#knitchat topic for July 27, 2013: An Interview With Kate Atherley

I am thrilled to announce that we have a change in topic for this coming week`s #knitchat. Instead of discussing our favorite yarns and fibers,  which will be moved to a later date,  we will be having an interview with knitting pattern tech editor Kate Atherley.  As soon as I put the word out, she stepped right up to the plate,  and volunteered for next week.

Kate is Knitty.com’s Managing Technical Editor, and a seasoned designer and teacher in her own right. Her first book "Beyond Knit & Purl" was praised as the 21st century "Knitting for Anarchists", and her second book “Knit Accessories: Essentials and Variations” was published in late 2012 to great acclaim. Her "Basic Ribbed Sock" is in the top 10 most popular socks in Ravelry, and her "Bigger on the Inside" shawl caused a minor sensation when it was released in the spring of 2012. She taught five sold-out classes at Sock Summit 2011, and she regularly teaches at stores and events across North America, including Vogue Knitting Live and Interweave KnitLab. Her work has appeared in many books and magazines.

Everyone come prepared next week with your questions for Kate. I, for one, want to know just what a tech editor does, what it takes to be one, and find out what she looks for in a good knitting pattern.  Maybe she can even give us some tips on getting started writing our own patterns.

Topic for July 20, 2013: Favorite Knitting Techniques

Knitting techniques,  there are as many of them out there as there are knitters. Everyone has a favorite technique for binding off and casting on, for doing color work, for heels and toes on socks... the list is endless.

What are your favorite knitting techniques?
Are there certain ones that you return to time and again?
Are there some techniques that you don't understand but would try if you had the right teaching resources?
What technique do you absolutely hate, and would rather not knit than use it?

Don't forget, coming up in August, we have our Fetching Mitts KAL. Check the sidebar for a link to our Flickr group to share your projects.

Help, I've Lost My Knitting Mojo!

It's happened to all of us at some point. You just can't settle into your project,  any project,  or, even worse, everything you knit is riddled with mistakes,  and frogging becomes your nrw best friend.

How do you break the spell? Where has that knitting magic hidden itself? Join us this Saturday,  July 13, with your best tips,  projects,  and magic formulas to get that mojo back, and we'll help pull each other out of the knitting rut.

July 6, 2013 An Interview with the Fabulous Heather Ordover

This week, we have the great pleasure of having Heather Ordover of CraftLit and What Would Madame deFarge Knit fame. Stolen straight from the CraftLit website,  here are a few words about Heather:

Heather Ordover is host of CraftLit and Just the Bookspodcasts, editor of the What Would Madame Defarge Knit?® book series, knitter, mother, writer, and educator.

Her teaching experience focuses on writing and rhetoric at secondary and university levels—her educational program design and curriculum writing at secondary and university levels focused on ELA and project management.

Her adventures have taken her from winning awards for teaching at a NYC high school (as well as at the University of Arizona), to teaching knitting, to writing patterns and knitting books. She lives with her amused husband, two goofy sons, a cat, a few fish, and far too many devoted mosquitoes.

You can run over to CraftLit and stick a book in your ear by going here CraftLit

Do you have any questions for Heather that you would like to see in the interview? Put them in the comments section.