Have you ever had the experience of another knitter telling you that you were knitting "wrong"? Well, a listener asked me to talk about the differences between English vs. Continental knitting and it brought back memories of my own encounters with dogmatic knitters. I decided to use the comparison of knitting styles as a way to highlight knitters' individuality and encourage you to embrace whatever method works for you.

First, I need to give you an apology for the brevity of this podcast. This week was filled with activities that kept me away from my taping equipment and computer. Lots of out-of-town visitors, a quick two-day get away with Bob and golf. You will hear all about it in the podcast.

My mind has been focused on wool all week. It must be because I have been thinking about buying a new spinning wheel. That led to the podcast topic - the structure of wool fibers, how that changes depending on the breed of sheep and what it means in terms of the finished yarn. Armed with a bit of knowledge, I hope you can feel much more confident choosing wool yarns for particular projects you have in mind. 

All the time away from the office gave me plenty of time to knit. And, to reflect on how nicely knitting fits into whatever chaos happens. I was lucky to have a couple of easy projects at hand to accommodate my needs.

In this podcast I introduce you to Tina Birch, our vice-president. Over the next few months, I'm looking forward to your meeting all of the Knit Picks staff. Each one has their own history regarding how they got started knitting and what keeps them knitting. As much as I enjoy hearing different accounts of challenges met, I'm sure you will appreciate Tina's story as well.

After that, I'll review a new book that has got me thinking about summer knitting as a way to prepare for next winter. And, there is a surprising twist to What's On My Needles this week.

Reflecting on the idea of being stranded on a deserted island is an interesting exercise in focusing your knitting requirements.  It turns out that my care package would be filled to the brim with sock knitting supplies.  The easy way they fit into my “normalâ€? life has several positive applications for a “strandedâ€? lifestyle.  If you’ve been thinking of learning to knit socks, I hope to inspire you and give you confidence to try it.  If you are already a sock knitter, I think you’ll completely understand the logic behind my deserted island choices.