Happy 20th Anniversary to Knitty!

The Internet was a lot different in 2002. There were maybe more knitting blogs, but not a lot of good, reliable places to get good, fun knitting patterns. The knitting industry was still very much focused on print media (KnitPicks also launched in 2002, and WEBS wasn’t selling yarn online until 2003).

Knitty published two issues in 2002 (the archived cover pages suggest viewing them with Internet Explorer and setting your font to 12) and has published four issues most years since. In the beginning it focused pretty exclusively on knitting, and through the years has added instructions and patterns for spinners and crocheters as well.

The cover archive shows a window into how knitting has evolved over the past two decades, from relatively simple sweaters to a burst of feminine details, lots of colorwork and lace. There have been knit thongs, tea cozies, toilet paper cozies and nose warmers in its virtual pages, along with classic sweaters, shawls, baby things and more.

This issue takes on pop culture with a tiny, angry knit uterus, a colorwork hat inspired by The Wizard of Oz, a “Queen’s Gambit” top and the spectacular Please Do Not Adjust Your Skirt, pictured here and designed by Lynne Sosnowski.

Those who weren’t knitters back in the earlier days of the Internet might not understand what it meant to have a curated, professional space online to get patterns. And that it has always been free (but also pays its designers) is a wonderful thing. Here’s to the next 20 years!

[Photo: Lynne Sosnowski via Knitty.]

Next Pattern:

Throughout the saga of the closing of Joann, I’ve been wondering what would happen to CreativeBug, the subscription-based online craft learning platform that Joann acquired in 2017.

Golden Peak Media has announced its acquisition of the company in a media release.

Golden Peak is “one of the largest media and education companies serving art and craft enthusiasts in the United States,” according the release, and includes in its portfolio brands like Interweave, Sew Daily, and nine print magazines including Love of Quilting and Interweave Knits. They have daily newsletters, magazines, digital patterns, on-demand classes and host live events.

David Saabye, CEO of Golden Peak, calls the purchase a “very natural fit” supporting crafters in their lifelong learning journeys.

CreativeBug general manager Liana Allday will stay on and the company will retain its headquarters in Berkeley, Calif.

Abby Glassenberg of the Craft Industry Alliance collected reactions from some CreativeBug instructors and others with a history at the company, and heard lots of optimism about the news. Ursula Morgan, who was CEO of CreativeBug when the company was acquired by Joann, said Golden Peak is a “perfect home” for CreativeBug as they’re getting an owner that “deeply understands the craft consumer.”

I, too, am relieved to see that this platform will be able to continue. I’ve been a subscriber for years and I love that it has solid instruction in a wide range of crafts (including knitting, of course!) and is always adding new content to keep the platform interesting. It’s also a great service that CreativeBug is available to many for free through their local libraries, so be sure to check on that where you live if you don’t already subscribe.

This feels like the last piece of the puzzle in the story of Joann that’s going on all year, along with the announcement that Michaels had purchased Joann’s intellectual property so its private label brands can live on, but of course I’ll keep watching to see if there’s more to come.

Next Pattern:

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