KNIT STARS BLOG!
🧶How to take a compliment
| Knit Stars
My whole life, I’ve struggled with compliments. Not the giving part (I love love love making others feel good), but the accepting part. And to get really vulnerable for a minute…I’ve spent a lot of time in therapy over the years trying to understand why. My therapist has a couple strong theories, going back to…
Read More 
🧶The most important one
| Knit Stars
This feels like the most important newsletter I’ve written all year. I really want to get it right…for you to feel what’s in my heart and for it to touch your own heart, deeply. So here goes… (deep breath)… This past week I met with some dear friends from around the world. We are a…
Read More 
🧶The no that launched thousands of yeses
| Knit Stars
Pull up a chair and get comfy, because this week I have a little longer yarn that I’ve never shared publicly before. When was the last time you had to build up your courage for weeks to ask something of someone you really admired, and they told you no? Or even worse, just ignored you?…
Read More 
🧶Revive your whole wardrobe
| Knit Stars
Happy Sunday! Is there one compliment you love getting more than any other kind? Over the past 9 years of producing Knit Stars Masterclasses, there’s one customer comment that’s my absolute favorite to read… “This workshop alone was worth the price of admission for the whole Season!” And of course I feel that way about…
Read More 
🧶Is this a “crazy” idea?
| Knit Stars
This week, let’s talk a bit about “crazy” ideas. Knit Stars Season 5 was the high Season of COVID. I had planned the ultimate travel bucket list year, with plans to film in Australia, Japan, Mallorca, Copenhagen and points all across North America. It all fell away in a heartbeat as all the countries closed.…
Read More 
🧶Join the inner circle
| Knit Stars
You know how last week I talked about dissolving the “nots” in our knitting? Well this week, it’s confession time. Because there was an insidious “not” that ensnared my first couple decades as a maker. I was NOT going to touch circular knitting! I made dozens of adult and baby sweaters, all seamed. I was…
Read More 
🧶Goodbye, nots!
| Knit Stars
Lately I’ve been doing some deep thinking – about knots. You’re a Yarnie, so you know the feeling. You’re flowing along in the zone on your project, and all of a sudden you hit a dreaded knot. You have to stop, decide whether it can be undone or cut, leaving two more ends to weave…
Read More 
🧶Your next capsule wardrobe
| Knit Stars
It’s that time of year when my WIPs begin that eternal battle with one another… Crank out one more crochet crop for those last dog days of summer…Or cast on a new knit sweater in fall hues??? Right now for me, the latter is winning out – especially after I took a peek at the…
Read More 
🧶Do you wanna go faster? 🎢
| Knit Stars
The year was circa 1978. It was my first time visiting Bell’s Amusement Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was nervous to ride Zingo, the big wooden roller coaster. So I decided to work up my courage on an easier ride first. “The Himalaya” was one of those rides where the cars fly around in a…
Read More 
🧶A different kind of love story
| Knit Stars
I’ve been a dog lover for as long as I can remember. Our first pup as a young family was Lucy the Lhasa Apso. Longtime readers will remember my beloved Purl, who survived a horrific attack and went on to grace our home with so much love, wiggles and furry hugs, that before we knew…
Read More 
🧶What a surprise!
