It is my great pleasure to introduce you to Betsy McCarthy, an author (“Knitted Socks”)

and avid sock knitter… Last month Betsy was interviewed by Jane Pauley for The Today Show, which aired this morning… the cameras followed her around her home, her neighborhood and all the way to Tacoma, WA for the Madrona Fiber Festival. (this in turn caused me to follow her to Madrona as well). Betsy gave up the corporate world for a more relaxed knitting world. There’s additional information on the AARP website as well. I’ve had the pleasure to get to know Betsy through a local knit group. She’s a soft-spoken, wise lady with a wonderful love for knitting…
Well going to Madrona was another story in itself… I had a blast, spent a lot of money and met some wonderful knitters from around the Northwest.. (big shout out to the ladies in …

I have a lot of sock yarn – between working here, my dyer friends who have sock clubs, our local yarny festivals (not least of which included Sock Summit!) and my local yarn store that stocks lots of indie sock yarn dyers (also where IDP designers Starr & Alex work!), I can’t seem to stop getting my hands on it!
So when we received our new Stroll Tonal samples, I was in absolute heaven – even the fact I couldn’t buy them yet did not diminish my enthusiasm.
I can’t even choose a favorite. I want a rainbow of these socks!
We’ve started getting in our samples from designers for their new patterns in too – so I grabbed Kate & Sarah & had a little bit of fun!

We even wore matching jeans!
I think what I love most about this yarn is how fantastic it …

Have you checked out our IDP patterns lately? We have a whopping 165 patterns up from over 80 designers so far in the program! It’s been really fantastic seeing these beautiful designs & getting to know all of the designers – I only wish I could knit & crochet faster so I could make them all!
One of the more fun parts of my job is doing a photo shoot – while we love our designers to take their own shots (often they are even better than the ones we could set up!), sometimes they do not have the means & access to the kinds of photos we need. Being in charge of a photo shoot is something I have not had any experience with, but with help from our art director Christina & our photo gurus Sarah & Kerry, I somehow muddle through & have a lot of fun with …

Diana has been with us since the beginning of IDP & has a whopping 9 patterns in the program (including 3 new ones this week!) & more on the way! She been such a fantastic supporter of the program & it’s been great to get to know her over the past couple of months.
How long have you been knitting?
I learned to knit when I was a pre-teen, but I kept forgetting how to bind off. I learned again when I lived in Japan to make a ‘boyfriend sweater’ and if his arms had only been a few feet longer it would have fit just fine! Several years ago when my sister-in-law (Lynn H of Colorjoy Designs) asked me to test knit a pattern from a beginner’s perspective, I learned I had been knitting Eastern-style with twisted stitches. I re-learned to knit continental, and was hooked. …

KILT HOSE!


(what did you think I was gonna say? This is a family show!)
I have to admit I love kilt hose. I even wrote a paper in college about the phantom bagpiper on my campus, who I’d see walking around piping with his stockings gleaming in the midday sun. There’s just something so regal about a pair of elegant hose. As handknit or even fine kilt hose is quite expensive to order these days, now you can make your own! What’s really cool about both of the patterns in this kit, besides the fact that you can make both pair, is that they’re totally unisex and customizable for size. And, because they’re just awesome anyway, you don’t even have to wear a kilt or be a piper to wear them. But you will want to show them off!
When Nina and I were …