If you read this blog of mine, you know I’m a big fan of Jared Flood’s yarn and pattern company Brooklyn Tweed. But what I’m particularly a fan of is Flood himself. I mean, the guy is a savant. I may not be a lace person, but I have a profound reverence for the depth and control and history and finesse and everything else that goes into a design like, say, Juneberry. And his cables! Heart-stopping. (I am definitely a cable girl.) But on top of that, he’s an educator through and through, and I love to learn. His current blog — the official company blog, as it were — is a slight hazard zone for me and my to-do lists, since dipping even a toe into the archive can lead to a loss of hours (as I read up on woolen-spun versus worsted-spun yarns*, or imagine touching a Zimmermann original). But that’s nothing compared to his original Brooklyn Tweed blog. It may not be as pretty as the current blog and site, but that thing is a treasure trove of knitting knowledge. Before he became a purveyor of quality American-bred tweeds, his blog was more of a journal of his own knitting and design work, full of generous notes and guidance, e.g. his advice on plotting cable designs. And since it predates my yarn reawakening, it’s all new to me. So every once in awhile I go click a link or two at random out of the right column, carefully rationing the posts. That’s for the sake of my productivity and because I never want to run out.
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*I also like to read Clara Parkes’ “The Book of Wool” before I go to sleep, which has the opposite effect of merely counting sheep.
I’m not sure how I found his blog, but I do remember enjoying it regularly, and was happy for his success, but sad when the blog started to fade away.
I found that original blog last winter, and spent days reading every post. That may have been the start of my knitting obsession. I LOVE Flood too, for the exact reason you mentioned….he is a great teacher. I think by reading that blog, I realized I could do this, and do it pretty well. I’m so glad it’s still out there, because I go back to it once in a while for inspiration….when I’m not on the Brooklyn Tweed site, lusting :)
Agreed. Your blog is pretty great, too!
I hope to one day know knitting the way Jared Flood knows knitting. If it takes me till I’m 80 …
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Ah yes, the original BT blog is really a good one. I think I spent a few days obsessively reading every post when I first came upon it. His designs are so beautiful and inspiring!
As well as his knitting skills, which are prodigious, the man is a whiz with a camera. I love his photos.
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