| Knit Stars
Striking my best Olympic pose after finishing my new crochet top! Hey there, If you’re like me, now that the Olympics is over, you’re looking for your next escape. I’ve been thinking, and it’s occurred to me that every Knit Stars Masterclass is like three of my favorite escapes, all rolled into one. There’s the…
Read More 
🧶Turn stash into kindness
| Knit Stars
Dear reader, this week I’d like to introduce you to a real life Soap Star. 🤩 Stacy Wiener is the founder of S.A.C.K. – Supporting A Community with Kindness. She was nominated by TWO of our Yarniverse members to be a Rising Star – and in the exact same month that I found out about…
Read More 
🧶 Get to know Emma
| Knit Stars
I first saw Emma Fassio’s name many years ago, on a pattern my friend Gina Hills was working on. Many of you might remember Gina, a manager at our Loops stores for more than a decade. Gina was (still is) a style inspiration of mine, a big fan of iconic Italian fashion houses like Missoni.…
Read More 
🧶Catching the Doodle bug
| Knit Stars
Jamie Lomax took up knitting in 2020 as a COVID hobby. She was working as a senior project manager for a large retail and food service company in Seattle at the time. “We all got sent home, and I was on Teams calls all day every day. I have ADHD so I was struggling to…
Read More 
🧶Something new is blooming…
| Knit Stars
Happy Sunday, beautiful reader! Do you ever have those moments like I do, when you’re scrolling social media, and an image makes you stop and audibly gasp – causing anyone else in your household to run in and see if you’re ok? This past week I had one of those moments, and (after assuring said…
Read More 
🧶Sprinkle that stuff on everything…
| Knit Stars
TW: This week’s newsletter includes sensitive mental health topics. Sending all of our love our beautiful readers, family and friends ❤️. “I had two options. I could either let it wreck me and disrupt my life, or I could inspire myself and others, share my story, and use it to help raise awareness.” These are the wise words of…
Read More 
🧶Back in the saddle
| Knit Stars
Hello dear reader, How’s it going in your creative world? These past few weeks have been even more whirlwind-y than usual for me, as Knit Stars Season 9 filming has kicked into high gear. I made a commitment to go to all the filmings this year, which means I’m up in the air, upside down,…
Read More 
🧶 Gratitude – in any language
| Knit Stars
Toto, we’re not at the beach house anymore. We’re near the ‘beech house” in Cork, Ireland! I snapped a pic of this charming home with a spectacular garden, just up the road from Knit Stars Season 9 Star Carol Feller’s house in Cork, Ireland. Every Knit Stars Season is a wonderful adventure, and this year…
Read More 
🧶Now he’s dancing with his fingers
| Knit Stars
We talk a lot around here about how yarn can change lives. We’ve seen it in action a million times over, in small ways and bigger ways. But this week’s story…well, this one hits differently. Yarn didn’t just change Thomas Gregory’s life. It saved it. Thomas Gregory (@gregorystitch) came to my awareness last year by…
Read More 
🧶Behold, the future of patterns
| Knit Stars
Are you a sticky notes knitter? A highlighter hooker? Or maybe you’re a washi-tape wonder? 🤩 At various points in my 4 decades as a Yarnie, I’ve been all of the above. As I’ve progressed (and my eyesight has regressed) I find myself using all kinds of tricks to keep my place and track the…
Read More 
🧶How to take a compliment
| Knit Stars
My whole life, I’ve struggled with compliments. Not the giving part (I love love love making others feel good), but the accepting part. And to get really vulnerable for a minute…I’ve spent a lot of time in therapy over the years trying to understand why. My therapist has a couple strong theories, going back to…
Read More
🧶The most important one
| Knit Stars
This feels like the most important newsletter I’ve written all year. I really want to get it right…for you to feel what’s in my heart and for it to touch your own heart, deeply. So here goes… (deep breath)… This past week I met with some dear friends from around the world. We are a…
Read More
🧶The no that launched thousands of yeses
| Knit Stars
Pull up a chair and get comfy, because this week I have a little longer yarn that I’ve never shared publicly before. When was the last time you had to build up your courage for weeks to ask something of someone you really admired, and they told you no? Or even worse, just ignored you?…
Read More
🧶Revive your whole wardrobe
| Knit Stars
Happy Sunday! Is there one compliment you love getting more than any other kind? Over the past 9 years of producing Knit Stars Masterclasses, there’s one customer comment that’s my absolute favorite to read… “This workshop alone was worth the price of admission for the whole Season!” And of course I feel that way about…
Read More
🧶Is this a “crazy” idea?
