on the corners. They are the same. OR SO I THOUGHT.) This was when I discovered, with a kind of handheld-camera, horror-flick terror, that I...