Inspiration
The Year in Review: Our Top 25 Posts
Dear everybody,
As we look ahead to a new year of hijinks, we pause to honor the folks who have made this year a never-ending source of surprise, smarts, and sass on MDK.
Hats off to our MDK writers, who are easily the most good-looking, well-put-together, high-functioning joymakers anywhere. They are the knowingest knitters, the cleverest wordsmiths, and the heart and soul of this place.
We publish something new every single day of the year, and we’ve had an unbroken streak since October 2015. If you’re just joining us, or if you’re the type that likes a list, we aim to please. Here’s a cornucopia of the MDK posts that garnered the most eyeballs this year.
25. Teaching My Beloved to Knit by Ann Hood. The most difficult students may be the ones you love the most.
24. Letter from Paris: Off Season by Franklin Habit. Our Man in Paris tidies up and sews on.
23. Gansey: The Fisherman’s Sweater by Jeni Hankins. What the stylish herring fisher wore in the 19th century.
22. Skill Builder: Seaming (Part 1) by Kate Atherley. You’ve finished the pieces of your first garment! Congrats! Now what?
21. Making It: Accept No Copycats by Samantha Brunson. Not every aspect of owning a small business is cashmere and roses.
20. On Heads, and Keeping Them Warm by Kate Atherley. Whip out a quick gift that fits.
19. Knit to This: Jackson Browne, Steve Martin, and Alison Brown Walk into a Bar by Ann Shayne. For your consideration: “Dear Time,” the new song that ought to win a Grammy.
18. She Got Me Again by Kay Gardiner. You can keep your viral knits. I’ll have what Judy’s having.
17. Women Who Smuggled Secrets by Ashleigh-ellan Kavanagh. When your knitting influences the course of human events.
16. Ask Patty: Knitting in Your Tail by Patty Lyons. Trap those pesky ends with this one trick!
15. The Prettiest Thing I’ve Ever Made: Floating Squares by Ann Shayne. A new shawl has utterly bewitched me. Nothing else matters!
14. Hands-Free Knitting with Belts and Sheaths by Jeni Hankins. Back in the day, knitting on the move was a necessity. Inventive tools made it easier.
13. The Path to Knitting Isn’t Always Straight by Sonya Philip. Rediscovering an old love when the time was right.
12. We Just Get It by Dana Williams-Johnson. Life is short; use the good stuff.
11. Making It: As Many Rows as Needed by Samantha Brunson. A never-ending project in all of the best ways.
10. The Latest Old Thing by Kay Gardiner. Leaping into log cabin knitting like the arms of an old friend.
9. Ask Patty: Let the Tool Do the Work. Tips for consistent tension.
8. Twenty Years a Knitter by Jeania Ree V. Moore. Not the how-to but the how becomes clear after two decades.
7. Hold Me Closer, Tiny Blanket by Clara Parkes. A little knitting snack, just to fortify the fingers and the spirit.
6. Knit to This: Unforgotten: Season 6 by Kay Gardiner. There’s a gaggle of suspects. It’s a great gaggle.
5. Is It Time for a Handknit Reckoning? by Ann Shayne. The pack rat is considering a cleanout of two decades of sweaters.
4. Knitting the Wheel of the Year by Cindy Dawson. Embrace a new-old way to organize your creative year.
3. Yarn on a Cone: A Word of Caution by Jillian Moreno. Not all forms of the same yarn are created equal.
2. Croc Cozy by Paul Haesemeyer. How to make this ubiquitous footwear stand out in a crowd.
1. Techniques in Depth: How to Pick Up Stitches by Kate Atherley. There’s always a feeling that you’re doing it wrong, that it could be better somehow.
Needless to say, there’s more where this came from—340 more from this year, to be exact, and you can read them all right here!
Love,
Ann and Kay
PS Come shop our end-of-year sale. Up to 85% savings on yarns, bags, books, notions—treat yourself, find a gift, have fun with this.
Interesting that the illustration from Max Daniel’s Commonplace Book column is used for this compilation, but it was not included. I just posted a comment for it this morning (see comments attached to that article). Her column literally saved my holiday gift giving.
I have enjoyed every column, some have been bookmarked either for reference or inspiration. I used to receive Saturday Snippets, but not the daily articles – what a difference having this gift on a daily basis! MDK, Clara Parkes’ Daily Respite, a cup of coffee and I am ready to face the day.
Thank you, Ann and Kay for curating the offerings from this diverse group of “troubadours”!
While today’s snippet is a compilation, it still took time and effort to put together. And, while it is not meant to be a plea for MDK Society subscriptions, I will make my own plug. Over the course of a year you pay 27 cents for each snippet which is WAY less than a newspaper subscription and, in my case, better journalism. That does not include the 10% discount on most all things MDK.
I am already looking forward to Nash Yarn Fest 2. Maybe this year I will get up the nerve to introduce myself!
Happy New Year to all!
You selected some good ones for sure!!! My favorite was the #23!!!
I am really wanting to do these fish and carry on the tradition of this style of knitting even in a small form. If there is any way you can follow up on this one when patterns are available I’m sure I’m not the only one it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for such great reading!
No, Deborah, you’re not the only one! I need some fish in my life, too.
Of the hundred or so emails I receive every day, yours is the one I look for and read unfailingly. The posts have enhanced my knitting, found great movies, shows and books for me, and made me laugh. I thank you and all your contributors!
You do indeed have quite a distinguished roster of contributors. How did I not know that Ballband Dishcloth No. 103 has its own Insta page? Do I need to return to “the socials” for this? Thanks for all you do!
You two, and the whole MDK team — right down to EVERYONE — should feel such a sense of accomplishment (as you should have for so many years running, but just LOOK at this list). In a world where so much is spinning in a way that scares, I thank/salute/encourage/appreciate you and every writer, contributor, and decision.
What a fun list to review! Most I read when they were published, but it was fun to reread some of them. Thank you for the list and for the wonderful content you bring us every day.
Kay, did you decide to use Jane for your Boro sweater? I
Thanks again to all the folks at MDK, and Happy New Year!
Jane is one of the yarns in my Bag for Boro, for sure. I’m a little scared to start it! So many yarns in the mix.
What a thrill to see my article on the Wheel of the Year listed among so many of my knitting heroes. A million thank-yous to the MDK team for creating this amazing space!