1. The New My Secret Wish Knitting Newsletter
2. Quintessential Knits in Duvall, WA, USA
3. Tales from the UFO Pile
4. Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson
5. Tip of the month: Sewn Rib Bind Off
6. Project Inspiration: Happy Feet

Happy 2020! A new year is often time to reassess, refocus, and redirect, which is exactly what I've been doing.

This year, I'm taking this newsletter in an entirely new direction, one designed to respark my joy, to borrow an overused trending phrase. Due to feeling constantly overwhelmed, I have decided to take a year off of publishing new patterns, and have declared this my "Year of Playing With Words and Yarn." The result is the newsletter in your inbox today.

My new focus for the newsletter is a bit like a knitting eZine crossed with a journal of my adventures as I play this year. There will be features about designers and yarn stores, reviews of patterns and yarns, and lots of beautiful project inspiration for you.

This is where I get to play, but I mean to use it to continue to serve and inspire you. Every issue will probably look slightly different as I throw needles at the wall and see what sticks.

How can you help?

Tell me what you think. If you like a particular feature, hit reply and let me know. If you would rather see a different content focus, let me know. If you know a designer or yarn shop that deserves some recognition, let me know. (Are you seeing a theme?)

I hope to publish every two months, but if you LOVE it, I may try to get up to monthly. I mean, don't we all want to see more beautiful yarn inspiration in our inboxes?

I look forward to continuing to inspire you this year. Now, let's go play. :-)

Duvall, WA, USA

A riot of colour, knitwear eye candy, and touchable texture reigns in this small town Local Yarn Store.

Tucked into the small town of Duvall in western Washington, this charming store is stocked top to bottom with delicious knits by brands such as MadelineTosh, Malabrigo, Earl Grey Fiber Co., Noro, and more.

The space is dotted with gorgeous sample projects showcasing sumptuous yarns, including original knit designs by store owner Judith Quinton and crochet designs by employee and class instructor Kim Birum—"not your grandmother's crochet," according to employee Meredith Westerside. (Indeed, this lovely Slouchy Chapeaux fooled both my mother and me into thinking it was knit at first glance.)

They have classes for knitting, weaving, Tunisian crochet, and even spinning classes—the kind where you make yarn, not sweat. :-)

In the seven years since they opened, they have established themselves as a community gathering spot. The shop is a regular destination on the mid-May Puget Sound Local Yarn Shop Tour, sometimes attracting as many as 800 people in the five days of the tour, according to Westerside.

If you're in the neighbourhood, stop by for a cup of tea and a chat with the friendly staff over your latest project in their comfy hearth-side sitting area—the perfect retreat when you just need some fibre therapy.

Like the sign on their wall (and their muggy merch) says, "Move over reality. This is a job for yarn."

Learn more on their website.

Tales from the UFO Pile

This year, I intend to tackle my accumulating stash and Unfinished Object (UFO) pile. It is extensive. (I'm sure you have no idea what that's like.)

I don't intend to limit myself to any sort of plan or structure, I'll just knit what I want. This section is where I'll share my recent adventures.

While some of these patterns may eventually become published patterns, in the spirit of Play, I'm going to leave that up to Future Me to decide.

This month, I've been hitting up my sock yarn bins. I'm on my second pair of Just Plain Socks in a month, both knit with Knit Picks' Stroll Tweed. Just Plain Socks is a great, basic pattern for utility knitting for the men in my life, and one of the few things they actually want me to make for them.

Next, I plan to tackle something girlier in my new sock yarns from Quintessential Knits using patterns from Socks from the Toe Up. (See below.) I look forward to seeing how these lovelies knit up!

Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson

Lovely photography and a variety of options in a clean, minimalist design as fresh as new snow.

When reading a knitting book, the experience of reading it should be as pleasurable as the projects one makes from it. This is definitely the case with this helpful, clear volume. Lovely photo styling and plenty of close-up views of each design from every angle complements the beautiful, varied design options perfectly.

The author assumes no sock-making knowledge going in. She explains the tools you'll need (right down to the scissors), and clear illustrations in Part 1 demonstrate the techniques you will need to make the patterns in the book. The designs cover a range from basic, no-frills socks to textures good for either gender to lacy dreams you'll be yearning to wear. With 23 designs of varying difficulty, this sock-knitting book will keep you busy for months—or, if you knit like me, years. :-)

My one disappointment was that, for the only pattern I've made from the book so far (Gusset Heel Basic Socks), there were several errors in the size I made. (I made the large. The small looked fine to me when I was doing the math.) However, I still plan to make at least two more patterns from this book this year.

Keep your toesies warm and cozy. Some ideas to inspire you:

Get this quote card as a downloadable desktop wallpaper at https://www.talenawinters.com/desktop-wallpapers.

I hope you enjoyed this refreshed design of the My Secret Wish Knitting Newsletter. I'd love to hear your feedback! Was something here helpful to you? Do you just like the pretty pictures? Do you have an idea for a future issue?

Hit reply and let me know!

Until next time,

Making magic with words and yarn.

P.S. I have recently converted to a new email provider service, MailerLite. While I'm excited about the options this will give me to serve you better, I'm still in the middle of a steep learning curve. If you got this email and all you really want is my Books and Inspiration newsletter, please adjust your preferences through the link in the footer.

Also, if you were one of the group whom I asked to define your preferences and got loaded into the welcome sequence again, I'm sorry. OOPS! I'm still figuring out how to deal with the new Sorting Gnomes. Still, the sequence is pretty much all new, so hopefully you find some great content in there you haven't seen before. :-)