Knit Local, by Tanis Gray, is a wonderful new book celebrating the United States yarn industry. As many of you may know, the Fibre Company started as an alpaca processing and spinning mill and the original yarn lines were all spun and dyed in the United States. For a bunch of various reasons, much of the production of our yarns has been moved elsewhere, but Savannah is still spun and dyed here in the US – close by to us in PA, in fact! For more information on Savannah and the history of yarn mills in Philadelphia, you can check out the post when we re-introduced it in June of 2010 here.
We are delighted to be one of the companies featured in the book, and Kate’s design, the Scandinavian hat {rav link} is even on the cover! Kate worked up this design when going through a pretty hard core obsession with all things Setesdal, and incorporates everything she loves in a great hat – deep ribbing, a slightly longer fit, a graphic color work motif and stripes.
One of our favorite parts of the book is the detailed description of each yarn company, its philosophy and history. Many also include photographs of the ranches, mills and animals on the farms. Because our company is a little different in its set-up, for our photo we organized a “faux farm” in the city with our dogs we had adopted or were fostering from the shelter at the time. The photo, is, admittedly, a little crazy, but it is funny to look at it now and think about what it was like to manage that menagerie on our arranged “bring your doggie to work” day!
Knit Local pretty much has it all – great photos, beautiful graphic design and a wide variety of patterns to suit every level and style of knitter. The additional information throughout the chapters makes it a great resource for yarn buffs and locavores interested in finding more ways to support small business in their community. We’re confident it is going to be a timeless collection that belongs on everyone’s bookshelf!
Pattern Specs:
• Finished Measurements: Head circumference 21”/53.5cm, Depth 9 3/4”/24.5cm
• Yarn: Savannah in Natural (MC) + Chambray (CC), 1 skein each.
• Needles: Sizes 2 and 4 (2.75 and 3.5mm) circular needles, 16”/40cm long or size to obtain gauge. One set (5) size 4 (3.5mm) double-pointed needles (dpn).
• Gauge: 25 sts and 28 rnds to 4”/10cm over St st and chart pats using larger circular needle.