| Knit Stars
This week, let’s talk a bit about “crazy” ideas. Knit Stars Season 5 was the high Season of COVID. I had planned the ultimate travel bucket list year, with plans to film in Australia, Japan, Mallorca, Copenhagen and points all across North America. It all fell away in a heartbeat as all the countries closed.…
Read More
🧶Join the inner circle
| Knit Stars
You know how last week I talked about dissolving the “nots” in our knitting? Well this week, it’s confession time. Because there was an insidious “not” that ensnared my first couple decades as a maker. I was NOT going to touch circular knitting! I made dozens of adult and baby sweaters, all seamed. I was…
Read More
🧶Goodbye, nots!
| Knit Stars
Lately I’ve been doing some deep thinking – about knots. You’re a Yarnie, so you know the feeling. You’re flowing along in the zone on your project, and all of a sudden you hit a dreaded knot. You have to stop, decide whether it can be undone or cut, leaving two more ends to weave…
Read More
🧶Your next capsule wardrobe
| Knit Stars
It’s that time of year when my WIPs begin that eternal battle with one another… Crank out one more crochet crop for those last dog days of summer…Or cast on a new knit sweater in fall hues??? Right now for me, the latter is winning out – especially after I took a peek at the…
Read More
🧶Do you wanna go faster? 🎢
| Knit Stars
The year was circa 1978. It was my first time visiting Bell’s Amusement Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was nervous to ride Zingo, the big wooden roller coaster. So I decided to work up my courage on an easier ride first. “The Himalaya” was one of those rides where the cars fly around in a…
Read More
🧶A different kind of love story
| Knit Stars
I’ve been a dog lover for as long as I can remember. Our first pup as a young family was Lucy the Lhasa Apso. Longtime readers will remember my beloved Purl, who survived a horrific attack and went on to grace our home with so much love, wiggles and furry hugs, that before we knew…
Read More
🧶What a surprise!
| Knit Stars
Striking my best Olympic pose after finishing my new crochet top! Hey there, If you’re like me, now that the Olympics is over, you’re looking for your next escape. I’ve been thinking, and it’s occurred to me that every Knit Stars Masterclass is like three of my favorite escapes, all rolled into one. There’s the…
Read More
🧶Turn stash into kindness
| Knit Stars
Dear reader, this week I’d like to introduce you to a real life Soap Star. 🤩 Stacy Wiener is the founder of S.A.C.K. – Supporting A Community with Kindness. She was nominated by TWO of our Yarniverse members to be a Rising Star – and in the exact same month that I found out about…
Read More
🧶 Get to know Emma
| Knit Stars
I first saw Emma Fassio’s name many years ago, on a pattern my friend Gina Hills was working on. Many of you might remember Gina, a manager at our Loops stores for more than a decade. Gina was (still is) a style inspiration of mine, a big fan of iconic Italian fashion houses like Missoni.…
Read More
🧶Catching the Doodle bug
| Knit Stars
Jamie Lomax took up knitting in 2020 as a COVID hobby. She was working as a senior project manager for a large retail and food service company in Seattle at the time. “We all got sent home, and I was on Teams calls all day every day. I have ADHD so I was struggling to…
Read More
🧶Something new is blooming…
| Knit Stars
Happy Sunday, beautiful reader! Do you ever have those moments like I do, when you’re scrolling social media, and an image makes you stop and audibly gasp – causing anyone else in your household to run in and see if you’re ok? This past week I had one of those moments, and (after assuring said…
