A Happy New Year Starts Now

Dear everybody,

This year, we’ve felt like we’re really onto something. As we’ve hosted workshops, talks, and other virtual events this year, it feels really great to be connecting knitters to the best teachers and designers in the worlds of knitting and making. Good experiences, shared with others, make us better knitters and happier humans.

One fun thing about MDK’s virtual workshops is that we offer them to you à la carte; you get to pick and choose, guided by your own interests and curiosity.

A good café needs regulars, and regulars are a big part of why a good café is good! That’s how we feel about the people who join us for multiple workshops. We see you, and we appreciate you.

If you aspire to having a regular booth in a cozy corner of Café MDK, we urge you to become a member of the MDK Society. Members get 10 percent off all our virtual workshops. That discount adds up quickly!

So what’s on that à la carte menu in December and January?

Here are two life-elevating experiences for your consideration. If you’re signed up already for either or both of these, we thank you from the battered pages of our bullet journals to the twinkly tips of our beaded scarves, and we’ll see you in class!

Journaling with Felix

This is Felix Ford.

And this is a spread from Felix Ford’s journal.

In the words of the technically fictional Miranda Priestly: everybody wants this. A liberating, fun approach to journaling that you get to make work for you.

On Friday, December 12—that’s tomorrow!—we’re hosting our last virtual workshop of 2025: Journaling for the New Year with Felix Ford. In this brand-new edition of her popular journaling course, Felix will lead us through uplifting and non-perfectionist ways to create a soulful visual touchstone for the turning of the year. Included: a download of Felix’s adorable printable sticker-stamps, to help make your journal truly your own.

If you’re new to Felix, you’re in for a gentle lift of humor and self-kindness. If you already know Felix, this workshop will add new tools and Felix-fresh inspiration to your journaling practice. For more details and to sign up, click here.

Beading with Natalie—Time-Sensitive!

Speaking of things everybody wants, what about beading? On January 23, 2026, we’re hosting a virtual hand sewing workshop with the one and only Natalie Chanin. In our previous workshops with Natalie, students have expressed a strong (clear) (loud) desire to learn beading.

We get it! Natalie’s distinctive way with beads—modern, whimsical, and opulent—is a hallmark of the most stunning pieces in the Alabama Chanin design archive.

The Project

In class, we’ll be making the Sonia Scarf, a bead-embellished design that Natalie created especially for MDK, using The School of Making’s newest stencil, inspired by 20th-century artist Sonia Delaunay.

Natalie designed the Sonia Scarf as a way of learning several styles of beading in a manageable first project, and also to learn backstitch reverse appliqué, an embroidery technique that is a foundation of Natalie’s clothing designs.

Enroll By December 19

Although the workshop is six weeks away,  December 19 is the last day to order to assure that your kit will arrive in time for the live workshop on January 23.

Artisans at the School of Making will continue to make up kits by hand, with orders made after December 19 shipping out as fast as we can but possibly arriving after January 23.

And oh boy, what a kit it is.

Each Sonia Scarf is cut, stenciled, and painted by hand. The full kit is shown above. For an itemized description, click here.

Of course, both of us are making the Sonia Scarf to learn these techniques. But we’re also making the scarf because we love the scarf. It’s a piece of couture to wear every day and to guard well from stylish young relatives on the prowl for the coolest stuff.

For more details about the workshop and to sign up, click here.

Thanks for letting us tell you about these special workshops. We hope to see you in class with us!

Love,

Ann and Kay