Posts by Adrianne Laconi

Waiting for my first of 29 flights to film this Season. Have you ever heard of the Pike Experiment? Since today is the last day for Earlybird enrollment in the 2026 Knit Stars Season, I’ve been thinking a lot about why some people may not have yet signed up… After all, I believe so wholeheartedly…

Note to readers: When Adella Colvin’s email landed in my inbox this past week, announcing she’ll be a Star in Knit Stars 2026: Your Season of Genius, it struck a powerful chord with me. So I’m sharing her email here, in its entirety. I hope you find it as meaningful as I did. xoxo – Shelley…

Oh my goodness y’all…you flooded my inbox with happy birthday wishes and so much kindness! Thank you thank you thank you! I’m truly so filled with gratitude for you and this beautiful Yarnie community we’ve made together. 🥹🥹🥹 And do you know what else I’m filled with? CAKE! I had not 1, not 2, but…

Dear Reader, guess what? It’s my birthday! 🥳 A couple weeks ago a friend said something that’s been rattling around in my brain ever since. “There are only two people you ever need to make proud of you,” she said. It’s not your parents. It’s not your kids. It’s not even your partner or spouse.…

One of our upcoming Stars will teach this architectural origami knitting technique. We’re getting so close to the big day…March 29th! That’s when the new Stars for this year’s premiere, Knit Stars: Your Season of Genius will announce they’re going to be the first Stars of our second decade. 💥 All last year, as we celebrated our…

I’m writing you from the deck of my new little house, where allllllmost all of the boxes are now unpacked! 🎉🎉🎉 These are the only ones left, and I’ll give you one guess what they contain… 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 You guessed it! YARN! Next weekend, I plan to unbox my stash and organize it, using the method…

Did you hear? I started a new Substack! I publish Shelley’s Sunday Yarns for free there every week, usually a day or two early, and there’s bonus content for paid subscribers, too. Check it out here. This embroidered hat was a gift from Season 9 Star Carolyn Bloom, based on her “My Next Hat Canvas” pattern.…

Did you hear? I started a new Substack! I publish Shelley’s Sunday Yarns for free there every week, usually a day or two early, and there’s bonus content for paid subscribers, too. Check it out here.   You may have heard that this past week began a new lunar year. It’s the rare year of the…

This week in “yoga church” as I refer to my friend Shannon’s classes, she shared a parable I’d never heard before. Maybe it will be new to you, too. A mother listened to her daughter as she described how hard her life had become. It seemed like one problem after another. She was tired of…

Brrrr it was freezing here this week! So I’m gifting this stash-busting “Me Me Me Cowl” from our archives to paid subscribers on my new Substack. If you’re viewing this free newsletter in your inbox and you’re curious what we’ve been up to over on Substack, click here. These past couple of weeks I’ve been…

Hi friend! 👋 First, a quick reminder: This Sunday newsletter has always and will always be free. If you’re reading it in your inbox, thank you. If you’re reading it on our new Substack, thank you. If you’d like to join the conversation on Substack and access additional writings as a paid supporter, thank you…

A couple weeks ago, my friend and yoga teacher, Shannon, shared a quote that hit me so hard, I had to marinate with it a couple weeks before I could bring it here, to you. “Break often. Not like porcelain, But like the waves.” -Scherezade Siobhan If you’ve ever dropped a piece of your grandmother’s…

“Into the Hoods Scarf” by Laura Nelkin. I don’t know about you, but lately my feed has been full of so much overly-enthusiastic “new year, new you!!!” messaging. For some reason, the algorithm has started serving me up a bunch of ads for neck creams  and facelifts.😳 And while I’m all for “you do you”…

Last week’s newsletter about the innovative “slow lane” in a Dutch grocery store, where people are encouraged to chat and connect, really struck a nerve. Apparently, many of you are also craving a slower, more intentional year of creating. Instead of seeing how many projects you can “knock out,” you’re looking to make fewer things…

Welcome to your first Shelley’s Sunday Yarns of 2026. Some of you have been reading this newsletter for the past 20 years. How amazing is that? And while so many of those years have flown by in an absolute blur of projects and filming and family and growth… This year I’d like to start out…

This is my actual face right before I got on a call with my original knitting idol… And then I asked her to be in Knit Stars: Your Season of Genius for 2026. 😱 I cannot express what a terrifying and yet full-circle moment this was for me. When I first learned to knit at…

I’m writing to you on Monday morning, the day after a series of unimaginably terrible events in Australia, Syria, and here in the U.S., at Brown University and in Los Angeles. My heart hurts so much for all of the victims, and for our world. And when my heart is hurting…when as Wadsworth wrote, “the…

Photo credit: A. H. Shepard Saturday in yoga class, my teacher Shannon shared a ssweet story I’d like to pass on to you, because I think it could be super helpful for us to hear as makers at this time of year. I’ve searched and searched for the original story and can’t find it, so…

I keep seeing a similar sentiment popping up everywhere lately. It goes something like this: “Wow, 2025 has been crazy.” “I’m just exhausted.” “I’m so ready to put this year behind me.” If you’re feeling this way, I see you. My year has had its ups and downs, too. And certainly there are days when…

We all have that one creative friend. We see them, painting or drawing or sculpting or dressing so easily, so intuitively. “You’re so creative!” we say. “I wish I could be like you.” 😔 And this, my friend, is where we get it wrong. Because “we” are them. Humans are creative beings. If you are…