Read More
🧶Sprinkle that stuff on everything…
| Knit Stars
TW: This week’s newsletter includes sensitive mental health topics. Sending all of our love our beautiful readers, family and friends ❤️. “I had two options. I could either let it wreck me and disrupt my life, or I could inspire myself and others, share my story, and use it to help raise awareness.” These are the wise words of…
Read More
🧶Back in the saddle
| Knit Stars
Hello dear reader, How’s it going in your creative world? These past few weeks have been even more whirlwind-y than usual for me, as Knit Stars Season 9 filming has kicked into high gear. I made a commitment to go to all the filmings this year, which means I’m up in the air, upside down,…
Read More
🧶 Gratitude – in any language
| Knit Stars
Toto, we’re not at the beach house anymore. We’re near the ‘beech house” in Cork, Ireland! I snapped a pic of this charming home with a spectacular garden, just up the road from Knit Stars Season 9 Star Carol Feller’s house in Cork, Ireland. Every Knit Stars Season is a wonderful adventure, and this year…
Read More
🧶Now he’s dancing with his fingers
| Knit Stars
We talk a lot around here about how yarn can change lives. We’ve seen it in action a million times over, in small ways and bigger ways. But this week’s story…well, this one hits differently. Yarn didn’t just change Thomas Gregory’s life. It saved it. Thomas Gregory (@gregorystitch) came to my awareness last year by…
Read More
🧶Behold, the future of patterns
| Knit Stars
Are you a sticky notes knitter? A highlighter hooker? Or maybe you’re a washi-tape wonder? 🤩 At various points in my 4 decades as a Yarnie, I’ve been all of the above. As I’ve progressed (and my eyesight has regressed) I find myself using all kinds of tricks to keep my place and track the…
Read More Knit Stars
🧶Small changes, big differences
Hi everyone, Sunnie back again for another newsletter takeover 😎! I hope this newsletter finds you well. In last week’s Yarniverse LIVE, I was blown away by our special guest, Season 7 Star Mary Martin, and her story that fueled the development of her innovative Fission and Fusion Knitting techniques. In case you weren’t there, I’ll let…
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🧶I’m not crying you’re crying
This week y’all have had me in all my feels. My weekend was a little rough. First off, I’m in a hand splint (ruptured ligament in my right pointer finger) and tried knitting on the plane – a definite no-go for the next 6 weeks 😩. Then all my credit cards and license…
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🧶The 30-minute scarf
Nearly a decade ago, we designed a scarf that was so fast and easy, it was almost a cheat. A tiny rectangle with loooooong fringe that could be made in half an hour, start to finish. We called it the Necks Big Thing (I know – it’s ok to groan at the dad joke) and…
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🧶Big week ahead!
Thank you for a beautiful response to Moving the Needle last week. Your words filled my soul and I am so grateful that people take the time to read this newsletter. It’s always amazing to hear from you! Although we did receive a little bit of backlash over the fact that the newsletter was exclusively…
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🧶It’s better with friends
To make Shelley’s version of “The Shift” by Andrea Mowry, you’ll need one skein each of Spincycle Dyed in the Wool “Starstruck,” Spincycle “Wilder” and 2 skeins Sweet 16 “Sea.” Nearly a year ago, I left Tulsa – the town where (not counting college) I’d lived since birth. The town where I raised…
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🧶We are hooked!
