The Year in Farms, Fiber & Knitting

It’s been a whole year of Farm & Fiber Knits! In addition to our premier magazine issue, we’ve released nearly 50 patterns and more than 150 web posts. We have so much more in the works, like our first original video series, original designs, and some up-close looks at special farms. We wanted to pause for just a moment, though, and take a look back at some of your favorites.

The Woolgrower’s Hat & Cowl is a great way to use a skein of farm yarn—no surprise, since designer Sarah Pope raises a flock of sheep herself. Photo by Gale Zucker

Favorite New Pattern: Woolgrower’s Hat & Cowl

We were thrilled to meet shepherd and knitwear designer Sarah Pope and even more excited when she delivered her first design for us. Celebrating the yarn from some of her favorite farms as well as her own San Juan Woolworks, the pattern uses a simple combination of knits, purls, and twisted stitches in a versatile geometric arrangement. (To learn more about knitting with crossbred wool, check out her article “A Knitter’s Guide to Crossbred Wool”, one of the year’s most popular articles.)

Favorite Knitterly Advice: Lace Knitting

Assistant editor Katrina King is an accomplished lace knitter and designer. She also loves teaching knitters new skills, so it makes sense that her post “3 Lace-Knitting Tips” was the most popular of the year. It includes sound advice for beginning and advanced knitters and a simple trick for keeping track of your work. It’s a classic for a reason.

Favorite Podcast Episode: Hannah Thiessen Howard, Slow Knitting

The author of several books on sustainable, values-based knitting, Hannah talked on the Long Thread Podcast about falling into knitting, how she looks at materials, and falling in love with her stash. Another standout knitting episode was Jane Cooper’s interview about her rare Boreray sheep, known as the “lost flock,” and the “poo party” she’ll never forget.

Favorite Cautionary Tale: A Knitter Abroad

If there’s anything better than knitting at home, it’s finding a knitting or textile stop on vacation—even with missed turns and mishaps. Anne Merrow’s travel confession “Yarn Trips, Fiber Detours, and Wooly Wandering” was one of the year’s most-clicked, and “Textile Travel: Tips and Tricks” included advice for a better-planned yarn trip.

We interviewed Elizabeth Nihoniho in September 2023 about her Māori influences. The Hōtoke shawl is named for the Māori word for winter. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Nihoniho

Favorite Hidden Gems: Aotearoa, New Zealand

Very early on, we published “A Knitter in the Land of 25 Million Sheep,” an article by bestselling author Rachael Herron, author of A Life in Stitches, about her decision to move her family to New Zealand and the ways that knitting in the famously wooly nation wasn’t what she expected. We also interviewed New Zealand designer Elizabeth Nihoniho about her Māori-inspired designs. Her Hōtoke Shawl is included with a Farm & Fiber Knits subscription through September 20, 2024.