The pattern is the Edith Dress by Dominique Calvillo and I used a DK weight cotton in the photo above. BUT you could gauge swatch, potentially use a smaller hook, and try our beautiful Plant Based Princess! Hello Fiber lovers and HAPPY CROCHET MONTH! Sunnie here, and when I heard March was crochet month, I…
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🧶Square needles and running in circles
Catch the replay of this week’s Yarniverse LIVE with Ann + Kay of MDK here Remember when there wasn’t enough knitting content out in the world? This past week we did a really fun Yarniverse LIVE with Ann + Kay of Modern Daily Knitting. And we were musing back 10 years, when we were all so desperate for…
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🧶Wear the dang knits
Photo courtesy of Caitlin Hunter via Ravlery Just the other day, an email from a faithful newsletter reader named Dez dropped into my inbox. She was responding to a recent issue of Moving the Needle titled The sweater you’ll wear 24/7. I’ve excerpted her very thoughtful letter for you here. “Thank you for calling my attention to…
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✨it’s the alpaca-lypse 🦙
Don’t look now but it might be… The Alpaca-lypse! 🦙 In this week’s Yarniverse LIVE!, hosted by Knit Stars Gaye Glasspie (@ggmadeit) and Louis Boria (@brooklynboyknits), there were so many great moments. Louis gave us a sneak peek of his runway look for VK Live… He talked about why he said “yes” to Knit Stars……
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🧶Joji bag dream come true
Somebody please, pinch me. No really… Has this all just been a dream? Did Joji really make a bag just for us? And is it really the style I love the very most, the Santa Cruz with its modern square shape and exposed seams, big enough for a big sweater project plus all my other everyday bag stuff (wallet,…
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🧶5 favorite things
Sometimes in life, you just want to keep things simple. In fact, I believe that the appeal of simplicity is the very thing that brings most of us to knitting to begin with. Taking sticks and string and a simple repetitive motion and creating something beautiful. That’s why we’re all here together, isn’t it? Over…
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🧶The sweater you’ll wear 24/7
“I want to help you make that sweater you’ll wear out to lunch – not just to that knitting festival.” – Amy Herzog, Knit Stars Season 2 Raise your hand if you’ve ever cast on a sweater design just because everyone else on Ravelry was making it? If you finished it, how often did you…
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🧶The joy of the shift
Ghost Ranch Hat by Andrea Mowry, made by Sunnie. You need 1 skein Spincycle Dyed in the Wool + 1 skein Rowan Felted Tweed. Raise your hand if you remember your first skein of color-changing yarn!✋ In the early days of Loops, it was Noro Kureyon. The yarn was scratchy AF, but you didn’t care… Because the way…
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🧶 From our family to you
“My favorite project I made this year was the Brookline Blouse by Kate (@mezzomakes) in Loops Luxe Plant-Based Princess in the colorway Cottonwood.” This project kept my mind calm and hands busy in the days following a bad car accident. It was also my first non-wool project and kept me stylish all summer long. -Sunnie Operations Manager,…
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🧶Curse schmurse
This week I have a bit of a different story for you. Back when I was dating in my 20s, my friend Kristy and I made a pact: to never knit for our partners. Why? Somewhere along the way, we’d heard it was back luck. Superstitions like this abound in knitting. There’s even a book…
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🧶The gift of a lifeline
Isn’t it interesting how much beginners can teach us? I’m reading Michelle Obama’s newest book, “The Light We Carry.” Or to be more specific…I’m listening to her read the book on my morning walks, then running back home to highlight my hard copy. Even if she didn’t talk about knitting and how it helped her through…
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Zero pressure gift knitting
My latest WIP: “Strata” hat by Tif Neilan from “Worsted” by Aimée Gille, made with LolaBean Cool Beans Worsted. Kits here. I’ve noticed a trend the past few years… More and more people seem to be swearing off holiday gift making. Maybe it was the pandemic, that made people re-evaluate how they spent their free time.…
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🧶 New genius needles 💡
Since many of us are all hanging out in a turkey tryptophan haze… I decided to start out this week’s newsletter with an ode to the premiere of our 7th Masterclass Season, which just finished premiering last week. And what better ode than a blooper reel? 🤪 Enjoy watching the 3-minute clip above, where I…
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🧶 Sweaters, socks and freebies oh my
Paper clips. Safety pins. Yarn scraps. Dental floss. Ever used any of these things as a stitch marker in a pinch? I sure have. We’ve all found ourselves stuck without a stitch marker right when we need it, digging in the couch cushions while lifting up a silent prayer to the notions gods… Amiright? But…
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🧶Making peace with your yarn
“Wispy Haze” shawl in custom colorway “Cayanne’s Wedding” This week I finished one of the most joyful projects I’ve ever made… But it didn’t start out that way. My niece Cayanne was married this weekend in the Bahamas. I wasn’t there, but I can imagine how stunning she looked walking along that Bahamian blue water, wrapping…
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